Laserfiche WebLink
long time and needs to be addressed through a road policy. Councilmember Wise stated it is his <br />goal to have a road policy in place by year end. He supported reducing the general levy by the <br />same amount as taxing from another method, such as a franchise fee. <br />Councilmember Elvig noted the Council has already made dramatic budget cuts. He stated the <br />Council previously decided to tack on a storm water fee when it realized the problem with poor <br />drainage and that fund has built so those drainage problems can be addressed. The same thing <br />occurred with priority lighting and he believed funding roads was no different. Councilmember <br />Elvig stated it would be prudent to lower the general budget but that cannot be done in addition <br />to rebuilding 40 years of roads and end up at a net deduct. Councilmember Elvig stated when <br />property values go up, then maybe the City can absorb more internally but the road funding <br />problem has to be solved today. <br />Councilmember McGlone asked what the tax capacity rate would need to be to solve the $3 <br />million road funding problem in 2013. <br />Finance Officer Lund stated it would go to a 53% tax capacity. <br />Councilmember McGlone stated the City cannot address all of the roads today and he hates the <br />idea of assessments because of the problems it causes. He agreed with Councilmember Tossey <br />that residents expect a police officer and fire fighter but the City does not have franchise fees for <br />those services. Councilmember McGlone stated the Council needs to decide and come to a <br />consensus on what level the City can fund for road projects. He agreed the problem is so big that <br />some level of assessments may need to be considered. <br />Mayor Ramsey stated his plan was 30% for roads, 40% for the tax capacity rate, and 50% for <br />staffing. He stated it seemed plausible to solve some of the issues. Mayor Ramsey stated if the <br />Council ever gets to the point of talking about raising taxes, it better include all funds including <br />spending the Land Trust Fund long before considering raising taxes. <br />City Administrator Ulrich stated one of the strategies could be to solve $1 5 million of funding or <br />target money for 2013. He believed there was still a need to have an assessment process as <br />cumbersome as it is. City Administrator Ulrich suggested a property owner should pay a portion <br />of a project that benefits its property and the rest would be paid by the City as a community <br />benefit. If the Council supports a 40% tax capacity bench mark, then services need to be cut to <br />get there. City Administrator Ulrich stated the Council may need to look at additional general <br />fund reductions to stay at a 40% tax capacity rate, noting police and fire budgets have had cuts <br />but not to the extent of other operations. <br />Mayor Ramsey stated he would like to see more information on the 30/40/50 formula. <br />Councilmember Strommen stated she liked the plan presented by Public Works Director Olson <br />and City Engineer Himmer for a franchise fee combined with assessment for reconstruction <br />because funding cannot be solved without some level of assessment. She also supported getting <br />assessments out of sealcoat and overlay projects. Councilmember Strommen noted residents <br />said assessments are not an expense people can plan for but if paying a little each month <br />City Council Work Session / April 10, 2012 <br />Page 7 of 13 <br />