12-02-99 Council Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL DECEMBER 2, 1999 The Accountant reviewed a pie chart showing the distribution of the tax dollar based on a median value home of $126,100 for the year 2000. She noted that 40% of the tax dollar goes to School District #623, 38% to Ramsey County, 15% to the City, and 7% to miscellaneous taxing jurisdictions. Percentages are relative the same for School District #624. The Accountant reviewed the status of the 2000 General Fund, noting that revenues are projected to be up by 7.65% for a totai of $1,889,000. This is primarily due to an increase in property tax revenues of $53,300, resulting from the tax stabilization priority established by the Debt Levy Reduction Committee and the affect of the use of reserves from the 1999 Budget. License and permit revenues are projected to increase by $27,100. The City is continuing to realize building permit revenue increases due to several office building developments. However, this trend is not expected to continue. HACA revenue will increase by $45,300. These funds are allocated to both the General Fund and Debt Service Funds. However, as the debt levy drops, a greater portion of the HACA funds will be allocated to the General Fund each year. The Accountant reviewed a pie chart that showed that property taxes make up the bulk of General Fund revenues at 58%. State Aids make up 27%, and the remaining 15% comes from sources such as fines, license and permits, interest and charges for services. The Accountant reported that the total estimated expenses for 2000 are $7,373,611. This is made up of $1.8 million for the General Fund, $125,000 for Parks & Recreation and Cable Funds, $1.8 million for Sewer and Water Funds, $2.5 million for Capital Improvements and $900,000 for Debt Service Funds. It should be noted that the total budget can vary dramatically from year to year depending on many factors such as utility collections, changes in total debt service obligations, and the amount of scheduled infrastructure improvements. The Accountant reported that General Fund expenses are up 3.5% from 1999. Some highlights include an increase in fire marshal expenses given the addition of a second part-time employee, a decrease in the Sheriffls Department contract of 12%, and an increase in park maintenance expenditures 7%. The Accountant noted that protective inspections expenses (building, plumbing, mechanical inspections) are estimated to increase by approximately $26,000. However, increased revenues of~'set this expense. The Accountant reviewed a graph that shows that over the past seven years there has been a slow steady climb in expenses without any major increases. Since 1994, increases have averaged about 3.8% per year.