08-20-2025 Workshop Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL LITTLE CANADA, MINNESOTA AUGUST 20, 2025 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a Workshop meeting of the City Council of Little Canada, Minnesota was convened on the 20th day of August 2025 in the Conference Room in the City Center located at 515 Little Canada Road in said City. Mayor Tom Fischer called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. and the following members of the City Council were present at roll call: ROLL CALL: In attendance were Mayor Fischer and City Council Members Miller, Malone, and Kwapick. Absent: Gutierrez. ALSO PRESENT: City Administrator Bryce Shearen, Assistant City Administrator Laura Linehan, Public Works Director Bill Dircks, Finance Director Sam Magureanu, Community Development Director Ben Harrington, Parks & Rec Director Steve Anderson and City Clerk/HR Manager Heidi Heller. 2026 BUDGET DISCUSSION The Finance Director reviewed the six main budgets that make up the total city operations funding each year: General Fund Budget, Capital Funds Budget, Special Revenue Funds Budget, Utility Funds Budget, Debt Service Funds Budget and Tax Increment Financing Funds Budget. He explained that the General Fund Budget is 77% of the city's total budget amounts and is used to carry out police, fire, public works and maintenance, parks and recreation, and election services. He noted that the discussion this evening will focus on the General Fund Budget. The Finance Director reported that the current proposed levy for 2026 is 11.38% or $561,000. He reported that the 2026 proposed budget for Ramsey County police services is increasing by 13.44% or $270,930, which is 5.47% of the city's levy amount. He noted that largest part of the Sheriff s Department increases for next year are due to personnel costs and new labor contracts. He stated that the Little Canada Fire Department budget is increasing by 8.95% which equates to about 1.0% of the levy. He noted that police and fire service costs make up over half of the city's levy increase. The Finance Director stated that city personnel services are proposed for a 15.69% increase. He explained that the city may potentially contract to provide building inspection services for a second city. He stated that Little Canada would then hire two new positions but noted that over half of that cost would be reimbursed if the new contract happens. He noted that these positions would not be added if the new contract is not signed. He stated that funds were added to the budget for a full compensation study to be done in 2026. The Assistant City Administrator explained why doing a compensation study is recommended to do about every five years. She stated that the last study was only a market analysis using 2021 data and only worked within the existing old wage scale rather than building a new scale. The Finance Director reviewed the Capital Improvement Fund (400) levy of 1.41 % or $70,000, and noted that many cities bond every year to pay for their street projects or capital improvement budget whereas Little Canada has been able to pay cash for all projects over the years other than a couple of large ones, such as constructing the new Public Works Shop.