Truth in Taxation

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• Truth in Taxation
• Public Information Hearing
• December 3, 2007

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(No Transcript)
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BUDGET PROCESS TO DATE

• City Council and Staff held work sessions over
  the summer on the proposed budget for 2008
• City Council adopted the preliminary budget and
  levy in September
• Truth-in-Taxation Notices were mailed to all city
  property owners last month
• City Council met again on November 30th to revise
  budget and levy

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BUDGET PROCESS TO DATE

• Truth-in-Taxation Hearing Purpose
• The main purpose of the Truth-in-taxation
  hearing is to enhance the public participation in
  the property tax system by allowing a public
  forum to
• Discuss the Budget
• Discuss the Tax Levy
• Explain the Increases
• Hear Public Comments and Questions on Budget and
  Tax Levy

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BUDGET PROCESS TO DATE

• TONIGHT Truth-in-Taxation Hearing
• MONDAY, DEC. 17 Continuation of
  Truth-in-Taxation Hearing (if necessary)
• DEC. 17TH DEC. 27TH Budget and levy must be
  adopted by the City Council

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A REMINDER

• Tonight we discuss the Citys share of your total
  2008 tax bill

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WHERE WE STAND

• Where does Arlington Stand in regards to the rest
  of the County when it comes to our City property
  tax rate?
• Arlingtons 2007 Average City Tax Rate ranked the
  3rd lowest in Sibley County!
• Gibbon 115.97
• Green Isle 103.06
• Henderson 100.41
• New Auburn 73.88 Proposed
• Arlington 66.83 65.57
• Winthrop 61.20
• Gaylord 60.28

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WHERE WE STAND

• According to the Citizens League of Minnesota,
  Arlingtons City Tax Rate is 30th out of 63
  Greater Minnesota Established Cities (Defined as
  Cities over 2,000 in greater Minnesota with
  little growth)
• The City of Arlingtons Tax Rate is in the
  middle of the pack when compared to similar
  Cities throughout the State.

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2008 PROPOSED BUDGET

• PROPOSED TAX LEVY AND GENERAL FUND BUDGET

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14 REASONS PROPERTY TAXES VARY FROM YEAR TO YEAR

• THE MARKET VALUE OF A PROPERTY MAY CHANGE
• THE MARKET VALUE OF OTHER PROPERTIES IN YOUR
  TAXING DISTRICT MAY CHANGE, SHIFTING TAXES FROM
  ONE PROPERTY TO ANOTHER
• THE STATE GENERAL PROPERTY TAX MAY CHANGE
• THE CITY BUDGET AND LEVY MAY CHANGE
• THE TOWNSHIP BUDGET AND LEVY MAY CHANGE.

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14 REASONS PROPERTY TAXES VARY FROM YEAR TO YEAR

• THE COUNTY BUDGET AND LEVY MAY CHANGE
• THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS BUDGET AND LEVY MAY CHANGE
• A SPECIAL DISTRICTS BUDGET AND LEVY MAY CHANGE
• SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS MAY BE ADDED TO YOUR PROPERTY
  TAX BILL
• VOTERS MAY HAVE APPROVED A SCHOOL, CITY/TOWNSHIP,
  COUNTY OR SPECIAL DISTRICT REFERENDUM

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14 REASONS PROPERTY TAXES VARY FROM YEAR TO YEAR

• FEDERAL AND STATE MANDATES MAY HAVE CHANGED
• AID AND REVENUE FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL
  GOVERNMENTS MAY HAVE CHANGED
• THE STATE LEGISLATURE MAY HAVE CHANGED THE
  PORTION OF THE TAX BASE PAID BY DIFFERENT TYPES
  OF PROPERTIES
• OTHER STATE LAW CHANGES MAY ADJUST THE TAX BASE

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PROPOSED TAX LEVY

• 2007 2008 Increase
• General Fund Levy 480,863 497,680 3.50
• Special Levies (Debt Service)
• Comm. Center Debt 40,000 50,000 25.00
• 2000 Improv. Bond 36,000 31,500 -12.50
• 2001 Improv. Bond 24,400 21,100 -13.52
• Fire Certificates 36,000 32,000 -11.11
• 2004 Improv. Bond 42,000 47,000 11.90
• TOTAL LEVY 659,263 679,280 3.04
• Final Year

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CHANGES TO THE TAX LEVY

• THE 3.04 INCREASE IN THE TAX LEVY IS LOWER THAN
  THE LEVY SET IN SEPTEMBER.
• WHAT YOU RECEIVED IN THE MAIL WAS A LEVY THAT HAD
  A NET TAX INCREASE OF 9.03.
• THE COUNCIL HAS ELIMATED AN ADDITIONAL 39,526 IN
  SPENDING SINCE ITS PRELIMINARY LEVY WAS SET IN
  SEPTEMBER!

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PROPOSED GENERAL FUND REVENUES

• 2007 2008 Increase
• Taxes 480,863 497,680 3.50
• Local Govt Aid 682,139 701,806 2.88
• Other State Aid 56,555 53,275 -5.80
• Licenses/Permits 70,800 42,100 -40.54
• Other Revenue 54,700 55,850 2.10
• Total General Fund 1,345,057 1,350,711 0.42

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ADDITIONAL FACTS ON GENERAL FUND REVENUE

• 37 -- Property taxes account for 37 of the
  revenue in the general fund, up from 36 in
  2007.
• 52 -- Local Government Aid accounts for 52 of
  the revenue in the general fund up from 51 in
  2007.
• 45 -- Less revenue expected to be collected for
  building/land use permits in 2008.
• 73 -- Percent of the total tax levy that is
  dedicated to the general fund.

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PROPOSED GENERAL FUND EXPENSES

• Department 2007 2008 Increase
• Council 24,760 24,760 0.00
• Administration 227,527 241,808 6.28
• Elections 0 2,150 100.00
• Assessing 7,750 8,200 5.81
• Law/Legal Serv. 15,000 12,400 -17.33
• Planning/Zoning 60,460 68,010 12.49
• Buildings/Plant 57,730 60,730 5.20
• Police Department 262,520 247,318 -5.79
• Fire Stations 3,000 3,000 0.00
• Civil Defense 4,054 4,054 0.00
• Animal Control 1,000 700 -30.00

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PROPOSED GENERAL FUND EXPENSES

• Department 2007 2008 Increase
• Public Works 191,145 196,170 2.63
• Hwys/Streets/Roads 128,436 144,436 12.46
• Street Lighting 19,000 19,000 0.00
• Recreation 38,530 35,775 -7.15
• Park Areas 45,200 45,800 1.33
• Libraries 15,170 25,375 67.27
• Health Services 260 260 0.00
• Econ. Develop. 51,015 42,265 -17.15
• Miscellaneous 7,500 7,500 0.00
• Transfers 185,000 161,000 -12.97
• Total General Fund 1,345,057 1,350,711 0.42

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ADDITIONAL FACTS ON GENERAL FUND EXPENSES

• 31 -- General Administration accounts for 31 of
  the general fund expenses, up from 29 in 2007.
• 27 -- Public Works/Streets account for 27 of
  the general fund expenses, up from 25 in 2007.
• 19 -- Public Safety accounts for 19 of the
  general fund expenses, down from 20 in 2007.
• 8 -- Parks and Recreation account for 8 of
  the general fund expenses, up from 7 in 2007.
• 13 -- Decrease in transfers from the general
  fund to other funds in 2008.

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2008 PROPOSED BUDGET

• SPECIAL FUNDS AND ENTERPRISE FUND BUDGETS

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PROPOSED SPECIAL FUND REVENUES

• Department 2007 2008 Increase
• Fire Fund 97,670 97,550 -0.12
• Ambulance Fund 129,484 111,984 -13.52
• Community Center 105,700 106,450 0.71
• Cemetery 18,200 18,200 0.00
• TIF District 2 3,600 3,600 0.00
• TIF District Prop. Tax 45,000 45,000 0.00
• TOTAL SPECIAL 399,654 382,784 -4.22

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ADDITIONAL FACTS ON SPECIAL FUND REVENUES

• TRANSFERS FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO HELP SUPPORT
  THE SPECIAL FUNDS ARE EXPECTED TO DECREASE BY
  24,000 (13)
• THE 45,000 TAX LEVY THAT IS DEDICATED TO THE TIF
  DISTRICT DOES NOT AFFECT THE CITYS OVERALL TAX
  LEVY

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PROPOSED SPECIAL FUND EXPENSES

• Department 2007 2008 Increase
• Fire Fund 97,670 97,550 -0.12
• Ambulance Fund 129,484 111,984 -13.52
• Community Center 105,700 106,450 0.71
• Cemetery 18,200 18,200 0.00
• TIF District 2 24,791 14,791 -40.34
• TOTAL SPECIAL 375,845 348,975 -7.15

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PROPOSED ENTERPRISE FUNDS

• Department 2007 2008 Increase
• Water Revenues 378,127 376,575 -0.41
• Sewer Revenues 314,575 347,375 10.43
• Electric Revenues 1,725,100 2,101,715 21.83
• TOTAL REVENUES 2,417,802 2,825,665 16.87
• Department 2007 2008 Increase
• Water Expenses 378,127 376,575 -0.41
• Sewer Expenses 314,575 347,375 10.43
• Electric Expenses 1,725,100 2,101,715 21.83
• TOTAL EXPENSES 2,417,802 2,825,665 16.87

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2008 PROPOSED BUDGET

• DEBT SERVICE FUNDS

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DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS

• Fund 2007 2008 Increase
• 2004 Fire Truck 73,995 77,175 4.30
• RUS Loan 30,000 30,000 0.00
• 2000 Imp. Bond 58,405 61,110 4.63
• 2001 Imp. Bond 31,475 35,400 12.47
• 2004 Imp. Bond 88,833 87,143 -1.90
• 2003 Refunding 32,473 36,923 13.70
• 2004 Refunding 277,163 277,288 0.05
• 2004 Pub. Proj. 64,773 63,673 -1.70
• TOTAL DEBT 657,117 668,712 1.76
• THIS IS THE LAST YEAR OF PAYMENTS ON THE FIRE
  CERTIFICATES, ELIMINATING A TAX LEVY (32,000)

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OTHER DEBT SERVICE INFO

• 181,600 Dollar amount of property taxes that
  go to pay for City Debt, up from 178,400 (1.8)
  in 2007
• 26.7 -- Percent of the total tax levy that goes
  to pay for City Debt, down from 27.1 last year.
• THE REMAINING DEBT IS COVERED BY ASSESSMENTS
  AND/OR USER FEES (WATER/SEWER)

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2008 PROPOSED BUDGET

• IN CONCLUSION

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2008 PROPOSED BUDGET ALL CITY FUNDS

• 2007 2008 Increase
• GENERAL FUND 1,345,057 1,350,711 0.42
• SPECIAL FUNDS 375,845 348,975 -7.15
• ENTERPRISE FUNDS 2,417,802 2,825,665 10.43
• DEBT SERVICE 657,117 668,712 1.76
• RESERVE TRANSERS 0 250,000 100
• TOTAL BUDGET 4,795,821 5,444,063 13.52

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2008 BUDGET - ALL CITY EXPENSES
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2008 BUDGET - ALL CITY REVENUES
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2008 PROPOSED BUDGET

• FACTORS CAUSING THE BUDGET/LEVY TO INCREASE
• 23 INCREASE IN EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE
• 20 IN MUNICIPAL INSURANCE
• ADDITIONAL HELP AT THE LIBRARY
• ADDITIONAL MONEY FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IN
  HWYS/STREETS ROADS
• FUNDING FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN (15,600)
• INCREASE DEMAND IN DEBT PAYMENTS (15,000 FOR
  COMMUNITY CENTER DEBT 2004 IMPROVEMENT BOND)

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NEXT STEPS

• TONIGHT
• Questions from Council Members
• Open Public Hearing and Receive Input
• Close Public Hearing or Continue
• FUTURE
• MONDAY, DEC. 17TH Continuation of
  Truth-in-Taxation Hearing (If Necessary)
• MONDAY, DEC 17TH DEC. 27TH Authorize Final
  Budget and Tax Levy

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• Truth in Taxation Hearing
• Thank you for your Attention!
• December 3, 2007