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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL—SEPTEMBER 29, 2025 4 Councilmember Monson commented on the budget assumptions as presented by staff. She reported the City Council invested significantly in its staff and union negotiations were completed last year. She reported the budget included a 19% increase for police and a 17.6% increase for fire. She indicated there was nothing the Council could do to reduce these expenditures. She stated this Council has been in discussion on how to properly fund the PIR Fund and how to fix the shortfalls over the next five years. She stated it is complicated. She then explained the City had to put additional funding into the PIR Fund in order to fund it effectively over the next 10 years. She discussed how the Council was working to have 50% of the general fund set aside in reserves, noting she would like to see this fund increasing by the amount of inflation every year. She indicated her goal was to properly invest in the City to fund expenses that would be incurring both now and into the future. She appreciated Council Rousseau putting the dollar amounts into context and found that helpful for the public. She stated she was interested in using the excess franchise fees ($165,000) to cover the new fire costs. She explained Council has discussed the various scenarios and dollar amounts at previous work sessions and that Councilmember Holden had stated at a work session that we need to look at 19%. She said the Council has known for a while the levy was going to be high. She indicated she supports targeting one of the first three levy amounts. Councilmember Rousseau stated she would be interested in looking at the higher of the first three levy amounts with the understanding the amount could always be brought down. She commented on how costs could continue to rise in 2026 due to tariffs and purchasing a fire truck, and stated she believed it would be better to set the preliminary levy at a higher level. Mayor Grant explained the Council was looking to pay more attention to the PIR Fund. He indicated he would support one of the first two scenarios when it comes to the levy. Councilmember Monson asked if staff had any information regarding health benefits. Finance Director Yang explained the estimated increases were 15% for health insurance and 4% for dental. She indicated the Minnesota Paid Leave was at a preliminary amount that could change. Councilmember Weber inquired if the proposed budget would cover last year's debt. Finance Director Yang reported this was the case, as the scenarios she had brought forward assumes a balanced budget. Councilmember Weber questioned how staff was proposing to utilize the excess franchise fees in 2026. Finance Director Yang stated she was proposing a transfer to the general fund to offset public safety costs. Mayor Grant explained he supported the Council moving forward with the first option given the estimated strong revenues for 2025. He commented he was concerned with how the County and School District levies would adversely impact residents, on top of a large increase for the City. Councilmember Rousseau stated she supported keeping the levy high in order to properly put funding back towards the fire department.