2003 CAFR - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

REPORTING ENTITY The funds and entities related to the City included in our Comprehensive Annual Financial Report are those for which the City is financially accountable. The criteria used in determining the reporting entity are consistent with those established by GASB. Based on these criteria, all funds and account groups, departments and commissions of the City and the Ramsey Economic Development Authority, which is a blended component unit, are included in this report. GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE, LOCAL ECONOMIC CONDITION AND OUTLOOK Ramsey is located in the southwestern part of Anoka County and is situated approximately 25 miles from Minneapolis. The City has 28.8 square miles within its corporate boundaries and is bordered by two major rivers, the Mississippi River along the south and the Rum River along the east. Ramsey incorporated as a City in 1974, and is organized as a Home Rule City under a City Charter originally adopted in 1984. The City Council consists of a Mayor and six Councilmembers, and is elected at large on a nonpartisan basis. Elections are held in November of each even numbered year. The terms of office are four years for the Mayor and four years for Councilmembers. The City Council is responsible for enacting ordinances, resolutions, and regulations governing the City, and appointing the City Administrator, City Attorney, and members of the various advisory boards and commissions. 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's General Fund has two major categories of funding sources, which accounted for 70% of the total revenue in 2003: general property taxes at 53% and transfers from other funds at 17 %. In prior years, intergovernmental revenue was the second largest category of revenue for the General Fund. Intergovernmental revenue includes state aids, such as Local Government Aid (LGA), Market Value Homestead Credit (MVHC), Highway Maintenance Aid, Fire Relief Aid, and Police Aid and county grants. Due to the State of Minnesota budget deficits, year 2003 saw a total reduction in LGA to the City in the amount of $303,000, and a reduction in MVHC of $174,000 from an original amount of $461,000. This represented a total reduction of intergovernmental revenue in the amount of $477,000. The State of Minnesota did allow cities the ability to levy up to 60% of the lost 2003 aid in 2004. The State of Minnesota also put in place severe levy limits for 2004. Cities were only allowed to levy up to 60% of lost state aids, but were not allowed to capture any commercial and residential market value growth. To compensate for the lost aid and strict levy limits, the City implemented a franchise fee on gas and electric utility customers at the rate of $3 per meter. The franchise fee is to sunset December 31, 2004. The City has an unemployment rate of 5% in comparison to the state's average of 5% and a national average of 6 %. Anoka County, in which Ramsey is located, has an employed labor force of approximately 179,965. v