08-14-2024 Workshop Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL LITTLE CANADA, MINNESOTA AUGUST 14, 2024 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a Workshop meeting of the City Council of Little Canada, Minnesota was convened on the 14th day of August, 2024 in the Conference Room of the City Center located at 515 Little Canada Road in said City. Mayor Tom Fischer called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and the following members of the City Council were present at roll call: ROLL CALL: In attendance were Mayor Fischer, City Council Members T. Miller, Gutierrez,' Kwapick and D. Miller. Absent: None. ALSO PRESENT: City Administrator Chris Heineman, Finance Director Sam Magureanu, Community Relations Manager Laura Linehan and City Clerk/HR Manager Heidi Heller. REVIEW 2025 PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR POLICE, FIRE AND ADMINISTRATION The Finance Director stated that tonight will be the first review of the preliminary budget for the 2025 police services, fire services and city administration. He explained that the Ramsey County Sheriff s Department police services cost for Little Canada is $1,543,748, which is a 7.07% increase. He noted that police service costs alone are 3% of the city's levy. The City Administrator explained that labor and liability insurance costs are unknown so estimated numbers were used since actual amounts will likely not be determined for several months. The City Administrator reported that Little Canada received a one-time payment of $471,000 from the state for public safety aid, and staff is proposing to put $450,000 of this amount towards the final $650,000 payment for the new Little Canada Fire Department ladder truck. He explained that without using these funds for the fire truck, the Fire Fund will be impacted going forward. By utilizing this one-time payment, it would enable us to decrease the current levy in the Fire Fund from $160,000 to $130,000 and reallocate this amount to the General Capital Fund which is currently at $100,000. He stated that the Little Canada Fire Department 2025 budget includes a 5% increase. The Finance Director explained that the administration department covers daily administration, city clerk's office, finance and community engagement and communications and the proposed budget is an increase of 8.22%. He reported the increase covers salary adjustments, increased IT costs and annual subscriptions for a survey and community engagement platform and a website content accessibility compliance software. The City Administrator reviewed items that are not included in the budget at this point, including a part-time project management/maintenance position to manage city building improvement projects. He noted that this could also be done through a contract. The Finance Director reviewed preliminary estimated tax capacity values and tax rates for 2025 as actual numbers are not yet available. He explained tax capacity values and why they are important. He noted that in 2024 Little Canada has the second lowest city tax rate in Ramsey County.