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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,March 19,2012 Page 20 Councilmember McGehee opined that while retail was nice, as a payer into the fiscal disparity program, based on the various tables included in the report and referenced by Councilmember McGehee (pages 4, 5, and 6). There are significant impacts based on the type of commercial, retail and/or industrial business com- pared to the residential tax base, creating a net loss in terms of value to the com- munity based on tax dollar value and the amount it cost to support retail. Coun- cilmember McGehee reviewed some of those statistics; comparisons between Hennepin and Ramsey Counties; and expressed her interest being cognizant and selective in who was invited into the community and how they would affect the community's tax base and impact to residents and other businesses in the commu- nity. While supporting a complimentary mix for residents, Councilmember McGehee noted the importance of having a tax base that supported amenities de- sired by the community at large. Councilmember McGehee suggested the City Council consider implementing a policy to mandate developers to provide an im- pact study as part of their application process (page 23 of the report from Mr. Trudgeon) including what their specific development might show in terms of val- ue vs. expense for the community as a whole (page 30 of the Trudgeon report). Councilmember McGehee referenced the presentation earlier this year by Ramsey County Commissioner Jan Parker on the specific types of housing stock and price medians for the City of Roseville, stating that the median for single family resi- dences for 2012 was $196,000,000.00 and $84,000.00 for condominiums. She al- so noted that the current tax rates for our School Districts are on the low end rela- tive to other metropolitan communities and that Roseville has not had a levy for many years. She opined that a levy could reasonably be expected in the relativiely near future. Councilmember Willmus concurred. Mayor Roe noted that, without fiscal disparities that the City of Roseville was re- quired to participate in, the school rate went up from 13% to 16% (page 30). For the public's edification, Mayor Roe reviewed that fiscal disparities pool and all it entailed. At the request of Councilmember Willmus, City Manager Malinen clarified the percentage of City tax base rate (page 5 of 6 of the RCA). In response to a Council question regarding the need for such an economic impact study for all projects, City Manager Malinen noted that such a study was different for a major project versus a smaller retail store (page 6), and opined that mandat- ing such an analysis and requiring such detail may bring up a philosophical issue related to protectionism of the marketplace by government. Councilmember Willmus suggested that, if the City did pursue this, it needed to afford a property owner a mechanism to rebut the City's position; and opined that the opinion provided by a Civic Economics Company was hardly an impartial consulting firm, and only focused on one aspect of the economy, that of retail de-