2020.12.08 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

December 8, 2020 Page 6 of 10 The Public Hearing was closed at 8:08 p.m. A roll call vote was taken. 5 Ayes, 0 Nays-Motion Carried Council Business 1. Consider Resolution Adopting the Final 2021 Tax Levy. City Manager Massopust indicated Financial Consultant Davitt would be presenting this item to the Council. Financial Consultant Davitt stated the 2021 General Fund Budget receives 57% of its total revenues from property taxes. The City Council approved a preliminary 2021 tax levy of $10,602,400 on September 8. This represents an additional investment of $218,000 from the levy payable in 2020. The preliminary 2021 tax levy was certified to Ramsey County and used in their calculations for their parcel specific notices mailed to each property owner. Mayor Johnson commented on her property tax statement noting her taxes would be going down $76 even with a 2.1% increase in the tax levy. She discussed how the City was working diligently to increase the value of properties in the community, while also working to increase the City’s tax base in order to benefit all the taxpayers. Councilmember Jacobsen commented on the tremendous services the City was providing to its residents and stated he was proud of the strong financial planning the City had in place. He thanked Financial Consultant Davitt for her assistance with the 2021 budget and tax levy preparation. He believed that New Brighton was a very well run City that has made strong financial decisions. Councilmember Allen thanked staff and previous Council’s for their strong long-term financial planning efforts. He appreciated how well the City was planning ahead because this allowed New Brighton to get through a pandemic without passing any financial stress onto its residents. Councilmember Dunsworth agreed the City was well run and was making strong financial decisions. She explained she would like to see an even lower tax levy for 2021 given the fact residents were underemployed, unemployed and have been burdened by the pandemic. She feared how residents would continue to be impacted going into 2021 and every dollar counts. She stated she would like to see the City being as frugal as possible. Councilmember Allen agreed with Councilmember Dunsworth and understood that people were struggling through the pandemic. He commented of the challenges was that the City could not micro-target. He indicated he was fortunate to be healthy and employed. He understood there were people struggling and he wished the City had more tools available to help those who were struggling. Councilmember Fynewever thanked Councilmember Allen for his comment. She indicated the CARES Act dollars were able to be used to assist those who were struggling. Councilmember Dunsworth stated she appreciated all of the cuts that have been made. She indicated her comments were outside of what was presented. She understood that staff has been working overtime and has gone above and beyond through the COVID crisis to support the residents of New Brighton. She appreciated the fact that staff had put together a budget that was mindful of the situation the City was in. Mayor Johnson discussed the slide within the presentation that showed the City’s benchmarking revenue collection per capital with comparable cities. She believed that New Brighton was a lean working machine when compared to Crystal, a city that was similar in size, that had a levy that was $2,000,000 higher than New Brighton. She appreciated the comments that were made by Councilmember Allen and she wished the City had more tools available to assist struggling residents, however she also believed the City was doing a great job managing its finances. Council Business 1. Consider Resolution Adopting the Final 2021 Tax Levy.