Abby Nadeau
Staff Writer

In a unanimous vote, the Forest Lake City Council approved a preliminary tax levy of $6,573,048, an increase of 20.9 percent over last year.

In the proposed budget narrative, the city is focusing on 10 specific areas of the city including property taxes, debt service, fire and police protection and community development.

The 2007 budget sets the cityís expenses at $8.3 million, $787,060 more than 2006, which equals to a 10.9 percent increase.

On the flip side, the total revenues for 2007 are expected to be $8.3 million, $1.2 million more than 2006. In 2006 total revenues (as of August 31) were $7.1 million. The yearly increase is roughly 17.08 percent.

In addition to the $6.2 million in property taxes, the remaining city revenues will come from licenses and permits, at $560,000, intergovernmental revenues, at $732,000, and charges for services, at $555,000, among other items.

Property Values

In the narrative, the city states that the ìgeneral fund property tax revenue will increase by 22.08 percentî with the 2007 budget. In 2006 the local taxable actual value was roughly $17.1 million and in the proposed budget it will increase by 22.6 percent to about $20.95 million.

The budget also stated that the county is assuming a 10 percent increase in market value for residential homestead value.

For the average $250,000 home in Forest Lake, the increase means an extra $70 a year, or $6 a month for the cityís share of the proposed 2007 property tax bill.

Protection

The Forest Lake police department budget will increase 10.5 percent from $2.4 million in 2006 to 2.7 million in 2007.

The increase is the result of the hiring of two new officers, overtime pay and an increase in fuel costs.

The fire departmentís budget will increase $261,431 from 2006. In 2007 the department will see $576,793 in their budget.

The increase budget accounts for the ìwages and trainingî of two new firefighters. A new fire inspector was also hired, which increased the 2007 budget from $63,937 in 2006 to $88,566 in 2007, a 38.5 percent increase.

In the capital outlay fund, the police department is expected to receive a new radio system in the amount of $150,000.

The police are requiring the system to be compatible with the county. Hennepin and Washington Counties are sharing a grant to receive the radios, but the $150,000 must be incurred by the city as a part of the partnership.

Other

Roughly $50,000 is being set aside to fix the roof of the maintenance shop for public works. The public works department will see a 9.9 percent increase from 2006 in their budget.

In 2007 public works is proposed to receive $1.6 million, $146,823 more than 2006.

The 2007 budget also includes an additional 1.5 full time employee. The city hired one new account clerk in 2006 and a .5, or part-time employee, is being budgeted for 2007.

The part-time employee would be a communications specialist for the city service.

Roughly $284,000 has been budgeted to cover debt. Most of the debt payment allocated for 2007 is from the new fire truck the city purchased in 2006.

The proposed levy amount set at $6.5 million cannot be increased. However, if able, the city can reduce the amount as they finalize their budget over the next several months.

A final levy amount must be filed by December 27, 2006, which will not happen until after the cityís initial Truth in Taxation hearing at 7 p.m. on December 4.

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605