HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packets - 2025/09/02
CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AGENDA
MOUNDS VIEW CITY HALL
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Lindstrom, Gunn, Meehlhause, Clark, Smith
Council Work Sessions are informal gatherings of the council at which no final
decisions are made, rather consensus discussion to direct staff on council
decision items.
AGENDA ITEMS DISCUSSED BY CONSENSUS
1. Silver Lake Road Discussion – CM Clark
2. 2026 Preliminary Budget and Levy Discussion Continued
3. Review Revize, LLC. Website Options – Nyle
4. Price Transparency Ordinance – Verbal update - Nyle
5. Collective Bargaining Unit Member Grievance – Discussion on hearing
PUBLIC COMMENT
Citizens may speak to issues not on tonight’s agenda. Before speaking,
please give your name and address for the minutes. Also, please limit your
comments to three minutes. As a reminder, public comment is for addressing
the Council only. Comments or concerns regarding Staff must be submitted
in writing to the Mayor or City Administrator. Failure to respect these
guidelines will result in me asking you to cease commenting and asking you
to return to your seat. That said, is there anyone here for public comment?
NEXT COUNCIL WORK SESSION: Monday, October 6, 2025 at 6:00 pm
NEXT COUNCIL MEETING: Monday, September 8, 2025 at 6:00 pm‘
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Item No. 2
Meeting Date: September 2, 2025
Type of Business: Council Work Session
City Administrator Review: ______
City of Mounds View Staff Report
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Gayle Bauman, Finance Director
Item Title/Subject: Review Levy Scenarios and Budget for 2026
COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
Staff is requesting City Council to review and provide feedback on the levy scenarios included in this memo for
2026.
BUDGET
The budget has not had any significant changes since the July work session. The couple of minor changes
requested at the work session were made and changes have been made to wages and benefits to reflect the
preliminary Sergeants agreement and to account for the promotion and increased hours for one of the city hall
front desk employees. Labor negotiations are still ongoing with Patrol and Public Works.
TAX LEVY
City staff has received preliminary value information from the County and are now able to put together some
projections on different tax levy increase amounts.
All scenarios include a decrease to the debt service levy of $2,688. All other levies outside of the General Fund
are set to remain the same as 2025. The tables below show the potential annual impacts to different valued
properties. The lines highlighted in green represent a median valued home in Mounds View.
Scenario #1
Set maximum levy at 6.00% (hopefully this is sufficient to cover any Patrol or Public Works agreements).
The City will be utilizing 100% of LGA for operations.
% levy increase Total levy amt $ levy increase
6.00%7,920,426$ 448,326$
Value of Value of Taxable
Property for Property for Value for $ %
Pay 2025 Pay 2026 Pay 2026 Pay 2025 Pay 2026 CHANGE CHANGE
90,000$ 93,500$ 56,100$ 228$ 242$ 14$ 6.0%
160,000$ 166,300$ 134,700$ 527$ 567$ 40$ 7.6%
240,000$ 249,400$ 225,300$ 879$ 941$ 62$ 7.1%
324,100$ 336,800$ 320,600$ 1,249$ 1,334$ 85$ 6.8%
400,000$ 415,700$ 406,600$ 1,583$ 1,689$ 107$ 6.7%
500,000$ 519,600$ 519,600$ 2,023$ 2,175$ 152$ 7.5%
600,000$ 623,500$ 623,500$ 2,530$ 2,708$ 178$ 7.0%
CITY TAX
Scenario #2
Set maximum levy at 7.50%.
This should cover any outstanding labor negotiations and allow the city to reduce reliance on LGA funds.
Scenario #3
Set maximum levy at 9.00%.
This will cover any outstanding labor negotiations and allow the city to reduce reliance on LGA funds.
A summary of the impact on a median valued home and the city tax rate based on the preliminary value
information is as follows:
% levy increase Total levy amt $ levy increase
7.50%8,032,508$ 560,408$
Value of Value of Taxable
Property for Property for Value for $ %
Pay 2025 Pay 2026 Pay 2026 Pay 2025 Pay 2026 CHANGE CHANGE
90,000$ 93,500$ 56,100$ 228$ 246$ 18$ 7.7%
160,000$ 166,300$ 134,700$ 527$ 576$ 49$ 9.4%
240,000$ 249,400$ 225,300$ 879$ 957$ 78$ 8.8%
324,100$ 336,800$ 320,600$ 1,249$ 1,357$ 108$ 8.6%
400,000$ 415,700$ 406,600$ 1,583$ 1,718$ 135$ 8.5%
500,000$ 519,600$ 519,600$ 2,023$ 2,212$ 189$ 9.3%
600,000$ 623,500$ 623,500$ 2,530$ 2,753$ 223$ 8.8%
CITY TAX
% levy increase Total levy amt $ levy increase
9.00%8,144,589$ 672,489$
Value of Value of Taxable
Property for Property for Value for $ %
Pay 2025 Pay 2026 Pay 2026 Pay 2025 Pay 2026 CHANGE CHANGE
90,000$ 93,500$ 56,100$ 228$ 250$ 22$ 9.4%
160,000$ 166,300$ 134,700$ 527$ 585$ 59$ 11.1%
240,000$ 249,400$ 225,300$ 879$ 972$ 93$ 10.6%
324,100$ 336,800$ 320,600$ 1,249$ 1,379$ 130$ 10.4%
400,000$ 415,700$ 406,600$ 1,583$ 1,746$ 163$ 10.3%
500,000$ 519,600$ 519,600$ 2,023$ 2,248$ 225$ 11.1%
600,000$ 623,500$ 623,500$ 2,530$ 2,799$ 269$ 10.6%
CITY TAX
% CHANGE $ CHANGE 2025 2026 2025 2026 $ CHANGE % CHANGE 2025 2026
6.00% 448,326$ 324,100$ 336,800$ 1,249$ 1,334$ 85$ 6.8% 38.036% 39.026%
7.50% 560,408$ 1,357$ 108$ 8.6%39.721%
9.00% 672,489$ 1,379$ 130$ 10.4%40.415%
CITY TAX RATECITY LEVY MEDIAN VALUE ANNUAL CITY TAX CITY TAX
The Charter limits the levy increase to 6.5% with a simple majority or up to 9% with a 4/5ths super majority unless
otherwise excluded (EDA, referendums and debt service/capital levies are excluded from the charter limit). Each
1% levy increase is an additional $74,721. The state has certified Local Government Aid (LGA) for 2026 at
$1,033,559.
The City Council must adopt a maximum preliminary tax levy by September 30th, and submit it to the County
Auditor. Once this amount is set, the levy cannot be increased but can be lowered. The final levy will be adopted
on or about December 8, 2025.
BUDGET SUMMARY
By Source/Use Type
2023 2024 7/31/2025 2025 2026 $ Increase % Increase
CITY-WIDE SUMMARY Actual Actual YTD Budget Budget (Decrease) (Decrease)
REVENUES
Property Taxes 6,469,030$ 6,829,736$ 3,844,229$ 7,472,100$ 7,897,210$ 425,110$ 5.7%
Other Taxes 2,761,892 2,777,293 1,441,352 2,865,860 2,887,470 21,610 0.8%
Special Assessments 25,123 26,600 18,845 19,860 25,490 5,630 28.3%
Licenses and permits 259,824 311,341 172,653 296,970 328,090 31,120 10.5%
Intergovernmental 2,874,938 2,412,089 1,476,111 2,403,940 2,409,210 5,270 0.2%
Charges for services 4,798,051 4,805,296 3,833,012 5,108,730 5,662,130 553,400 10.8%
Fines & forfeits 38,946 43,578 30,338 40,300 41,700 1,400 3.5%
Investment earnings 1,022,247 950,479 548 52,585 50,000 (2,585) -4.9%
Miscellaneous 585,885 932,576 301,143 312,070 372,520 60,450 19.4%
Transfers in 3,803,465 3,151,422 - 899,742 1,208,389 308,647 34.3%
TOTAL REVENUES 22,639,402$ 22,240,411$ 11,118,231$ 19,472,157$ 20,882,209$ 1,410,052$ 7.2%
EXPENDITURES/EXPENSES
Personnel Expenses 7,171,468$ 7,612,318$ 4,399,476$ 8,206,890$ 8,737,760$ 530,870$ 6.5%
Supplies and Materials 580,215 607,123 298,577 700,976 728,757 27,781 4.0%
Other Services and Charges 5,385,768 5,353,998 3,178,706 5,556,030 5,787,188 231,158 4.2%
Capital Expenditures 2,940,872 1,165,832 1,601,144 7,312,803 2,544,630 (4,768,173) -65.2%
Debt Service 3,170,226 2,397,193 1,773,991 2,814,266 2,720,790 (93,476) -3.3%
Transfers 3,803,465 3,151,422 - 899,742 1,208,389 308,647 34.3%
TOTAL EXPENDITURES/EXPENSES 23,052,014$ 20,287,886$ 11,251,894$ 25,490,707$ 21,727,514$ (3,763,193)$ -14.8%
NET CHANGES IN FUND BALANCE (412,612)$ 1,952,526$ (133,663)$ (6,018,550)$ (845,305)$ 5,173,245$
2023 2024 7/31/2025 2025 2026 $ Increase % Increase
GENERAL FUND Actual Actual YTD Budget Budget (Decrease) (Decrease)
REVENUES
Property taxes 5,805,618$ 6,167,468$ 2,995,208$ 5,788,812$ 6,216,610$ 427,798$ 7.4%
Franchise fee 405,972 350,129 208,090 360,000 400,000 40,000 11.1%
Other taxes 64,788 23,301 (13,736) 39,860 8,070 (31,790) -79.8%
Special assessments 6,084 9,708 10,216 3,980 13,330 9,350 234.9%
Licenses and permits 259,824 311,341 172,653 296,970 328,090 31,120 10.5%
Intergovernmental 1,725,979 1,670,105 808,341 1,607,340 1,645,210 37,870 2.4%
Charges for services 236,538 196,401 175,296 110,340 153,320 42,980 39.0%
Fines & forfeits 32,585 36,486 26,363 36,300 35,700 (600) -1.7%
Investment earnings 513,637 584,244 - 52,585 50,000 (2,585) -4.9%
Miscellaneous 574,951 805,051 285,157 310,070 370,520 60,450 19.5%
Transfers in 193,648 371,868 - 140,282 146,469 6,187 4.4%
TOTAL REVENUES 9,819,623$ 10,526,101$ 4,667,588$ 8,746,539$ 9,367,319$ 620,780$ 7.1%
EXPENDITURES
City Council 49,324$ 58,637$ 38,309$ 62,840$ 64,840$ 2,000$ 3.2%
Advisory Commissions 57,602 33,098 14,410 41,120 34,500 (6,620) -16.1%
City Administrator 366,263 390,891 252,481 461,584 555,960 94,376 20.4%
Elections 41,806 37,606 30,628 39,375 56,180 16,805 42.7%
Finance 412,788 293,034 177,192 292,780 314,780 22,000 7.5%
Central Services 418,968 509,316 247,993 407,800 423,040 15,240 3.7%
Community Development 561,289 447,016 258,684 448,309 534,735 86,426 19.3%
Police 3,606,989 3,894,104 2,233,900 4,155,971 4,454,318 298,347 7.2%
Fire 691,208 898,905 509,388 772,474 816,630 44,156 5.7%
Park Maintenance 553,792 567,000 275,768 618,670 592,665 (26,005) -4.2%
Forestry 295,871 234,694 122,029 202,460 229,400 26,940 13.3%
Public Works Admin 133,481 170,343 96,873 175,200 184,305 9,105 5.2%
Bldgs & Grounds 183,230 223,170 119,625 231,925 237,215 5,290 2.3%
Veh/Equip Maintenance 169,231 165,252 99,798 176,621 181,071 4,450 2.5%
Street Pavement Mgmt 260,864 275,746 169,949 298,815 301,790 2,975 1.0%
Snow & Ice Control 179,874 183,751 100,700 203,190 220,840 17,650 8.7%
Sign Maintenance 51,328 55,442 32,273 75,235 78,370 3,135 4.2%
Convention/Visitor Bureau 55,345 - - - - - N/A
Other 90,029 79,907 73,362 82,170 86,680 4,510 5.5%
Transfers out 3,241,620 2,482,881 - - - - N/A
TOTAL EXPENDITURES 11,420,901$ 11,000,791$ 4,853,363$ 8,746,539$ 9,367,319$ 620,780$ 7.1%
NET CHANGE IN FUND BALANCE (1,601,277)$ (474,690)$ (185,775)$ -$ -$ -$ N/A
COMPARISON OF PROPERTY TAXES
Proposed Increase %
2023 2024 2025 2026 (Decrease) Change
General Fund 5,264,490 5,705,420 5,279,172 5,796,610 517,438 9.80%
Community Center 450,000 450,000 - 0.00%
Vehicle & Equipment 280,000 280,000 - 0.00%
Special Projects 75,000 75,000 - 0.00%
Fire Bonds 127,164 88,910 89,640 - (89,640) -100.00%
PERA 39,145 39,145 - - - N/A
2003 PD referendum 255,000 255,000 280,000 280,000 - 0.00%
2017 PD referendum 130,000 130,000 140,000 140,000 - 0.00%
EDA Fund 100,000 100,000 160,000 160,000 - 0.00%
Capital Improvements 150,000 150,000 300,000 300,000 - 0.00%
Debt Service 413,983 416,293 418,288 415,600 (2,688) -0.64%
TOTAL LEVY 6,479,782 6,884,768 7,472,100 7,897,210 425,110 5.69%
Change from previous year 4.9% 6.2% 8.5% 5.69%
Item No: 03
Meeting Date: 09/02/2025
Type of Business: Work Session
Administrator Review: ____
City of Mounds View Staff Report
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Nyle Zikmund, City Administrator
Item Title/Subject: Website Design Upgrade and Hosting Agreement with
Revize, LLC.
Introduction:
The City of Mounds View initially entered into a four-year agreement with Revize back in
December of 2016. If the Council concurs, the City would now like to have Revize
perform a design upgrade as it has been nearly nine years since the new website was
launched and five years since any features were added.
Discussion:
The initial contract with Revize stated that after the four-year agreement was reached, it
would automatically renew if the City did nothing. In 2020, the City entered into a
revised agreement, which added several features. There have been no upgrades to the
City’s website since that time.
Prompted by resident feedback on mobile usability and internal challenges related to
document management and notification limitations of Revize, Council instructed staff to
evaluate an alternative website platform, CivicPlus, a platform commonly utilized by
local governments. The purpose of the research was to determine whether CivicPlus
would better serve our operational needs, improve user experience with regard to
mobile devices, and provide more comprehensive support and functionality at a cost
that would be affordable for the City. However, the cost-effectiveness of switching to this
platform does not fit with an affordable solution. Additionally, Staff has heard that,
driven by the need for more cost-effective solutions, many metro cities are migrating
from CivicPlus to Revize because they deliver a better value.
City staff has since met with Revize, our current platform. After meeting with Revize
and discussing our website needs, they have provided the City with the following quote:
Annual Website Support: $2,760 (This is the current fee that we are paying annually
and Revize has indicated that it would remain the same in the new five-year contract).
The only fee associated with redesign would involve migrating current pages and
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documents to the new site. There are approximately 2,900 documents on our website.
Revize suggests that we migrate approximately 1000 of those documents rather than all
of them as most of them are not currently linked to anything on our website or are tied to
the old website. What is not migrated will be put on a zip file in case we would like to
use the files in the future. If the City adds both chatbot and the mobile app, Revize
will waive the migration fee of our current documents. Not sure what the migration
fee will be if we do not add both but we can find that out.
The following are the upgrades we need to consider at this time if we continue with
Revise:
Mobile App:
One time build fee: $6500
Annual Support Fee: $3,400
The Mobile App would include push notifications.
Or
If we do not choose the mobile app, at a minimum to meet the City’s needs, we would
need to add Text to E-Notifications. The shortcoming of adding text notification is that
it is limited to providing a link to the site and getting basic information. Cost is $990 per
year for 1000 texts per month. Blocks of 500 additional texts for $100.
Chatbot:
Tier 1: $3,400 per year and no set up fee
Tier 2 $4.900 per year and no setup fee
Staff met with Revize to explore improvements in site navigation, including
conversational search features that link users directly to relevant content. Revize and
staff concur that the integration of an AI chatbot will streamline user interactions and
effectively replace the need for a standalone AI search bar.
Revize would train the bot initially and then teach Staff how to add searchable
information on the backend. The chatbot would then automatically retrain itself to
ensure that answers are up to date. The differences between the two chatbot tiers is
the number of monthly inquiries allowed and the ability to train the bot to search external
websites.
Tier 1: AI Chatbot with Auto Retrain and Backend Access:
· Up to 10,000 monthly queries
· Up to 4,000 trained pages/documents
· Backend dashboard access with client ability to manually retrain pages
· Monthly automatic retraining on content
· Includes built in analytics
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Tier 2: AI Chatbot with Auto Retrain, Backend Access and External Site Training.
· Up to 20,000 monthly queries
· Unlimited trained pages/documents
· Backend dashboard access with client ability to manually retrain pages
· Weekly automatic retraining on content
· Includes built in analytics
· Ability to train external websites
Revize has indicated that if we go with Tier 1 we can upgrade to Tier 2 at any time at no
charge other than the revised annual support fee for Tier 2.
Items for decision:
• Continue with Revize or search for new website platform.
• If we continue with Revize: Do we want to add the mobile app? Or Text-E
Notifications?
• Do we want to at AI Chatbot? If so, Tier 1 or Tier 2. Or just stay with the typical
AI search bar at no additional cost which comes automatically with the design
upgrade.
Staff Recommendation:
• Enter into a five-year agreement with Revize that comes with a total website
design upgrade.
• Add the Revize Mobile Application. Available in Apple and Google app stores.
The Mobile App has a modern interface that syncs smoothly with the content in
our website. The App also provides an interface to browse news articles, events
calendar, and documents. Users will be able to send push notifications with
major announcements/alerts to all the residents who have downloaded the app.
The App also provides a dashboard for the notification history. 91% of the
population owns a smartphone according to the Pew Research Center and this
app will work in tandem with our website to help ensure that every member of the
community will be able to access vital information! This will assist the community
in staying informed, especially during emergent situations. As mobile friendliness
was the most common complaint from our residents, this would be the most
imperative upgrade to our website efficiency.
1) Push notifications go out automatically to everyone that has the mobile
app and there is no limit to the number of notifications that can be sent
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out. The notifications include complete sentences unlike E-Notify that
simply directs citizens to the website.
2) Notifications can be turned on or off with a tap.
3) The App is much easier to navigate on a smartphone since it is
specifically designed for mobile use rather than just scaled to fit on a
mobile device and therefore MUCH easier to read.
4) Drop Down menus specifically design for use on the mobile phone,
using the website on a mobile device is not as effective and can be
frustrating.
5) Mobile Apps are replacing websites for younger citizens
6) Navigation is specifically designed with "Taps" in mind rather than the
tediousness of scrolling. Menus are direct and to the point
7) The Mobile App provides a more direct route to information.
8) Most of your citizens have a smartphone, not everyone has a PC or
laptop or even a high-speed internet connection.
Currently residents who want website “alerts” sign up with their email on our
website and if there is a change on the website, and a notification is linked to it,
residents will receive a message on their phone, “The following web page has
been updated with new content: {Link}” That’s it, no other information.
• Add AI Chatbot, Tier 1
AI chatbots excel over general AI search engines primarily by providing
personalized, conversational experiences that guide users to a single, focused
answer rather than a list of links. Instead of you navigating a search results page,
a chatbot engages in a dialogue with the user to refine the query and offers
immediate, tailored solutions.
If the Council desires more information on chatbots vs. AI search, Staff can
prepare additional comparisons.
Staff also recommends starting with Tier 1 as we can upgrade to Tier 2 at any
time at no cost if our website needs with Tier 1 are not being met.