|
MOUNDS VIEW
<br />City of Mounds View Staff Report
<br />Item No: 8.D.
<br />Meeting Date: September 11, 2023
<br />Type of Business: Council Business
<br />City Administrator Review:
<br />To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
<br />From: Mark Beer, Finance Director
<br />Item Title/Subject: Resolution 9803 Authorizing Certification of the Preliminary General
<br />Fund Budget and Preliminary Property Tax Levy for Fiscal Year 2024
<br />State law requires that the City certify a preliminary General Fund Budget and preliminary property tax
<br />levy to Ramsey County by September 30. The City Council reviewed the General Fund budget at the
<br />May Special work session, June work session, and the September work session and will review the
<br />budget again before final approval in December.
<br />The Charter limits the levy increase to 6.5% with a simple majority or up to 9% with a 4/5ths super majority
<br />unless otherwise excluded (referendums and debt service/capital levies are excluded from the charter
<br />limit). (Inflation is 3.2% for the 12 months ending in July) Each 1 % levy increase is an additional $64,798.
<br />The state has certified Local Government Aid (LGA) for 2024 at $1,026,470.
<br />The Strategic Plan adopted by the City Council calls for less dependence on LGA. LGA is
<br />included in the General Fund budget at 90% of the certified amount. The Strategic Plan also
<br />calls for reducing dependence on the Levy Reduction Assigned Fund balance by 5-8% per year.
<br />Prior budgets have used $250,000, we used $232,000 for 2023 to balance the budget. For 2024,
<br />$226,000 is proposed and $220,000 for 2025 is proposed to meet the goal of the Strategic Plan.
<br />Unassigned fund balance was $5,273,021 at December 31, 2022 and represents 52.2% of draft 2024
<br />budgeted expenditures and transfers out. The Assigned Levy Reduction fund balance was $3,147,607
<br />at December 31, 2022 and will be approximately $2,171,607 at December 31, 2023.
<br />Staff is recommending that the preliminary levy be set at 7.5% to provide flexibility for the Council in case
<br />there are unforeseen challenges between now and final adoption. The goal is to have the smallest levy
<br />increase needed. The base General Fund levy would be $5,723,931 and special levies for Fire Debt
<br />Service of $88,910, 2004 police personnel referendum of $255,000, 2017 police personnel referendum
<br />of $130,000, PERA rate increase special levy of $39,145 for a total General Fund levy of $6,236,986. A
<br />debt service levy for the 2017A PW Facility Debt Service is $416,293, an increase of $2,310 over 2023.
<br />A base levy for the Street Improvement fund of $150,000 will be continued for 2024. The EDA levy of
<br />$100,000 is no increase over 2023. The total of all base and special levies proposed is $6,903,279,
<br />6.54% increase over 2023. Once this amount is set, the levy cannot be increased but can be lowered.
<br />The final levy will be adopted on or about December 11, 2023 along with the General Fund budget and
<br />all other City budgets. The EDA levy will be set in a separate resolution.
<br />The draft General Fund budget for preliminary approval is $10,095,400. This amount is subject to change
<br />as the Council gets additional information and provides additional direction to staff before final approval
<br />in December.
<br />Respectfully submitted,
<br />Mark Beer, Finance Director
<br />The Mounds View Vision
<br />A Thriving Desirable Community
<br />
|