Minutes - Council Work Session - 11/23/2021

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Councilmember Heineman commented, to Councilmember Riley’s point, it is very inexpensive to boost posts on Facebook as a way to increase communication. He felt this would be a way to add due diligence. Councilmember Specht stated they do boost some posts. Communications and Events Coordinator Thorstad replied that Facebook posts have already been boosted. Traditionally, posts are boosted if event information or job postings are included and consideration is taken as to which posts are boosted due to budgetary considerations. She felt it could be worth more discussion. Councilmember Heineman replied that should be sufficient, that it shows a good faith effort to push information. Councilmember Specht commented that he follows the City of Elk River for comparison and to gain ideas. He stated that one idea he gleaned was a posting with a summary of the City Council meeting the following day with highlights of items that had passed. He wondered if any of the Councilmembers would be open to doing something similar for Ramsey. 2.02: Discussion and Update of 2022 Budget/ Levy Finance Director Lund stated the property tax statements were mailed in the past couple of days. She has received just two calls from residents. One was a question about the franchise fee and the special assessments. The other was about property taxes. She was unclear if there was general acceptance of the new structure or if the statements haven’t been looked at yet. Finance Director Lund stated that the 2022 Budget and Levy is due for final adoption at the next meeting, which is on the December 14, 2021 agenda. The purpose of tonight’s discussion is to determine the final levy amount and budget. She reviewed the Staff report. City Administrator Ulrich highlighted the memberships and events that the City sponsors, stating these are more discretionary. Finance Director Lund stated that the purchase of four printers has been postponed to 2023. It doesn’t impact the tax levy but it did reduce the budget and the corresponding funds. Councilmember Musgrove referenced the membership information and asked about funding for Youth First, North Metro Mayors Association, and the Manufacturing Cohort. She stated Anoka pulled the Youth First funding because it was felt that other programs were more directly related to their residents. From previous discussion, the City does a cash contribution of $1,500 but there are also in-kind contributions in the form of rental. In 2019, that amount was around $47,000. She mentioned funding comes from the Gambling Fund, but wondered if there were updates from Staff on the in-kind contributions and questioned how the Council felt about it. City Council Work Session / November 23, 2021 Page 3 of 15