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<br />Councilmember Dehen stated that he had questions regarding the school levy differences <br />between the Anoka School District and the Elk River School District. <br /> <br />Finance Officer Lund explained that the City collects from both school districts, so based on the <br />total amount available, the City can come in at a certain percentage in one district and a different <br />one in the other based on different classifications. <br /> <br />City Administrator Ulrich stated that the slide does not represent absolute dollar amounts, just a <br />percentage of the breakdown. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen stated that he just wanted to clarify that if Ramsey residents lived in the <br />Elk River School District, they would pay more money than those in the Anoka School District. <br />He stated that he also had questions on the comparison of the tax capacity rates of metro cities. <br /> <br />Finance Officer Lund stated that if a City has more value for their properties, the amount they <br />need to levy isn't as high. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strommen gave the example that the property values are higher in Chaska than <br />they are in Hibbing, so the tax capacity rate for Chaska can be much lower than Hibbing's. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec noted that Chaska also gets Local Government Aid and Ramsey does not. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec called for public comment at 6:42 p.m. <br /> <br />Winslow Holasek asked why a comparison was made with Hibbing who has a population of just <br />over 16,000. <br /> <br />Finance Officer Lund stated that she wanted to include as many cities as possible both above and <br />below the tax capacity rate of Ramsey. <br /> <br />Mr. Holasek stated that he thinks a more fair comparison would be of the surrounding <br />communities such as Andover, Blaine, Coon Rapids and Ham Lake. He stated that he lives in <br />Andover and the total levy amount is 31.5%. He noted that Centerville is at 41 %, Coon Rapids <br />is at 29%, East Bethel is at 32%, Fridley is at 28%, Ham Lake is at 24% and Oak Grove is at <br />27%. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated that Mr. Holasek needs to consider what services Ramsey provides that <br />Andover doesn't, such as police coverage. He stated that Andover contracts for police protection <br />with Anoka County and they also receive Local Government Aid. He stated that he feels Mr. <br />Holasek needs to compare apples to apples and realize that Ramsey offers more services to its <br />residents and does not receive any Local Government Aid. <br /> <br />Mr. Holasek reiterated that he would like Ramsey to compare itself to the surrounding cities. He <br />stated that he would like an explanation of how TIF districts affects tax capacity rates. <br /> <br />City Council Truth in Taxation/December 3, 2007 <br />Page 3 of5 <br />