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<br />Interim City Administrator Nelson inquired about the timeline the County is seeking in terms of <br />opting in or out of the EDA, and whether the policy question regarding the EDA funds being <br />kept in a separate pot for Ramsey would be answered in time for the decision on whether to opt <br />m. <br /> <br />Ms. Skepper indicated there should be the ability for the HRA Board to reach some consensus <br />prior to the time needed for a commitment. The County is requesting that the resolution of <br />participation be sent to the County by early September. There will be a special meeting on <br />September 11, 2007, to accept the resolutions that come in and to adopt the budget and set a <br />preliminary levy at that time. <br /> <br />Interim City Administrator Nelson inquired about the timeline for the EDA work plan. <br /> <br />Ms. Skepper replied the work plan will be simple for the first year and will likely include a <br />feasibility study for high speed internet. <br /> <br />Interim City Administrator Nelson indicated this topic will be brought back before the Council in <br />August after some of the additional information has been fleshed out. She asked whether the <br />City EDA has had an opportunity to formally discuss this. <br /> <br />Mr. Chris Riley, Chairperson of the EDA, stated the City is very involved with economic <br />development, with staff and an EDA. It sounds like the City is ahead of the County in doing <br />this; this would be a great idea for the cities that do not have an EDA. With the additional <br />support there will be additional bureaucracy, and another level of asking for the City's money <br />back. It seems like an odd idea to do something regionally, while being concerned about keeping <br />the money local; the two do not really go together. The bottom line is this is really an additional <br />revenue opportunity and additional taxes. <br /> <br />Economic Development Coordinator Sullivan indicated this will be on the next EDA agenda. He <br />stated it would be beneficial to see what portion of ED A funds would be taken out of Ramsey, as <br />currently the City EDA is participating at $10,000 per year for regional economic development. <br /> <br />Ms. Skepper stated if every community participates and $75,000 is levied it will be 56 cents on a <br />$216,000 home. It will be difficult to provide a set dollar amount without knowing how many <br />communities will participate. <br /> <br />Economic Development Coordinator Sullivan inquired about the current HRA levy, which is <br />allowed at 0.14% of the taxable market value. <br /> <br />Ms. Skepper indicated this information can be provided to Mr. Sullivan; the HRA levy is below <br />the 0.14%. <br /> <br />2) 2008 General Fund Budget <br /> <br />Interim City Administrator Nelson indicated the 2008 General Fund Budget will be reviewed <br />tonight. Direction is needed from Council on a couple of items in relation to the budget. The <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / July 31, 2007 <br />Page 8 of 18 <br />