Minutes - Council Work Session - 07/22/2025

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said she would like to see there be no increase this year; however, she knows that is not very realistic. She agreed with Councilmember Riley about not being supportive of adding any personnel. She said she would like to see the increase be as small as possible. Councilmember Peters stated he would also like to see the increase be between 5% and 7%. Councilmember Olson shared that they played a lot of catch-up last year, which caused a substantial increase, and this year's requests are riding that same wave. He noted he would like the increase to be between 5% and 7%. Councilmember Buscher said she would like to see a single -digit increase. She noted that there are a lot of requests from departments that are not optional and need to be replaced. She stated they need to add the requested Fire and Police Department positions. She explained that she does not want residents to feel like they are being priced out of living in the City; however, she also wants to make sure they are providing the services that the residents need. Councilmember Specht noted that some of the positions have alternate funding sources, which would not impact the budget directly. Mayor Heineman shared that his personal property taxes have increased $4,000 over the last six years that he has lived in Ramsey. He noted that, as much as he would love to move forward with all of these requests, they need to make some tough decisions to alleviate some of this impact on the residents. He said he would like to see the increase at or below 7.4%. Councilmember Specht asked if there are any larger purchases that they want to issue certificates for. City Administrator Hagen said this is always an option. Finance Director Lund shared that the underwriting cost and levy would be an estimate of $184,300 on $1,467,000 bonded for over 10 years. Councilmember Riley said if they cut everything from the budget that has already been outlined on the reductions list, then they would have already decreased the budget by almost $750,000. Finance Director Lund noted that if they removed requests like the Building Inspector role, then they would have to add the contracted services back to the budget, adding $120,000 back into the budget. City Administrator Hagen said that the City Engineer, Engineering Tech II, and Building Inspector positions are already largely offset, so they will likely stay in the revised budget when Staff brings this back to the Council. Councilmember Specht asked if they would be able to put the amount that they are currently spending on contracted services with the request for the new position, so the Council can put things into perspective when they are looking at some of these requested roles. City Council Work Session / July 22, 2025 Page 4 of 6