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Roseville Finance Commission Agenda Item Page 2 of 3 These figures are based on expected changes in the City’s tax base (5.1% increase) and median-valued home valuations (4.8% increase) as determined by Ramsey County along with expected single-family household water usage. For comparison purposes, various tax levy scenarios and associated impacts are presented in the table below for the median-valued home that experiences an expected 4.8% increase in valuation. Bear in mind that the table only depicts the tax levy impact. 1% Levy 3% Levy 5% Levy 7% Levy 9% Levy Increase Increase Increase Increase Increase Annual $$ Tax Impact on Median SF Home 7$ 26$ 46$ 65$ 84$ Annual % Tax Impact on Median SF Home 0.8% 3.1% 5.3% 7.6% 9.8% Certainly there are other what-if exercises or analyses that could be performed to arrive at a target levy amount or impact on residents. However, this exercise in of itself does not factor in the varying outcomes or program service levels that would result. Discussion on Affordability of City Services One of the other conversations that took place at the June 14 Commission meeting was the issue of affordability. This was in context to the disparate increases in the property tax levy in recent years relative to other economic indices. The concept of affordability remains an on-going dialogue between residents, the City Council, and Staff. Significant value can be derived from looking at individual and household income levels, consumer & producer indices, etc. What remains elusive is the ability to gauge changes in local disposable or even discretionary income which would provide a stronger indication of property owners’ ability to pay for city services. The State of Minnesota does compile an affordability measure called the ‘Price of Government’ which calculates the cost of government services as a percentage of personal income. However, the measure is quite broad in that it measures all units of government combined (state & local) on a statewide basis as opposed to a local one. For what it’s worth, the State-determined price of government over the past decade has ranged from a low of 14.7% in 2009, to a high of 16.2% in 2006. For 2016, the State forecasts a figure of 15.4% continuing a two-year decline. While we continue to struggle to gauge resident’s ability to pay for city services, we do have some insight on their willingness to pay. In 2014 and 2016, the City partnered with the Morris Leatherman Company to conduct a community survey. Within that survey, there were a number of questions centered on the costs of services and the value of those services. While some of those questions were open-ended there were a few that required respondents to either ‘favor’ or ‘oppose’ specific spending decisions. The graphs below provide the survey results from two specific areas that might help gauge residents’ willingness to pay. They are derived from questions #51, and #53-57 in the 2016 Survey Item #6: Attachment C