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City Council Minutes Page 4 <br /> August 4,2014 <br /> -------------------- <br /> annexation was mentioned as a subject for initial discussion only and not considered <br /> to be forced upon Big Lake Township. He further noted it is in the Comprehensive <br /> Plan. <br /> Council recessed at 8:00 p.m. in order to go into a worksession meeting. The meeting <br /> reconvened at 8:05 p.m. <br /> 10.1 Arena Commission Interview <br /> Council interviewed Mr. Balabon. <br /> Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember <br /> Motin to appoint Brian Balabon to the Arena Commission with a term to <br /> expire February 28, 2017. Motion carried 4-0. <br /> 10.2 Chamber of Commerce Lease Renewal <br /> Mr. Portner presented the staff report. <br /> Council consensus was to move forward with staff s recommendation 111 the staff <br /> report. <br /> 10.3 Houlton Farm Deferred Assessments <br /> Mr. Portner presented the staff report. <br /> Council expressed concerns with the following <br /> • Insurance indemnity <br /> • Not including a sunset date in the letter <br /> Council made no changes to the letters. It was noted the city could terminate the <br /> agricultural lease at any time. <br /> 10.4 20 15 Budget <br /> Mr. Portner gave a PowerPoint presentation. He stated staff already worked on <br /> removing approximately $320,000 from the 2015 proposed budget. He discussed <br /> budget history, its steady trend upwards, the loss of Local Government Aid, Cost of <br /> Living Index, and tax levy history. He noted on average a homeowner pays about <br /> $90 per month for city services and half of that was for police and fire services. He <br /> stated the levy charged to citizens fluctuates over time due to various factors and is <br /> out of the control of the city. He stated the city will have to reduce the levy by <br /> several percentages if the goal of Council is to reduce the amount of taxes on <br /> property owners as value goes up and down every year. Every year values change due <br /> to market and improvements and residential change may not match commercial <br /> industrial changes. He furtber stated the Comparable Worth Plan needs an update <br /> P, 0 V I R I I I Y <br /> NATURE"I <br />