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