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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL – DECEMBER 14, 2015 4 Acting City Administrator Iverson provided comment on the changing market values for 2016 in Arden Hills and how the median value home would be impacted by the shift. She encouraged homeowners that had questions with their estimated market value to contact Ramsey County. The City’s tax history was reviewed along with a comparison of the Arden Hills’ tax rate compared to neighboring communities. She reported that the City was proposing a 3.5% tax levy increase which was primarily made up of public safety cost increases and employee COLA. The general fund revenues and expenditures were also discussed. Staff reviewed the budget further with the Council and recommended comments be taken from the public. Councilmember Holden questioned why staffing in recreation was going up 25% in 2016. Acting City Administrator Iverson explained that this was due to a reclassification of the Park and Recreation position within the City. Mayor Grant requested the gateway sign expenditure be removed from the budget. Acting City Administrator Iverson stated that this has been removed from the 2016 budget. Councilmember Holden asked why the City was proposing to spend more than it was bringing in. Acting City Administrator Iverson indicated that staff prepared the budget according to conservative estimates for both revenues and expenditures. Mayor Grant opened the Truth-In-Taxation hearing at 7:40 p.m. Grant Wishart, 1424 Arden Oaks Drive, reported that he has lived in the City for the past 32 years. He is concerned with the substantial increase (12%) to the value of his home. He understood that this would have to be discussed with the County. Acting City Administrator Iverson encouraged Mr. Wishart to contact Ramsey County to discuss his homes value. She discussed how the County uses home sale comparables to set property tax increases. Gregg Larson, 3377 North Snelling Avenue, discussed the proposed budget and tax levy. He feared that the comparisons being made by staff between the City’s tax rate to neighboring communities is meaningless due to varying populations, property values and percentage of commercial property. He encouraged staff to find other ways to demonstrate that the City’s finances are being managed responsibly. He questioned why the City has not taken advantage of low bond rates in order to fund critical park and trail needs. He believed that this would have been a positive fiscal step for the City. He was surprised that the City presented a critical need to the public that has not been addressed in the past two years. He mentioned that the citizens were not in favor of franchise fees, but were more in favor of property increases to build reserve funds.