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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 19, 2024 19 Councilmember Rousseau asked when the levy needs to be finalized. Finance Director Yang said the end of September. Mayor Grant clarified the preliminary levy is September and the final levy is in December. Finance Director Yang confirmed. She offered that Xcel Energy could be invited to give a presentation on the franchise fees. It is up to Council if we hold a public hearing. It's not required. Mayor Grant said he would like to hear back about the bond payment schedule. One thing was clear from previous discussion is that the franchise fees will be dedicated for the new fire station, only. Councilmember Holden didn't know if that was agreed to. Discussion ensued and Councilmembers agreed the franchise fee funds will be dedicated to the fire station, only. Councilmember Monson said she would like a separate public hearing along with some additional communication to the public. One of the concerns is that just because we can do this without a lot of public engagement, doesn't mean we should. She would like to see public engagement, even if it's not required by law. Councilmember Rousseau thought having the public hearing on a light agenda meeting is preferable. Discussion ensued regarding upcoming agenda items and the timing of the public hearing. Finance Director Yang presented the 2025 General Fund Budget. The City is required to adopt the maximum tax levy by the end of September. The tax levy for the City supports the general fund. She shared the overall general budget fund summary. Currently, there is a 13.9% tax levy increase. The general fund balance is not balanced. There is a net change in fund balance of negative $249,062. That is $7,000 over the 2024 budget. In order to balance the budget for 2025, the levy will need be 18.6%. Historically the City has underbudgeted in expectation of future projects. She shared a chart showing the sources of revenue. It is set to $6.4 million which is an increase of 8.6% or $514,000. The primary change is due to the tax levy increase of $580,349. Overall, licenses and permits and charges for services are expected to come in under budgeted revenue around $200,000. Councilmember Holden asked if the National Guard is going to start the permitting process in 2025. Interim City Administrator Jagoe confirmed we have been told 2025. She said in the past the federal government have always pulled permits but aren't required to.