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State statutes limit the amount of general obligation debt a governmental entity may issue to three percent of its <br />total assessed valuation. The current legal debt margin for the City is $95,848,108. <br />The City has sufficient funds on hand to make all required bond payments, and anticipates an ongoing stream of <br />revenue to make future bond payments. <br />Additional details of the long-term debt activity for the year can be found in Note 6 of the notes to basic financial <br />statements. <br />ECONOMIC FACTORS AND NEXT YEAR'S BUDGETS AND RATES <br />• The unemployment rate for the City is currently 2.6%, which is an increase from a rate of 2.2% a year <br />ago. The state of Minnesota shows an average unemployment rate of 2.6%, whereas, nationally the <br />unemployment rate is 3.8%. <br />• The housing market has increased the City's estimated market value from $4.499 billion in 2023/taxes <br />payable 2024 to $4.529 billion in 2024/taxes payable 2025 for a percentage increase of approximately <br />1%. <br />• Inflationary trends in the region compare favorably to national indices. <br />All of these factors were considered in preparing the City of Ramsey's budget for the 2025 fiscal year. <br />The water, sewer, street lighting and storm utility rates were increased for the 2025 budget year. The water <br />utility, which has a tiered rate structure, will increase by an average of 10% for all customers. The sewer utility, <br />which has a flat rate structure for residential accounts only, will see an increase of 5%. Commercial sewer <br />accounts, whose charges are based on their water usage, will also see a rate increase of 5%. Street light utility <br />will increase 2% for all residential customers who have subdivision street lights. Storm water utility will increase <br />an average of 15%. The increased rates not only offset current maintenance costs and depreciation, but are being <br />used to finance the on -going construction of the water treatment plant and other future utility improvements that <br />are documented in the City's ten-year Capital Improvement Plan. <br />REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION <br />Questions concerning any of the information provided in this report or requests for additional information should <br />be addressed by writing to the City of Ramsey, 7550 Sunwood Drive Northwest, Ramsey, MN 55303 or by <br />calling (763) 427-1410. <br />36 <br />