Agenda - Council - 06/09/2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

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 5.3% in comparison to the state average of 4.5%. Ramsey has an employed labor force of 14,245. Anoka County, in which Ramsey is located, has an employed labor force of 191,090 and an unemployment rate of 4.3%. There are approximately 6,533 detached single-family homes and 2,103 multifamily units located within the City. In addition, there were 66 single-family homes and no multifamily homes constructed in 2014. The City has two major industrial districts containing multiple business 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. LONG-TERM FINANCIAL PLANNING The City of Ramsey prepares a five year capital improvement 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 unrestricted 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 In 2014, the city (working with Anoka County, the project coordinator), finalized funding and design plans to begin the Highway 10 / Armstrong Blvd interchange project. The project scope includes construction of a full -access, grade -separated interchange. This project is a major step forward in improving emergency response times and traffic operations on Highway 10. In a continued effort to provide citizens enhanced recreational facilities and amenities, the city neared completion of the Elmcrest Park Community Building. This 4,300 square foot structure includes two large indoor common areas and one large outdoor pavilion. Both were designed to accommodate a variety of social gatherings. Page 16