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~, 1 '~J City Council Minutes December 7, 1994 Page 2 n .u and expenditures. The total city budget amounts to 52,695,605, with the general fund making up 51,094,473 of the total. The largest increase in expenditures for 1995 will be for police services, due to a new police contract that will provide 24 hour a day patrol services. Falcon Heights proposes to levy less revenue in 1995 than in 1994. In 1994, the city levied 5527,852 and in 1995 is proposing to levy only 5520,867. However, the average single family homeowner will still see property tax increases due to two reasons: 11 a decrease in commercial-industrial property values and 2) rising residential property valuations. Councilmember Gehrz noted that 2/3 of the land in Falcon Heights is owned by the State Fair and the University of Minnesota -neither of which pays city taxes. Mayor Baldwin opened the public hearing at 7:20 p.m. Dan Stout, 1914 Holton Street, asked what the city would be getting for the extra 570,000 that it will cost to have the St. Anthony Police contract. Mayor Baldwin responded that St. Anthony would be providing an officer in Falcon Heights 24 hours per day. The contract with Roseville had Falcon Heights as a part of a larger patrol district and the assigned officer was not always available to patrol Falcon Heights. The council decided to contract with St. Anthony after receiving numerous requests from residents for more police visibility. These comments were received both informally and at community meetings held on the subject. Ann Stout, 1914 Holton Street, admitted that she was not involved in the meetings that were held on policing, but that she has a very hard time justifying an additional 570,000 in police expenses when the current provider is winning awards such as the National Night Out award presented earlier in the evening. She also noted that she sees the police quite often in her neighborhood. Councilmember Hustad stated that while he was running for office a year ago, police visibility was the number one issue among constituents. The Roseville Police were only patrolling Falcon Heights an average of nine hours per day. The St. Anthony Police Department will provide 24 hour patrol, plus work with businesses and crime prevention. Councilmember Hustad also noted St. Anthony's excellent record of crime resolution. Dan Stout replied that Falcon Heights really has very little crime and again asked what the 570,000 was going to buy for the residents of Falcon Heights. Councilmember Gehrz stated that she too ran for office last year and discovered that the only people who were satisfied with the level of police patrol were those living near Roselawn Avenue, where Falcon Heights borders Roseville. She suggested that