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<br />Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Heineman, Councilmembers Riley, Specht, Buscher, Olson, <br />Peters, and Stewart. Voting No: None. <br />Mayor Heineman closed the public hearing at 7:33 p.m. <br />Council Business <br /> <br />Councilmember Riley noted that, as part of the Consent Agenda, they decertified TIF District #16. <br />He asked if this was included in all of the numbers presented. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund noted that this amount is very small and has not been calculated in. <br /> <br />Councilmember Riley suggested reducing the levy by this amount. <br /> <br />Councilmember Buscher asked for an explanation as to why some cities in Anoka County receive <br />Local Government Aid (LGA), yet Ramsey does not. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund explained that this is formula-driven, and most growing communities do <br />not receive any LGA, whereas older cities do receive this LGA. <br /> <br />Councilmember Buscher added that other cities do not have their own Police or Fire Departments, <br />which allows them to have smaller budgets. She also noted that some cities use franchise fees or <br />other taxes for revenue. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund shared that Coon Rapids generates around $4,400,000 in franchise fees. <br />She noted that other cities also have liquor stores or will soon have cannabis dispensaries that will <br />also help create revenues. <br /> <br />Councilmember Buscher thanked Finance Director Lund for all of her work on the budget. <br /> <br />Motion by Councilmember Peters, seconded by Councilmember Olson, to adopt Resolutions #25- <br />288 Adopting the 2025 Payable 2026 Municipal Tax Levies (General, Pavement Management, <br />EDA, and Debt Service) in the amount of $23,376,916, to include a reduction of the decertified <br />TIF District #16, making the amount $23,338,916. <br /> <br />Further Discussion: <br /> <br />Councilmember Riley said the City is spending too much on this budget. He stated that the Council <br />wanted the increase to be less than 10% and this is a 12% increase in spending. He noted that they <br />were able to find additional revenues rather than reducing spending. He said he will not be <br />supporting this budget. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht shared that he believes the City needs to work on improving spending. He <br />said he will also not be supporting this budget. <br /> <br />City Council / December 9, 2025 <br />Page 5 of 11 <br /> <br />