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At the City Council’s work Session on August 12th, 2025, the Council expressed support for the needs of the staffing request and asked staff to present funding opƟons to best accommodate the request and minimize levy impact. In subsequent staff discussions, it was determined that hiring one or two posiƟons does not adequately address the service level need. As a result, the scenarios are presented with the assumpƟon of hiring three addiƟonal Fireﬁghter/Paramedics, which is one for each shiŌ. Below are opƟons for the Council to consider regarding the staffing request. These fall into 3 categories: 1.Choose not to fund addiƟonal posiƟons at this Ɵme 2.Fund three posiƟons and add the addiƟonal funding to the base levy increase 3.UƟlize one-Ɵme funds from closed TIF Districts to offset the levy impact for 3-4 years. This would result in a jump in the tax levy when the funds are exhausted. At the June 24, 2025 HRA meeƟng the return of closed TIF funds to Ramsey County for redistribuƟon to jurisdicƟons was approved as discussed with the 2025 capital improvements plan. These one-Ɵme funds of an esƟmated $990,000 were under consideraƟon for use for various future parks ameniƟes and/or ﬁeld lighƟng upgrades, with further discussion to take place During the 2026 budget discussions. At the June 24 Council work session, the City Council expressed a desire to balance the City’s needs and wants pertaining to some of these ameniƟes. Considering this discussion, staff have put together opƟons for using these dollars to help fund the ﬁre department staffing needs. Using these funds over a period of either three or four years can help to reduce the levy impact of addiƟonal ﬁre personnel costs. FUNDING OPTIONS AND ASSOCIATED LEVY INCREASE Levy Increase 1 Base levy increase without funding new Fireﬁghter posiƟons 5.44% 2 Absorb the cost of 3 addiƟonal Fireﬁghter/Paramedics (1 for each shiŌ) 9.18% 3 Use closed TIF District funds returned to Ramsey County for redistribuƟon to jurisdicƟons. Saint Anthony’s porƟon is esƟmated to be $990,000 Use 2/3 of available funds over 3 years to reduce levy by $217,800 for each of 3 years – this opƟon retains 1/3 of available funds for new amenity requests 6.93% 4 Use all available funds over 4 years to reduce levy by $247,500 for each of 4 years – this opƟon eliminates use for new park ameniƟes requests 6.62% 5 Retain all available funds in the Capital Funds to reduce or eliminate levy increases for as many years as possible – this opƟon likely eliminates use for new park ameniƟes requests TBD Preliminary levy increases for ciƟes around the Metropolitan area are anƟcipated to be in the range of 6% - 13.4%, with an average increase of 8.8% OVERALL LEVY FOR 2026 The overall levy presented includes the General Fund, Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA), Capital Equipment, Building, Parks and Debt and Infrastructure Improvement Funds levies. The proposed 2026 overall levy opƟons are listed above. IniƟally these opƟons ranged from a 5.44% to a 9.18% increase over the 2025 total levy. At the August 26, 2025 council meeƟng, staff were instructed to 21