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2.03: Review Proposed 2025 Schedule of Rates, Fees, and Charges <br /> <br />City Clerk Schmidt reviewed the Staff report in regard to the proposed 2025 schedule of rates, <br />fees, and charges. <br /> <br />Councilmember Howell asked about the residential demo permit which had the word ‘residential’ <br />added. She asked if this is still the same permit, now just clarifying that it is for residential. <br /> <br />City Administrator Hagen stated that this is just specifically stating that this type of permit is for <br />residential homes and not commercial projects. <br /> <br />Councilmember Howell asked what projects require a residential demo permit. <br /> <br />City Administrator Hagen said this would be for things like tearing down an entire home. He noted <br />that an inspector would go out to the property to make sure it was done properly, and that the <br />basement was backfilled. <br /> <br />Mayor Kuzma asked if they are doing away with the room rental deposits completely. <br /> <br />City Clerk Schmidt said yes. <br /> <br />Councilmember Riley asked if they are suggesting that all credit cards will be charged 3%. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund explained that this would be strictly for anything related to building permits <br />and rental licensing. She added that the utility bill fees are already rolled into the rates so there is <br />no need for an additional fee on these. She shared that neighboring cities have credit card fees for <br />building permits at varying percentages. She noted that they spent over $44,000 in credit card fees <br />for building permits this year. She explained that there are some cities that have transaction fees <br />on their utilities and Ramsey used to have this years ago; however, this did not sit well with the <br />residents. <br /> <br />Councilmember Musgrove asked if the cost for the credit card fees is built into the utility budget <br />or the charges. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund explained that when she put together the enterprise budget, they have the <br />revenues and the expenses, and the credit card charges are a negative against the revenue. She <br />noted that the revenue has to support the expenditures of the budget to cover the costs as well as <br />capital projects. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht asked how they collect in total for the streetlights. He shared that in the <br />past they had discussed moving these fees into the budget rather than having a separate fee. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund shared that it will be about $200,000 for operating in 2025. She added that <br />they also use this fund to pay for the streetlights that are coming in. She noted that there are requests <br />in the CIP for streetlights. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / October 22, 2024 <br />Page 6 of 15 <br /> <br />