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Because the City Council acts as the Board of Directors of the Ramsey Economic Development Authority (EDA) and the Ramsey Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), these organizations are included as blended component units in these financial statements. 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 6.7% in comparison to the state average of 6.4 %. Ramsey has an employed labor force of 13,599. Anoka County, in which Ramsey is located, has an employed labor force of 179,527 and an unemployment rate of 5.9 %. There are approximately 6,410 single - family homes and 1,525 multifamily units located within the City. In addition, there were 23 single- family homes constructed in 2011. The City has two major industrial parks with a combined capacity of 320 acres and 25 businesses. Currently both industrial parks are near capacity. In addition, the city is actively developing a new city center known as The COR (Center of Ramsey). The development vision for this 400 acre area located in the heart of Ramsey is for it to become the region's center of retail, restaurants, service and office space, outdoor entertainment and parks, community amenities and housing. The City's General Fund has property taxes as the major source of revenue. Intergovernmental revenue dropped to 4% in 2010 and remained at that level in 2011. 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. In addition, the City's 2011 allocation of Market Value Homestead Credit was cut in its entirety. As part of the 2011 State of Minnesota Omnibus Tax Bill, the Legislature repealed the Market Value Homestead Credit and replaced it with a new Market Value Exclusion Program. The new Market Value Exclusion Program still provides a tax reduction to all homesteads valued below $413,800; however, the method by which the reduction is calculated is changing. Instead of providing a property tax monetary credit, the new program excludes a portion of each home's market value from the property tax calculation. With a reduction in taxable market value, each home contributes a smaller amount to each taxing jurisdiction's tax base. With the new Market Value Exclusion Program all of the taxing jurisdiction levies (school, county, city) will now be paid by property taxpayers instead of a portion of the levy being paid by the State as a credit reimbursement. Because of this, there will no longer be a possibility of the State withholding some or all of the reimbursement. 16