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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />November 27, 2023 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br />Page 3 of 10 <br />than she makes so she asked the Council to think before approving that. She said Orono property owners <br />are not an endless revenue source. <br />Brian Turbeville, 997 Wildhurst Trail, said he has been attending City Council meetings for about a year <br />and has had to watch votes being taken that are adding millions in one vote for a Fire Department. He has <br />listened to speeches from Council for a year on how the City needs to solve a $500,000 problem by <br />spending $3 million in one night. The opinion was Long Lake was deficient in providing services for the <br />future, he said, yet this Council voted down increases requested for Long Lake Fire for equipment and <br />other needs prior to that. During the time the Council said it was talking about a new Fire Department, the <br />Council bought a new fire truck and updated it. The City has owned that truck for a year but he said he <br />was curious if it has left the garage. Suddenly one day, the Council was not talking about it; it was <br />decided so get on board. He noted that was Council Member Johnson’s lecture to Council Member <br />Benson. The City has spent millions on equipment and is proposing $3 million for a temporary fire <br />station. Take on top of that the legal problems this Council has had way beyond surrounding cities, he <br />said. Not every home in Orono sits on the lake. Not every home has residents making $300,000 or <br />$400,000 per year, he said, adding the City is driving out residents who will not be able to afford those <br />increases, people who work in this City. He said it has been an amazing year watching politics up close <br />and he is extremely disappointed. <br />Mayor Walsh closed the public hearing at 6:52 p.m. <br />Benson said she agrees that asking residents to pay for duplicate fire services for 2024 and 2025 is not <br />responsible. She said the amount of money the City intends to spend on the Orono Fire Department in <br />2024 is not well-placed. She also said the City is not paying down debt according to schedule in 2024 but <br />is instead increasing debt due to the Fire Department. <br />Walsh said Orono is one of the lowest tax cities and has reserves to pay for roads or other needs. He said <br />the enterprise funds pay for needed items in the City like road projects, so they are not slush funds. He <br />said expenses have gone up in nine years due to inflation and personnel costs but also because over nine <br />years, the City has made a concerted effort to fund all accounts. At one point, he said, the City had zero <br />dollars in the budget for road improvements, parks, and public works. A pavement management plan is no <br />plan with no money. The pavement plan is now caught up, he said. He listed the park improvements that <br />have been made in that time. There was no technology in the City nine years ago, he said – just file <br />cabinets and boxes of paper. Now everything is on microfiche and online. He also said the City has been <br />protecting taxpayers from bogus claims. The Orono Fire Department will provide what is needed for the <br />long-term needs of the City, he said. The Orono Fire Department will continue to move forward. It is in <br />the best interest of citizens and will begin on July 1, 2024. <br />Benson said if the Fire Department was removed, according to her talks with Olson, the levy would be a <br />four percent increase instead of 12.26 percent. <br />Walsh said because so much has not been done, Orono would be giving all that money to Long Lake for <br />fire equipment. This plan provides for future replacement which will be budgeted, he said. <br />Johnson said he owns multiple properties in the community and budget decisions the Council makes <br />impact Council Members as well, as they are also residents of the community. He said property values are <br />set by the County and he would encourage people to have those conversations with the County. <br />Regarding enterprise funds, he said infrastructure and depreciation are included in rates so the City does <br />6