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Council Meeting Minutes for December 4, 2023 <br />Page 4 of 8 <br /> <br />Approve Letter of Support to MN DEED for Comcast Broadband Grant Application <br /> <br />At the March 6, 2023, meeting, Council approved a letter supporting a Minnesota Broadband <br />Grant Application by Comcast to provide high-speed broadband services to underserved homes <br />in Hugo. Comcast was successful in securing the grant, and construction would take place in <br />Spring, 2024. Another round of grants had become available, and Comcast was looking to <br />provide service to some of the last remaining gaps in Washington County. This included <br />approximately 38 eligible residents in the southern portion of Hugo. Comcast had requested a <br />letter of support from the City. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the letter of support <br />to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for Comcast’s <br />Border-to-Border grant application. <br /> <br />Approve Resolution Approving Refuse Haulers Licenses for 2024 <br /> <br />The City had received applications from six refuse haulers who provided refuse collection and <br />recycling services to Hugo businesses and residents. Licenses would be issued to these haulers <br />upon receipt of completed application, $165 annual licensing fee and proof of insurance. <br />Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved RESOLUTION 2023-42 APPROVING 2024 <br />REFUSE HAULERS LICENSES. <br /> <br />Approve Resolution Approving Liquor and Tobacco Licenses for 2024 <br /> <br />Staff had received the appropriate applications for renewals of liquor and tobacco licenses for <br />2024. City staff recommended Council approve the resolution approving the annual renewal of <br />the 2024 Liquor and Tobacco Licenses subject to payment of all fees, taxes and utilities, and <br />receipt of certificates of Liquor Liability Insurance. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved <br />RESOLUTION 2023-43 APPROVING 2024 LIQUOR AND TOBACCO LICENSES. <br /> <br />Public Hearing on the 2024 City Budget and Tax Levy <br /> <br />State statutes required the City Council to hold a public hearing on the proposed City budget and <br />tax levy for the 2024 fiscal year. <br /> <br />Finance Director Anna Wobse presented the budget and tax levy to the Council prior to taking <br />public comment. She began by explaining the City of Hugo received no Local Government Aid <br />again this year and also would not in 2024. Hugo is one of 112 cities that do not receive any <br />LGA, likely because the City’s tax rate is lower than state-wide average. She provided a 2023 tax <br />rate comparison by using the median taxable value of a home in Washington County of <br />$383,400. The average state-wide tax on that home would be $1,713. The same home in Hugo <br />would be $1,385. Taxable market value saw a 12% increase for Pay 2024. She explained that as <br />a property’s value increases, so do taxes owed on that home. Values had increased 7% for <br />residents and 21% for commercial and industrial. <br /> <br />Last year Pay 2023 saw a larger than normal property value increase and it was the consensus of <br />the Council to deviate from the flat tax rate policy and allow for a decrease in the urban tax rate. <br />Previously the Council had been operating on a flat tax rate policy and it was once again the <br />consensus of the Council to prepare the 2024 Budget and Tax Levy reflecting the lower urban <br />tax rate of 36.371%. This meant the proposed levy could not exceed $12,318,875.