Agenda - Council Work Session - 06/14/2011

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The City provides a variety of municipal services. These include a full -time police department, a volunteer fire department, engineering services, street and park maintenance, building inspections, planning and zoning, public improvements, general administrative services, and public water and sewer utilities in the urban service areas. The City adopts an annual budget for the General Fund, EDA Special Revenue Fund, and HRA Special Revenue Fund. Legal level of control is at the function level. Department heads may transfer resources within a department as they see fit. Transfers between functions, however, need special approval from the City Council. LOCAL ECONOMY The City has an unemployment rate of 7.3% in comparison to the state average of 6.9 %. Ramsey has an employed labor force of 13,112. Anoka County, in which Ramsey is located, has an employed labor force of 177,316 and unemployment rate of 7.1%. There are approximately 6,384 single - family homes and 1,525 multifamily units located within the City. In addition, there were 60 single- family homes constructed in 2010. The City has two major industrial parks with a combined capacity of 320 acres and 25 businesses. Currently both industrial parks are near capacity. The City's General Fund has property taxes as the major source of revenue. Intergovernmental revenue dropped to 4 %. Intergovernmental revenue includes state aids, such as Local Government Aid (LGA), Market Value Homestead Credit (MVHC), Highway Maintenance Aid, Fire Relief Aid, Police Aid, and County grants. Due to severe budget deficits in the state of Minnesota, the City has seen a total reduction of LGA since fiscal year 2003. Due to a significant budget shortfall at the state level, the City's 2010 allocation of Market Value Homestead Credit was cut in its entirety. It is highly probable that the city will be receiving $0 in Market Value Homestead Credit from the state going forward. LONG -TERM FINANCIAL PLANNING The City of Ramsey prepares a five year capital improvement /capital outlay plan in an attempt to anticipate major capital expenditures in advance of the year in which they are budgeted. The City has a policy to maintain an unreserved General Fund balance in an amount equal to 50% of the following years adopted operating budget. This policy is designed to establish a fund balance at a level which is sufficient to avoid issuing debt to meet current operating needs. RELEVANT FINANCIAL POLICIES The City has a comprehensive set of financial policies that provide the basic framework for the overall fiscal management of the City. The City had no unusual occurrences affecting these policies. MAJOR INITIATIVES Since 1990, the City has been attempting to provide improved services to a dramatically increasing number of households in a time of fiscal constraints at the state level. From the 1990 census to the 2010 projection, Ramsey's population has increased by 95 %. At the same time, aids from the state of Minnesota have decreased.