10-27-2014 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 27, 2014 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 32 (5. CERTIFICATION OF HAZARDOUS BUILDING COSTS – RESOLUTION NO. 6456, Continued) Pagonis indicated she will do that. McMillan closed the public hearing at 7:15 p.m. Levang moved, Printup seconded, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 6456, a Resolution for the Certification of Costs Related to the Removal of the Hazardous Building Located at 2740 Shadywood Road. VOTE: Ayes 3, Nays 0. PRESENTATION 6. HENNEPIN COUNTY UPDATE FROM COMMISSIONER JAN CALLISON Jan Callison, Hennepin County Commissioner, stated Hennepin County adopted their preliminary levy in September, with a 2.75 percent general tax increase for the operating budget. For the past several years the levy has been pretty much flat, but after remaining flat for several years, the County has some additional costs that need to be accounted for. 2015 will be the second year of the contract that was negotiated with the County’s employees and there will be some increases to salaries. In addition, Hennepin County feels there is a need to add more personnel in Human Services, which has not experienced an increase for the past several years. Hennepin County has determined that those two items will need to be addressed in its 2015 budget. Callison stated overall, when you include the Railroad Authority and the Housing & Redevelopment Authority, the proposed increase is at 3.08 percent. Callison indicated that is one factor that goes into determining someone’s property tax bill, with the other being property value. Callison stated the good news is that there are now more parcels in Hennepin County so there are more property tax payers. There are also some TIF Districts that have gone offline, which provide additional resources. Callison stated the bad news is that for the period in question, residential property values grew at a faster rate than some other values. Callison stated across the 45 cities in Hennepin County, the impact will vary widely from city to city and from property to property. Hennepin County’s truth-in-taxation hearing is scheduled for December 2, which is an opportunity for property owners to provide comment. Callison stated some new initiatives in Hennepin County include the opening of the 911 dispatch facility, which will occur in December, but the ribbon cutting occurred approximately one month ago. Callison noted this facility will benefit Orono as well since Hennepin County does the dispatching for this area. In addition, Hennepin County is speaking with Ramsey County about perhaps combining some of the juvenile services. Callison stated the number of youths that are assigned to the juvenile facility in Minnetonka has declined and due to the fact that they are older facilities, they will need some capital infusion. At this point Hennepin and Ramsey Counties are looking at constructing one facility and that a task force is currently looking at different options. Callison noted she is on the task force. Callison noted the Tonkawa Road Bridge located on County Road 135 will be replaced, with the project scheduled to go out for bids towards the end of 2015.