Minutes - Council - 12/01/2008 - Truth in Taxation

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and hearing were, to discuss property tax and levy, not valuation. She reviewed who determines the property taxes and what factors affect the property taxes. She noted that the tax cap,\city value is determined by multiplying the market value of the property by the statutory percentage rates for the specific classification uses on the property. She reviewed what the tax capacity rate is and how it is determined. She stated the Anoka School District tax rates for 2008 was 94.093 and in 2009 is proposed to be 94.87. She stated that for the Elk River School District, it was 109.454 for 2008 and 112.711 for 2009. She noted that this would actually go higher once the recently passed school levy is added. She reviewed the 2009 preliminary levy of $9,519,086. She stated that compared to 2008, the tax levy is increasing 5.1 %. She stated that the City is experiencing a major decrease in building permit revenue. She stated that the proposed tax levy increase is a .005% increase from 2008 to 2009. She stated that included in the packet is also a comparison of tax capacity rates of the metro cities. She noted that Ramsey ranked 20 out of 36 cities. She reviewed the tax capacity rates of various Anoka County cities. She noted that Andover doesn't have a police department and Anoka has an electric company, so no cities are exactly alike, and cannot be compared exactly the same. She reviewed the formula for how property taxes are determined. She stated that if you have a question on how your property tax would differ if you lived in a different priced home, you can go to www.co.anoka.mn.usfor a tax calculator. She stated that the proposed general fund budget is $10,102,130, which represents a .53% increase from 2008. She reviewed some of the highlights of the budget: A reduction in personnel of 1.5 FTE; health costs increased by 14%; building permit revenue has decreased over $110,000; no local government aid; and a decrease in capital equipment purchases for 2009. She stated that one other issue is the recently adopted change in the assessment policy for the seaIcoating projects. She reviewed how the City funds the Municipal Center and the plans for an intemalloan over the next three years. She noted that the draft budget is available on the City website under the Finance Department or available on site at the Municipal Center. She reviewed the General Fund and noted that revenue and expenditures match for 2009. She noted that the biggest portion of revenue comes from the taxes. She stated that the biggest portion of expenditures is for personnel, which is 69% of the budget, followed by services and charges at 21 %. She reviewed some of the staffing numbers and budget information, per department, for General Government; Public Safety; Public Works; and Park and Recreation. Councilmember Elvig arrived at 6:41 p.m. Finance Officer Lund noted that she distributed a separate handout that is a more detailed breakout of the $10,102,130 budget. She reiterated that this would be adopted as part of the regular Council meeting on December 9,2008. Mayor Gamec stated that Ramsey really depends on its residents, especially since the City doesn't received Local Government Aid anymore. He stated that the Council has always taken a look to make sure there is adequate protection, for example, police and fire. He reminded people if they have seen valuation changes, that information was calculated almost a year ago, at the beginning of2008. City Council Truth in Taxation/December 1, 2008 Page 2 of 4