2023 Vol 17, Issue 1 February Gem Lake News

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Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 2023 Gem Lake Budget Approved (Continued from page 1) • The cost of fire services is projected to increase 15.96% to $34,025. • The budget includes $75,815 for new financial and permit software, of which $35,270 will be paid from ARPA (COVID) funds. • The General Government budget includes a 5% COLA increase and $10,350 for health insurance coverage. • The Building Inspections budget eliminated the part-time inspector, which resulted in a budget reduction of $20,559. • The Road Maintenance budget includes $22,000 for sealcoating roads and $15,000 for trimming boulevard trees. • The salt/sand and snow plowing expenditures were left at $15,000 and $17,000. • A trail/park maintenance budget of $7,000 was added for maintain the open space and trail area on the southwestern part of the city, near the Villas of Gem Lake. • The 2023 budget includes $20,000 for future improvements. • Revenue and other expenditure line items were adjusted based on past history Based on the changes listed above, the City’s property tax levy would be $669,115, which consists of the following: General Fund Levy $568,897 Fiscal Disparities $ 15,800 Total General Fund Levy $584,697 Debt Levy $ 82,324 Fiscal Disparities $ 2,094 Total City Levy $669,115 The total City levy increased 19.86%. The other piece to the tax levy puzzle is the City’s tax capacity, which increased 12.28% to $1,601,998. In addition, the median home value in the city increased from $352,000 to $395,800. Based on these increased tax capacities, and the City’s property tax levy, the median valued home would have a city property tax levy increase of $242.24 or 19.384%. You can obtain a full copy of the city budget by contacting Melissa Lawrence at Heritage Hall. See page 6 for contact information. County Road E Corridor Project Recommendations Revitalization of the County Road E Corridor was the subject of month’s long project between multiple cities and agencies recently. A final report including ideas and recommendations will be presented at the Gem Lake City Council meeting on February 21. The corridor was defined as the area on County Road E between Centerville Road on the west and Century Avenue on the east. The cities of White Bear Lake, Vadnais Heights and Gem Lake worked with subject matter experts, elected officials, developers and community members to guide future development in the area. The final report includes a community tailored action plan with medium and long-term goals and action steps. The goal is to create the concept of place- making, and a tool for attracting private investment through development and infrastructure improvements. Each city had a special workshop devoted to ideas for a key area in the corridor. In Gem Lake, the area focused upon was the intersection of Highway 61 and County Road E, specifically Hoffman’s Corner. The presentation of ideas will take place during the council meeting, which starts at 7:00 p.m. and takes place at Heritage Hall. The public is invited to be part of this thought provoking session.