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<br />City Council Regular Meeting -11/14/05 <br />Minutes - Page 15 <br /> <br />City Manager Beets noted the upcoming agenda items for the <br />future meetings, requesting Council direction to staff on budget <br />consensus to proceed accordingly prior to the December 5, 2005 <br />Truth in Taxation Public Hearing; and final adoption at the <br />December 19,2005 meeting. <br /> <br />Mayor Klausing asked Finance Director Chris Miller to address <br />the double negative impact of using reserve funds (i.e., future <br />unseen contingencies and revenues used from interest earnings to <br />hold down future levies); and opined the need to structurally <br />correct the budget; and what amount of reserves would be used <br />in City Manager Beets' "Option D" 5% levy increase budget. <br /> <br />Finance Director Miller projected that approximately $138,642 <br />of reserve funds would be used with Option D; and to achieve a <br />budget not using any reserve funds, would require a 6.4% levy <br />mcrease. <br /> <br />Mayor Klausing proposed a compromise levy increase at 6%. <br /> <br />There was no Council consensus. <br /> <br />Councilmember Kough spoke in support of a 5%; and <br />encouraged departments to live within their means with realistic <br />expenditures, to provide relief to the taxpayers for at least one <br />year. <br /> <br />John Kysylyczyn, 3083 N Victoria Street <br />Mr. Kysylyczyn provided two bench handouts: one entitled, <br />"Change in Total County Revenue, County Property Taxes, and <br />State Aid to Counties in Constant 2005 Dollars Per Capita since <br />Pay 2002," identified as a bench handout previously provided by <br />Commissioner Jan Parker related to Ramsey County. Mr. <br />Kysylyczyn opined that if the County could absorb state cuts, the <br />City could do so as well. <br /> <br />Mr. Kysylyczyn's other bench handout provided various <br />comparisons with other communities for per capita property <br />taxes; Parks and Recreation expenditures; license and permit <br />fees; and interest earnings, data referenced as retrieved from the <br />