07-08-2010 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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JT CITY COUNCIL/CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING July 8,2010 APPROVED 135 conduct in the code and as well a council produced code from 2006 and he doesn't see an 136 issue with what's in place or issues in the area of conduct. 137 138 Commissioner Dahl explained that there didn't seem to be any language on conflict of 139 interest and as well they have found in doing research that some codes seem to cover 140 better the boards and commissions. 141 142 Commissioner Drennen noted that the language doesn't include the words "conflict of 143 interest" or deal with gifts and favors. That isn't seen as strong enough. 144 145 Mayor Reinert suggested that if the language isn't complete, then perhaps an update is 146 possible. 147 148 Council Member O'Donnell suggested that bringing the codes of conduct together is a 149 fine idea but in the interest of maintaining the original intent of the code that the council 150 adopted which was to focus on how the council interacts within its body and with staff 151 and he wouldn't want to see that intent lost with any revisions. 152 153 Commissioner Lyden remarked that a change in the enforcement process may be 154 warranted; the body policing itself doesn't always work well. 155 156 D. Tax Cap Amendment—Commissioner Trehus noted the information provided in the 157 packet that indicates that the increases in the city levy have outgrown the population �-- 158 increases. A number of cities in the region have enacted measures to cap tax increases. 159 Lino Lakes is a little different in that there is no budgeting for road improvements and so 160 he has added an estimated cost for those improvements into his figures. He feels the cap 161 is a strong need with the pending end of the state levy limits. When looking at the 162 adopted levy for 2008-2010, Mr. Trehus complimented last year's council for decreasing 163 the 2010 levy. 164 165 Council Member Rafferty distributed a recent Letter to the Editor written by 166 Commissioner Trehus on the subject of the tax levy. He asked to use the letter as grounds 167 for gaining more information and he has noted that on the back of the handout. He has 168 spoken with staff for additional information on some of the elements—population, city 169 budget ten years back, comparison of dollars and cents over the years, and particular 170 impacts on the budget over those years. It's important to take a historical view of the 171 information with clarity on what the budget has had to support over the period in 172 question. 173 174 Mayor Reinert noted that tax caps can look like a great idea on the surface but can 175 sometimes end up choking a city. For instance a cap could prevent an investment in 176 maintaining roads that pays off big in the long run. He identifies himself as a fiscal 177 conservative and understands a tax cap can look like a great idea but the whole picture is 178 important. The electorate can remove officials who are not taxing appropriately. He 179 doesn't see a problem to solve with tax cap right now. 4