So we um are looking at a total proposed 2027 levy of approximately 13.3 million. This is up 1.8 million from 2026. Um we had first discussed the budget at the August workshop. We had started with a 21% increase based on department heads requests and uh finances uh needs for capital and um debt service. We have since decreased that to a 15.5% change um which would result in a tax rate change of approximately two and a half percentage points.

Yeah, you I think we're in a a difficult time and year because our growth has caused us have to increase our staff which is where most of this increase is going to. And so from a you know public perspective, it's not that the city's spending frivolously. It's we have to add staff to keep up with our growth and that rooster just coming home to roost this in 2027.

Yeah, nothing too much more to add there, but I do appreciate you [clears throat] addressing the comments that we had at the workshop coming down from that 21% to a 15.5%. I think that's a lot more palatable for our residents to see as well.

I like to think of it as pulling together all of the financial puzzle pieces um of the city. So anything from operations um park investments, our revenues like taxes um and permits and pulling them all into the city as a whole.

Refrain from using one-time funding sources or fund balance to subsidize regular operations. I'm going to make a note I added this one this time. This was not in prior versions. Um we're just I'm hearing from other colleagues that um there's there's sort of this everybody kind of wants to you it's been it's been good for a few years and people are wanting to use up fund balance and for regular operations I would strongly um uh nudge us away from that so that we can save those reserves for more like emergency purposes.

what I appreciate the most is the concept that it informs and guides. It doesn't dictate [clears throat] because there's going to be a time when none of us are on this and yet the council 5 years from now or 10 years from now, 15 years from now needs to be able to have this lit honestly preferably on day one when a new member of council comes in along with [clears throat] guidance from League of Minnesota cities and certain training on data practices that the training will be amazing for the new council person who comes in whoever that may be.

Our estimate at this time is $950,000. Um, and we're actually proposing to add um an assessments category into this to remain consistent with um past practice with these collector projects.

I understand some of the logic here, but what I'm struggling with, we just got done in the consent agenda adopting calling for assessment hearing at 30% of the property and now we're looking at 9%. This is a 12 a road with 12oot driving lanes. It's not a huge may be a collector, but it's not a huge road. It's not bigger than many residential streets in terms of total width.

I think, Mr. Mayor, members of council, I think you have to stay below the minimum assessment that you set in the resolution because that's what you're notifying people of.

And I want to say that this is something I've been pushing and every time I drive past that thing, I say this is so silly that we can't make any money out of it. And I've looked into all of the the details of what you'd have to do to use that land. And uh we've found about four hurdles. But it comes down to the point If you don't ask for something, you'll never get it.

U Mr. Mr. Mayor, members of the council, if the city were the one that installed the solar farm and also owned and operated it, because I think the plan was to lease it to Excel and have them do it, and that was where the private use came in where we had an issue. I I think we could we could do that and not run a foul of the of the use the public use requirements in the in the bonds.

I however so maybe you know I guess maybe I'm more in that number three camp of maybe consider this a legislative priority in the future. I would prefer to focus all of our funds that we're putting towards the legislative um uh lobbyists towards the water issues at this point. I just I think that's such a a critical issue where I'd rather have all of our focus on that.