12-05-05 Council Special Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL DECEMBER 5, 2005 $92,8001oss of MVHC. The Director noted that without that cut, General Fund taxes would have only been up 6.26%. The Director reviewed a graph reflecting General Fund revenue trends, noting that revenues have had only slight growth since 1995, averaging 4.09% per year. She also noted that the City's reliance on property taxes has shown a dramatic increase pointing ouC that in 1995 property taxes accounted for 55% of the General Fund revenues compared to 77% for 2006. The Director reviewed 2006 General Fund expense highlights noting that expenses have increased by 5.4%, with Election year expense at $6,326, Public Works expense up 6.7%, Sheriff Contract increase of 8.1%, and Health Insurance costs up $6,759. The Director noted that the increase in Public Works expense is attributable to a continuation of a proactive streeC maintenance program involving crack filling and seal coating of streets. The Sheriff Contract increase includes the City's share of a second traffic car which will be added in May of 2006 to coincide with the Unweave the Weave traffic impact. The Director reviewed a graph depicting General Fund expenditure trends, noting the average increase over the last ten years is 4.85%. During this period, the city has absorbed some large dollar increases in police and fire expenses. The Director revised 2003 per capita spending for all basic services based on the 2003 State Auditor's Summary. She noted that since 2001, Little Canada has had the lowest per capita spending of the Ramsey County cities. The Director next reviewed the 2006 Proposed Budget by fund which is as follows: General Fund $2,519,928 Park & Rec/Cable TV Funds 158,605 Sewer & Water Funds 2,135,379 Capital Improvement Funds 3,483,728 Debt Service Funds 514.735 Total Budget $8,812,375 The Director noted that capital improvements can account for dramatic swings in the City's total budget depending on what projects are planned for the coming year. Capital improvement budgeted spending for 2006 is $434,713 less than the 2005 Budget. Overall spending for 2005 was $9,374,609.