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City Council Meeting Minutes <br /> August 24, 1999 <br /> Page 11 <br /> 1 Marks spoke about the Sister City Organization and the exchange program the organization had <br /> 2 this year with Salo, Finland. Marks stated that he received a fax recently that indicated the <br /> 3 organization plans on proceeding with an exchange for next year and it appears that the exchange <br /> 4 will take place. <br /> 5 Faust said on August 12, 1999, he attended a League of Minnesota Cities meeting, fiscal future <br /> 6 policy committee, and a citizens jury was put together on property taxes by the Governor. The <br /> 7 most telling observation Faust noted was that most people view this process as quite <br /> 8 complicated, when the intent is that simplicity is the number one issue for property taxes. When <br /> 9 both sides were heard, it was found that simplicity slid down to an issue of fairness. Fairness <br /> 10 was the watch word. <br /> 11 Faust stated that Ron Abrams, chairman of the tax committee, spoke and gave some insights on <br /> 12 that process and Faust believes there could be some ways to have an open ear in this direction. <br /> 13 Mr. Abrams was against acquisition, which is the process of selling a home and taxes remaining <br /> 14 the same. Faust felt the meeting was informative because some ideas were thought of that could <br /> 15 be introduced at the next legislative session. <br /> C. Mayor. <br /> Ranallo mentioned that he had become aware that when the City serves official notices to resi- <br /> 18 dents in condominiums or apartments, that the notices go to an association or similar department <br /> 19 first, as opposed to directly to the resident. Ranallo asked the City Manager to investigate the <br /> 20 guidelines surrounding service of notices and to determine the possibility of serving official <br /> 21 notices directly to the residents. <br /> 22 Ranallo realized the many residents were aware of the publicity surrounding the rabbits found in <br /> 23 St. Anthony. Ranallo and Mr. Soth had a meeting with the Hennepin County Health Department <br /> 24 and the owners of the home. Mr. Soth explained that the rabbits have been removed to the <br /> 25 Hennepin County Humane Society and the owners of the home in question have undertaken a <br /> 26 clean-up of the property. He stated that the County Health Department is involved in the matter <br /> 27 and has it under investigation and advisement. <br /> 28 D. City Manager. <br /> 29 Morrison referred to a handout from the League of Minnesota Cities regarding the "tax rate <br /> 30 increase authorization law. The handout clarified that the new law applies to cities over a popu- <br /> 31 lation of 500, and requires passage of a council resolution to authorize a property tax rate <br /> 32 increase. The law states that the resolution must be passed after holding a public hearing on the <br /> 33 issue, and the hearing can be held at a regularly-scheduled council meeting. There is no restric- <br /> 34 tion in the law on the date of the hearing or the timing for passing the resolution, but any time <br /> before October 20 is acceptable. Many cities plan to pass the resolution concurrent with the <br /> it adoption of their preliminary levy. <br />