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City of Lino Lakes, Minnesota Page 3 • The administration of these amendments means the City has to incur the costs of elections to pay for new utilities or service districts. The result is: (a) the cost to administer the election including ballot language, notices, hearings, and election facilitation is borne one or more times; (b) the language is unclear and confusing, which means time will be spent interpreting the language and explaining how it fits with state law; (c) staff will spend time explaining the citywide impact, resulting in additional costs for mailings and newspaper brochures, without which the voter will be uninformed; d) at a time when cities are streamlining processes, this would be adding processes for situations that are already authorized in state law. • Losing the City's competitive edge is a concern. An effective way to lower taxes and fees is to spread them further by retaining existing members of the community and to attract new residents and employers who provide excellent salaries and benefits. All of this leads to economic vitality for the community and financial health. Infrastructure condition, safety, amenities, convenience, education systems, overall appearance and community support are business considerations. The proposed Charter amendments seem to look inward only rather than looking forward, while neighboring cities are sizing up their competition and preparing to be more attractive for development. In conclusion, the proposed amendment in Section 7 is difficult to understand, as written. Adopting part of state law and modifying it has proven difficult in the past as it creates new terminology and interpretations than are not always defensible, should there be a challenge. The proposed amendment would need to be modified before it could be administered. An attorney familiar with state levy laws may be a good resource, Overall, I encourage the City of Lino Lakes to think about where the community should be in the next 5, 10, 15 and 20 years by considering the following questions: 1. Does this type of amendment align with plans for the future direction of the City? 2. Does it provide the flexibility to compete? 3. Does it ensure bondholders and rating agencies that Lino Lakes is a well- managed City poised to be successful in the long -term and able to pay obligations? 4. Will the City of Lino Lakes struggle even more to provide services during the economic downturn if this amendment passes? This amendment is well intended, but financially it is not sound policy and it will not reduce costs long -term, Please let me know if you would like to discuss further or if you have any questions. Sincerely, C.,1QA)Lt Terri Y. Heaton, Senior Vice President Client Representative