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RELEVANT LINKS: <br />League of Minnesota Cities Handbook for Minnesota Cities 9/10/2024 <br />Municipal Budgeting Chapter 20 | Page 19 <br /> Many cities will have some activity in most of these seven categories and <br />the first two categories (general government and public safety) make up the <br />majority of city expenditures. <br /> A. General government <br />Accounting Manual for Small <br />Cities and Towns in <br />Minnesota. <br />Uniform Chart of Accounts, <br />Office of the State Auditor. <br />Expenditures under this category include general costs for the administration <br />and finance of city government. Costs include those associated with council <br />activities, such as publishing ordinances, and meetings. This category <br />includes all costs for holding general and special elections. <br /> Legal costs fit into this category as do salaries, wages, and related employee <br />benefits such as employer contributions to retirement systems, insurance, <br />sick leave and similar benefits for general fund employees. <br />Minn. Stat. § 415.11. City councils may temporarily reduce their own salaries for one year. The <br />law allows a city council to enact an ordinance to take effect immediately <br />and provides an automatic readjustment back up to the previous salary <br />unless a city’s ordinance specifies a different time. <br /> B. Public safety <br />Minn. Stat. § 626.8458. The basic costs of public safety, at service levels determined by the council, <br />include police protection, fire protection, ambulance service, emergency <br />preparedness, and some protective inspections. Cities should be sure to <br />budget for public safety training costs. Training costs include statutorily <br />required training, such as police-pursuit training and training requirements <br />for part-time police officer licensure. <br />Minn. Stat. § 424A.091. <br />"Municipal Contributions to <br />Volunteer Fire Relief <br />Associations,” Office of the <br />State Auditor, Feb. 2009. <br />The city must provide for at least the minimum obligation to the fire relief <br />association in the annual municipal budget. The main sources of revenue for <br />relief associations are municipal contributions, fire state aid, and investment <br />earnings. <br /> Municipal contributions can be made voluntarily by a local community or <br />may be required, based on the relief association's financial situation. <br /> Specifically, state law requires that a city pay a minimum annual <br />contribution to the special fund of its affiliated fire relief association, unless <br />the special fund is fully funded, or fire state aid is sufficient to cover the <br />municipal obligation. Decreased earnings on investments generally mean <br />higher required municipal contributions, which can create challenges for a <br />municipality’s budget. <br />28