It's July 27th, 2026. It's 5:30. Lauren, you want to take roll call? Councilmember Wylie. >> Present. >> Councilmember Treadwell. >> Here. >> Mayor Rolf. >> Here. >> Councilmember West. >> Present. >> Councilmember Bray-Johnson. >> Here. >> Thank you. And for those in attendance or at home, we're going to be discussing here during the work session the budget for 2027. So, go ahead whenever you're ready. >> Uh as you know, this is the first budget work session. Generally just a high-level overview of the process, introduction to the uh preliminary 2027 budget and levy. Um the uh the a lot of it is still estimates, but each meeting we will have more um more up-to-date information. You know, the big item that we're waiting for is the county tax data, which we will receive in August. So, we will have that before our next budget work session in August. Uh Carrie Thorson is here tonight from Abdo Financial Solutions to go over the um 2027 uh preliminary budget and levy presentation. Um the other thing I wanted to say is we usually call out some of the the big highlights that we see so far in the preliminary work that we've done on the budget and then get into some of the CIP stuff. So, with that, I'll turn it over to Carrie. >> Lauren, do you want to present or do you have >> Um I can present. >> Or I I just don't have a just talk. Okay. Thank you. Sorry. >> 1.9 >> All right, let me get connected here. Here we are. >> Sorry, you know what else I have to do? So, it's waiting for connection. There we go. I just have to ask about it and then it will go. All right, we are here. Mayor and council members, um the 2027 budget workshop. So, today's agenda, we will just cover the budget timeline. We will go through the budget components, the council's role in the budget process, and then highlight just on a really high level the general fund revenues and expenditures, and then we'll slightly cover the CIP. So, just to show um the 2027 budget calendar, this is where we at we were are at the second part of July, so we are at the first budget work session. And this just kind of lays out the process. We'll have the second budget work session in August. And as you remember, um the preliminary levy and budget will have to be certified the end of September, and our plan is to have that um preliminary levy and budget council meeting on the 14th of September. And then October, we will start to look at some of the enterprise funds budget. And then as of December 31st, we will have to have the final certification. And our according to this calendar, we have the public input meeting TNT council meeting scheduled for December 14th. Here, we'll just go through really quickly because I know all of you have seen this many times. Just the different components of the budget, the city funds. We will be primarily looking at the general funds and some of the capital project funds initially here. The operating budgets, we look at the revenues, which your primary sources are your property taxes with some other additional items. Expenditures, your primary expenditures are your wages and benefits, but then we will also take a look at what impact that has on your property taxes. The operating budgets are used for the enterprise funds are made up of the user fees and then the wages and benefits and some of the operating costs. As you can see here, general fund levy, EDA, your debt service, and your capital levies make up your property tax levies. Then the enterprise funds are funded by user fees primarily. So, tonight, we want to take a look at the prima- preliminary levy or the preliminary budget and levy and set any goals that the council would like to establish. So, we will cover the 2027 budget highlights here. Taking a look at the revenue, the interest earning, we budget conservatively like we usually do every year. Um just because you never really know what the returns are going to be. We had a decrease in intergovernmental revenue primarily because we budgeted for the Met Council contribution last year for the comprehensive plan. And then we did have a slight increase in the plan review fees and the septic system fees to align more closely with the actual costs that we've been seeing. Expenditures, we budgeted for the preliminary budget for a 3% cola for staff. We budgeted health insurance overall increase of 15%. To and I think we just recently got some of our final um premium costs that we will implement in the next round, but we just got those. And then we budgeted for property insurance and work comp insurance of 10%. Administration decrease 31,000 due to staffing changes. Planning and zoning decrease by 47,000 due to the comprehensive plan that was budgeted in 2026. The computer services decrease by 30,000 due to the computer replacements that we budgeted in 2026. So we had some of those costs that we planned to help with the new building that are now no longer in the 2020 required for the 2027 budget. Police services increase by approximately 50,000 because of the Anoka County contract. Fire management increase, this was um one of the our larger increases in the budget because we did budget full for a full-time fire chief position. And then that was partially offset by the lower salaries required for the part-time positions then. Public works increase by 32,772 primarily due to the higher fuel costs and supply costs that we're seeing with the inflation and things like that. Park and park maintenance increase by 48,000. We did reallocate staff costs in the general fund budget to align also with the actual because staff code their time to what they're actually spending time on. So, we allocated those across the budget into the different departments more accurately this year. So, those were some of our highlights in the budget. This is the CIP and what we have um budgeted for 2027 CIP. I believe we also have the extended 10-year plan that um we have printed out or hopefully you received also. So, the road improvements, we have $742,630. Just planning for a 3% increase each year. Public Works budgeted for a truck with a plow replacement to replace the 2008 Chevy for $67,000. The pup trailer replacement to replace the 1986 Clement for $30,000. And the felling trailer for or $18,000. Public Safety then has the radios and tablets for $64,000. And a 2001 pumper truck for $1.2 million. We also have some lease options that are available for this pumper truck to consider. And then turnout gear replacement. We are budgeting this annually to start to replace some of this turnout gear. And then also the Parks and Recreation, we have the trail maintenance for $65,000. This is resulting in CIP costs for 2027 of $2.2 million including the pumper truck. Including the pumper truck. So, that's a quick, really brief overview of the budget process, but I wanted to be sure that we allowed some time for discussion and questions and things like that. So, I will turn it back over to you, Mr. Mayor and Council. >> Thank you. I know one of the first slides was our goals. Um I'm sure all of us have some ideas and clearly this is our first meeting, but I'd like everybody to have an opportunity to throw a couple out there if they have any or questions. Um maybe just to kind of get the ball rolling here. I've got a few that I I guess I'd like for the council to consider. Um the 3% COLA, I'm good with that. And again, we don't need to decide all this tonight, but just kind of throw it out there. We had talked about um you know, the 2050 comp plan fee of clearly now not the 2050, but the 2060 of budgeting a little bit each year. So, you know, 10 years down the road, whoever up here, they're not like, "Oh, shoot, this costs a lot more than we thought." So, I think that's something that we should consider. The police contract, unless we want to go without any law enforcement service in the city, there's not a whole whole lot we can do with that. Um the full-time fire chief, obviously this is more of a discussion, but I support that. I have a lot of reasons why, which we can talk about another time. Um some things that I'm going to throw out there to also consider that are kind of beyond what what you've mentioned. Um The golf cart fee, we can get rid of that. >> I'm going to queue cone after my golf cart fee. >> The charitable gambling, I honestly think that we should be done with that and let the pull tab people keep the money. I mean, initially we were taking the money and donating a lot of that money back, but at the end of the day, in my opinion, it's just a cash grab that the city's getting. Yes, we are spending it on on some things that are benefiting everybody, but I I think that's something that we can look at, and we wouldn't be the only city that's made that change. We also have, you know, the actual increase of the 300 plus, we'll just say, and a couple things I think we should think about before we just say, "Hey, yeah, let's go for that." is we have about $300,000 sitting in the account from last year's um budget of where we had the surplus. That's sitting there in, you know, la-la land. Um we used that for years ago to bring things down. Um I don't want to play the game here that, "Oh, we have this money, bring it down, deal with it next year." and all that, but how can you sit there and look at the public and say, "We have $300,000 that we could do something with, but we're going to save it, just increase the taxes." I think it's something to think about. And a few years back, when we were talking about the CIP for the fire department, we had not on paper, but we kind of mentally set aside, I forget what it was, it was either two or $300,000 for air packs, but we got a grant for them, so now that money could again be used, just leave it in the CIP, but not have to contribute money into the CIP for this year. Um but again, I want everybody to have an opportunity, so with that, I'll just leave it with that. So, anybody else want to go next? >> I'll go, Jeff. Two quick things. First of all, you indicated that annual roads increase was 3%. Was there a number associated with that 3%? What >> I think we we've just been increasing it 3% each year from the initial >> 3% >> $700,000. >> Based on that? >> Yeah, I think each year we just add an inflationary rate. >> Okay. All and then um the 1.92 total increase, does that include sort of everything you talked about there? So, with all of that 1.92 increased levy. >> On the rates, correct? >> rates. >> The rates, yeah. >> Yeah, so 27. whatever. >> Yeah. >> Okay. And then uh the pumper for 1.2 million, what's uh can you give me an assessment of that, Rob? Is that something that we're desperately in need of doing or >> Well, the one we have is a 2001. >> Yeah, I know that. >> And it's old. That Now, when we're building them, we're using stainless steel >> Mhm. >> We're trying to build a 20-year truck. That was built as a 10-year truck. >> Right. >> So, 20 years old. >> Right. >> So, And not only if if you don't purchase one sooner, then you're going to have more trucks coming in. >> Are we >> It's a 20-year truck. >> Are we still looking at a year or or plus to get the truck? >> Oh, it'll be 2 years. >> Yeah. Okay. That's what I have for now. >> If we wait long enough, we won't have any questions left. >> Go Go ahead, Paul. >> Two things I know it wasn't included, but obviously next time, like when you're saying all you know, these things in the CIP, it would have been nice to know what the current balance is. Do we have enough to cover all these things or not? I didn't see it in there, and then maybe I didn't look hard enough. >> see it here. >> You didn't see it? Okay. >> was in the work session package. >> Okay. So, I didn't see that, so I was >> I did do CIP a little bit differently this year. Um I I created graphs, so it has it has the individual Actually, I can probably pull it up here. Bear with me. >> Um, so I have the individual items above each fund and what the revenues and expenditures are. And >> Is that the different? >> I did send that with the budget packet, so >> That's why I missed it. >> Where was it? >> It just looked a lot different to me. >> Okay. Yeah, so it does look different this year. I thought it was a little bit easier to see what items are for each fund rather than them all combined together and then um the funds below. But if there's information you want taken out or added, I can always adjust accordingly going forward. >> I still don't >> It just be >> It's at the back of the works. It's on page starts on page 17 of the >> Oh, holy cow. >> PDF packet. >> Bigger. >> I >> I'll bring my glasses. >> Computer. >> Cuz I was looking for it in those first charts. All with the the view. Okay. Well, I I'll look further at that cuz I just wanted to see where and I know we continue to try to make adjustments, but like one of the things he brought up um the mayor brought up was I was also thinking that I'm like well no, we don't want 50,000 back. We want to make sure that if we can just put $5,000 a year away for the next 10 years and have or put six or seven. That way, you know, we might be off a little bit, but it's easy to make up 10,000 versus make up 70,000 dollars and then all of a sudden you have a jump in your taxes cuz you weren't you know, smart enough to think ahead. So if we can continue to look at that stuff like the others like we want to get out further with our like this pumper truck it should be we should be within 100,000 200 of that and I'm sure we're not, but we should be if we had been doing what we've been doing for the last 2 3 years we would have been there. So >> And actually if it's a 20-year item. >> Correct, yeah. >> Right. And so we went out 10 years on the CIP and then we just have a slight increase in the levy to account for >> Perfect. So we're starting to do stuff with it so we just got to get there but I think that that was about all those two things. >> also Paul, staff did go through and inventory the whole CIP both public works and fire and we gave each replacement asset on there and then the lifespan. So some of these are more than 10 years, some are 15 years, some are 20 years. So we did provide all that information to have them all >> Okay. I think cuz I think that's really going to help in the future. It's with those kind of things. So that's all. Mike? Andy? >> I just got a question for Rob. Rob, with that pumper uh what's it 21 years old I think? So um >> 25. >> Is it breaking down or you having major problems with it? Is it working well? Um I know you want a new truck. That's not what I'm getting at. So so far you've been just having electrical issues and stuff with the lights? Right. Yeah, I realize I get used to stuff. I just wanted to find out what condition it's in, you know. I don't expect you to predict for the future. I just want to know if it's been like a big problem where we're spending a hundred thousand every year on replacing stuff on it or what or Right. Okay. Well, you should be able to put collector plates on that, too, by now, huh? Should be able to put collector plates on that, too, right? Thanks. Spent a million bucks for it, but no plates. And I'm in favor of getting rid of the gold for feet. Thank you. >> Let's keep up. Um I have a question for Rob, as well, regarding a grant for chief. Didn't you apply for some type of grant for chief? Okay. Okay. So, that was >> That was a three-year grant, right? >> Yes, started >> Yeah. diminish Yeah. >> So, let's look at it this is kind of a worst-case scenario >> Yeah. >> Just a follow on if we were order that pumper truck, is there any money down when we use it to do that or is it just basically a contract? Okay. >> I thought we paid for the whole thing and saved like fifty grand or something. >> Yeah, there was a deal that we could get. >> Yeah. >> I thought I was just asking. Have you even start started? That's why we got to spread it out. Thank you. >> I just want to make sure I have the numbers right. What are we contributing for the CIP into public works and what into fire? Just the total. Just want to make sure I got the right number. >> So, I have the levy um capital capital projects levy. Oh, and it's not showing up for me. >> Proposed 27. >> The total CIP Do you want the total CIP or the total levy? >> individually. Not each item, just what fire is and what public works is. Just I want to make sure I'm looking at it. >> The input? >> So, public works is 115,000. Public safety is 1,289,000. That's with the pumper truck. >> What are we >> Old levy. >> to put into the capital fund for the year? Cuz I know it's not 1.2 million. >> Right. >> What's going on? >> 2027 levy has public works 100,000. Public safety fire department 100,000. Roads 60,000. And road improvements 425,866. >> And that And we feel that's enough. I mean, with with the stuff you guys have been doing looking at right now and current balances and all that. >> Yep. If you're because we're we're spreading it out. We're trying Yep. >> Wow. No, that's why I had to make sure. >> And definitely um take a look at that CIP cuz that kind of shows the whole picture for the next 10 years. >> Yeah. I just don't think before we close this out, we can't forget about that money from last year because how do you justify 6.8% levy increase when that money's sitting there. So, again, we're very early on. A lot of numbers still need to be gathered, but I think we just don't want to forget about that. And at some point, I'd like to talk more about that charitable gambling thing, but we can do that outside of the the work session, so. Anything else before we end this? All thank you. >> Thank you. >> And we will end our work session here at 5:55 and we'll start the regular scheduled council meeting in 5 minutes. Okay.