Agenda - Council - 04/27/1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I 8';. £. SEVENTH PLACE SUITE 100 SAINT PAUL, MN S5101-2887 , April ~ SPRINGSTED Public Finance A~tvisors Mr. James E Norman, City Administrator City of Ramsey 15153 Nowthen Boulevard N.W. Ramsey, MN 55303 Dear Jim: Thanks for taking time to meet with me on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to working' with you and the City of Ramsey. . As you requested, I've pulled together some materials to help us define a process for estimating the City's future revenues. Because property taxes represent a 'significant source of revenue, you may want to consider having Springsted prepare a fiscal impact study. I've enclosed a recent study we did for the City of Victoria. The fiscal impact study considers projected development and, on that basis, provides detailed projections of future revenues and expenditures, based on the development scenario.. The Victoria study did not consider the tax impacts of changes in County or School Distdct service levels or infrastructure requirements. However, we have done studies, such as the one for Eastern Carver County, that takes a total look at the city, county and school district. Since residential development has a major impact on the need for school facilities, you may want to consider doing a fiscal impact study in cooperation with the school districts. The developing areas within each of the school districts could be studied to understand how the impacts might differ within each area. I've also enclosed a copy of the executive summary of the Eastern Carver County report. We could also provide a similar analysis of revenues and expenditures for your water and sewer funds. Based on the concerns yofi expressed regarding the extension of levy limits and the City's historically Iow levy, I've also enclosed some information on cost recovery studies. The study for the City of Oakdale was done in two phases,' between 1996 and 1997. The first phase essentially looked at comparing fees for service against cities with similar characteristics. We've done studies using this methodology for several cities. Based on the comparative data, the cities have then identified which fees to increase. Oakdale took its study a step further by asking us to analyze the cost of providing each service and recommend an appropriate level for the fee. This second step provides important documentation for setting fees, ensuring that revenues raised by a fee does not exceed the cost of providing the service. At Thursday's MAMA meeting, Gene Ranied forewarned cities that the Builders Association is raising questions about fees charged for building permits and water and sewer connections. He is concerned that we may begin to see legislative action in this area in future sessions. Data SAINT PAUL, MN MINNEAPOLIS, MN ' BROOKF~LD.W] OVERLAND PARK, KS ' WASHINGTON, DC DES MOINES, IA