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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, September 8, 2014 Page 13 Councilmember Etten noted he would be gone for the September 15 and Septem- ber 22, 2014 meetings due to previously scheduled school events. McGehee moved, Willmus seconded, adoption of Resolution No. 11175 entitled, "Resolution Submitting the Preliminary Property Tax Levy on Real Estate to the Ramsey County Auditor for the Fiscal Year of 2015;" amended not to exceed 3.64%; with the programs and services amended to $15,179,050 and Debt Service remaining at$3,480,000 for a total of$18,659,050. Given her preference for further discussion, Councilmember Laliberte advised that she would be voting in opposition to this motion. At the request of Mayor Roe, Councilmember Laliberte advised that she was not ready to suggest amend- ments to the motion without that further discussion before taking this action. Discussion ensued on options to proceed, with the consensus to prompt further discussion through formal amendment to the motion. Roll Call Ayes: Willmus, Etten, McGehee, and Roe. Nays: Laliberte. Motion carried. McGehee moved, Etten seconded, adoption of Resolution No. 11176 entitled, "Resolution Directing the County Auditor to Adjust the Approved Tax Levy for 2015 Bonded Debt;" as presented. Roll Call Ayes: Willmus, Laliberte, Etten, McGehee, and Roe. Nays: None. Mayor Roe noted that the City Council retained the flexibility at any time, by vote of the majority, to increase or decrease the annual tax-supported and non-tax- supported budget. Recognizing the typical guidance provided to staff at this stage, Councilmember Willmus questioned if there as any benefit in adopting the preliminary budget at this time, or allowing staff to go through and fine-tune it based on tonight's amendments, and then providing accurate numbers per category at a later date to better benefit ongoing discussion. At the request of Mayor Roe, Mr. Miller advised that he knew of no statutory re- quirement for the City to set their budget at this time, and typically it was only done for planning purposes and to provide something for citizens to respond to or make inquiries about to address what was driving the need for a levy increase.