Laserfiche WebLink
<br />CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION <br />CITY OF RAMSEY <br />ANOKA COUNTY <br />STATE OF MINNESOTA <br /> <br />The Ramsey City Council conducted a City Council Work Session on Tuesday, October 28, <br />2008, at the Ramsey Municipal Center, 7550 Sunwood Drive NW, Ramsey, Minnesota. <br /> <br />Members Present: <br /> <br />Councilmember David Elvig <br />Councilmember David Jeffrey <br />Councilmember Matt Look <br />Councilmember Mary Jo Olson <br />Councilmember Sarah Strommen <br /> <br />Members Absent: <br /> <br />Mayor Thomas Gamec <br />Councilmember John Dehen <br /> <br />Also Present: <br /> <br />City Administrator Kurt Ulrich <br />Assistant City Administrator Heidi A. Nelson <br />Finance Officer Diana Lund <br />Public Works Director Brian Olson <br />Elk River School District Superintendent Mark Bezek <br /> <br />CALL TO ORDER <br /> <br />Acting Mayor Elvig called the City Council Work Session to order at 5:33 p.m. <br /> <br />APPROVE AGENDA <br /> <br />The agenda was approved as submitted. <br /> <br />COUNCIL TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION <br /> <br />1) Presentation on School District #728 Budget/Levy <br /> <br />School District 728 Superintendent Mark Bezek stated that their district has about 1,000 Ramsey <br />kids enrolled and he is present to talk about a renewal levy in the upcoming election. He stated <br />that the levy that is expiring equates to about $115 dollars per student. He stated that they are <br />about the ninth largest district in the State and, on average, are growing from 300 to 700 kids per <br />year. He stated that their finances are based on the number of kids enrolled and the growth has <br />been hard to predict over the last few years. He stated that last year they only saw a .75% <br />increase, which is about 180 students, which created about an $800,000 hole in their budget. He <br />reviewed some ofthe budget figures from 2007 - 2009. He noted that a majority of the budget <br />I <br />goes for teachers and other staff. He stated that their school district is funded about $1,000 less <br />per student than other districts in the metro area. He compared Elk River to other area schools, <br />such as Edina, and their referendum amounts. He stated that this levy does not increase taxes <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / October 28, 2008 <br />Page 1 of6 <br />