2015 Vol. 9 Issue 5 September - Laserfiche WebLink

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mail boy September, 2015 Volume 9, Issue 5 Gem Lake News Special Interest Articles: • Preliminary Budget Approved for 2016 • Water Project Update • City News Page 4 • Yeah! Road Construction!! Upcoming Recycling Dates:  September 16  September 30  October 14 Tip: put out your bin the night before for 7 a.m. pick-up. Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor A preliminary 2016 General Fund Budget for Gem Lake of $397,820 was presented to the Gem Lake City Council for initial consideration on August 18. This includes a General Tax Levy of $352,655, and a Debt Tax Levy of $70,000. This compares to draft budget numbers from a year ago, when the initial number for the general tax levy was $369,819, with draft bond levy of $120,000 and draft debt levy of $49,500. Last year, the initial budget number of $539,319 was later reduced to a final budget for 2015 of $254,655. State law requires cities to submit preliminary budgets to their county well before the end of the year, so preliminary notices can be sent to residents, outlining what their property taxes might be for the year ahead. Because the final budgets cannot, by state law, go any higher than the preliminary budget submitted, most cities have to plan in a little "wiggle room" as they finalize figures for the year ahead. It is common for preliminary budget numbers to vary considerably from final budget numbers. (continued on pg. 2) ( Preliminary Budget Approved for 2016 Water Project Update for Hoffman’s Corner Area Progress continues on the city’s efforts to explore bringing municipal water to the Hoffman’s Corners Business District in Gem Lake. On August 13, the City Council had a special meeting to direct the city engineer to draft final plans and specifications for a two part water project. Part One would bring water from White Bear under the railroad tracks near White Bear Floral and then across to the area of Waldoch Mfg. and the strip mall on Scheuneman Road. Part Two would bring the water across County Road E to the area near Vera Auto Salesand then up Scheuneman Road towards Barnett Chrysler. The cost of these two parts would be about $460,000. Part 1 could cost about $290,000 and Part 2 could cost about $171,000. Final costs will be determined when bids come in from potential contractors. (continued on page 2)