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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL — SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 7 City Administrator Perrault stated this was a historical item and noted the expense could be moved to a separate line item. Mayor Grant commented he did not believe it was necessary to make this a separate line item. Councilmember Holden suggested this item be placed under Administration or under its own line item. Councilmember Holmes stated two large projects were included in the building permit revenues for next year. She indicated the Council should take into consideration how this line item would be impacted if these projects did not go forward. She discussed the Karth Lake assessment and questioned how these assessments would be administered. Finance Director Bauman explained once the paperwork was sent to . Ramsey County, the County would administer the distribution and collection of these fees. Councilmember McClung commented he did not have any problem with the Karth Lake assessments or the Truth in Taxation hearing date. He indicated he was having trouble with 5% levy increase. He stated he would like to see this reduced to 3% by December. He explained he could support a tax levy of 4% at this time. Councilmember Scott reported this was a preliminary levy and noted this was a not to exceed amount that could come down. He stated the City gives itself some wiggle room within the preliminary levy and could reduce this amount between September and December. Councilmember Holden indicated she agreed with Councilmember McClung. She stated the City had $478,000 leftover from last year. For this reason, she recommended the City move forward with a 4% tax levy so as not to have an overly high surplus. Mayor Grant commented he understood this was a preliminary levy. He explained he could support a 4% tax levy moving forward at this time. Councilmember Holmes stated she would like the City to move forward with a 5% tax levy for 2021. She indicated the City would not be putting a sizeable transfer into the PIR fund in 2020 due to the purchase of the fire station property. For this reason, she recommended the Council approve a 5% tax levy for the coming year. Councilmember Scott commented he supported a 4.5% tax levy. He stated he did not want the City to have to approve larger increases in the future. Mayor Grant provided a summary of the comments being made by the Council and asked if the Council could support the preliminary tax levy being set at 4.25%. Councilmember Holden indicated she could support 4.25%. Councilmember McClung explained he could support the preliminary tax levy being set at 4.25%.