Minutes - Council - 09/26/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Strommen reconvened the meeting at 7:39 p.m. Mayor Strommen stated that they have become aware of technical difficulties with the live broadcast but the recording is working and therefore the meeting will be rebroadcast through the QCTV website. Finance Director Lund provided a comparison of the general fund budget for the past few years and reviewed the funding of the general fund, noting that the majority of the budget is funded by property taxes. She reviewed the general fund expenditures and provided additional information on the 2018 EDA proposed budget and levy which is proposed to remain constant to the 2017 rates. She stated that the final budget and levy will be considered for adoption on December 12, 2017, but noted that changes can be made to the budget and levy until that time. She stated that the preliminary tax information for the School District will not be included on the mailers that residents will receive. Mayor Strommen stated that the Council has meet in work session multiple times with extensive discussion and revision to reach this point. Councilmember Riley stated that the budget proposed is an 8.54 percent increase and provided statistics on inflation for the nation and metro area as well as cost of living increases for other agencies. He stated that none of those statistics justify the 8.54 percent increase for the City. He reviewed some of the proposed increases from neighboring communities, which are half the rate Ramsey is proposing. He stated that based on that information he will not support an increase of this amount. Councilmember LeTourneau thanked Councilmember Riley for sharing that information. He stated that this is a difficult decision and the Council has spent a number of hours to come to this point. He stated that the Council works with staff and the community at large throughout the year to come to a plan for moving forward and these numbers reflect the goals the community would like to accomplish. He explained that it may not be fair to compare the rates of the City to other cities because those communities have different needs and goals. He believed that this rate is reasonable for the activities that the City needs to accomplish. Councilmember Kuzma stated that the City's Strategic Plan helps to drive these budget discussions. He noted that the need to update roads and infrastructure is a huge element. He explained that because the City did not choose to go with franchise fees, the road debt has to be bonded for and that puts pressure on the levy. Mayor Strommen agreed that the road improvement costs put pressure on the levy. She stated that there was a time in the past when the roads were not included in the budget at all because they were not at the point where they needed repair. She stated that there has been discussion regarding franchise fees and the City instead chose a hybrid of bonding and assessment, which is ultimately funded through property taxes. She stated that in the past, there was no money in the budget for the roads. She stated that if a lower number is set, the City would need to look for a reduction in services, whether it would be roads that are not fixed or plowed. She stated that when comparing the rates of other cities, you would have to also consider if those cities have City Council/September 26, 2017 Page 6 of 8