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STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as your new Mayor. With only a few meetings under my belt, I will admit it is quite a learning experience. The City Staff and the City Council have!:been very helpful to me and easy to work with. We are getting more comfortable working togeiher as each meeting goes by. So, where;~are we at here in Rarnsey? With the new Governor's budget reduction coming to local governments, the new Council and City Staff will have some very challenging times ahead. It will be a struggle,, at best, to keep our goods and services at its present status quo. Our budget for Ramsey will h~ave to be carefully scrutinized to keep us out of the same financial problems that the state has nowl,inherited. To date, all we have heard are percentages floating around. Once we get the real facts and figures, the adjustment process will then be addressed. The Rarn~y Volunteer Fire Department now has the necessary equipment needed to comply with Mutual &id with our neighboring cities. Monies were put in place for a second pumper truck which fulfille~ our obligation for mutual equipment. As usual, We will be addressing the landfill issue, which will be coming up. There are some new state laW~ in the works for this year that could be very helpful for the Ramsey citizens. We will be watct/ing this carefully. The Council approved the go-aheM for federal funds (distributed through Anoka County) for low income, Senior citizens and handicapped persons. These funds were available at no cost to the City and as they had not been designated in 1990, we combined 1990 and 1991 allocations for several programs. The City of Ramsey was once again named "Tree City U.S.A." for the second year in a row. My congratulations to the people who put in their time and effort and came home a winner. There will be the annual :tree sale again this spring. There arel a great number of issues I haven't touched on that will also be coming up in the future. If yoti have questions, complaints, input, or constructive criticism, tell us. That is the only way we will know. All of us at the City of Ramsey are here to serve our residents. We have a number of community organizations and committees that can use your help. Fully realizing that~most residents have full-time jobs, time seems to be in short supply. However, many of the groupsior committees require about two to four hours a month. It's a good way to meet your neighbors and to help mold your community the way you think it should be. Every pair of hands is much needed and appreciated. Thank you for your support and your time. Sincerely, Jim Gilbertson Mayor, City of Ramsey