6.2. SR 06-19-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The City of Elk River operates under a statutory form of government consisting of a four member City Council and a Mayor who is also a voting member. Council members are elected by ward to a four-year term with two Council seats up for election each even year. The Mayor is also elected to a four-year term. The City Council is responsible for adopting the City's budget and tax levy, passing resolutions and ordinances, all hiring and firing decisions, policy making, development and growth planning, and overall direction of the City. In addition to providing general government services, the City of Elk River provides a full range of other services including police and fire protection, building and other safety inspections, planning and zoning, economic development, environmental services, parks and recreation, library, street, snow removal, infrastructure maintenance and repair, and others. The City also provides municipal water, sewer, garbage, and electric services and operates two off-sale liquor stores. The annual budget serves as the foundation for the City of Elk River's financial planning and control. Budget requests are submitted by all departments to the Finance Department each May. The Finance Department compiles these requests into a proposed budget. The Finance Department and city administrator review the information and present a draft budget to the Council in July for consideration. Following Council discussion and public input, the final tax levy and budget are approved in December. The City's Financial Management Policies allow department heads to make administrative budget amendments (excluding personal service and capital outlay) throughout the year as long as the total department budget does not change and the amendment is approved by the city administrator and finance director. The Council approves additional budget amendments in December of each year. Budget to actual comparisons are provided in this report for each individual governmental fund for which an appropriated annual budget has been adopted. For the general fund this comparison is presented on page 28 as part of the basic financial statements for the governmental funds. For other governmental funds with appropriated annual budgets this comparison is presented in the governmental fund subsection of this report. Local Economy The local economy has continued to grow by the increase in building permits with a construction value of $51,368,317 being issued in 2016. Additions and remodels accounted for $21,700,085 of new value and $29,668,232 in new construction makes up the balance. The number of new housing units remained steady from 74 in 2015 to 75 in 2016. Single family homes accounted for 73 units and 2 twin homes accounted for the new housing units in 2016. The average value of a new home increased to $216,557. Many of Elk River's largest employers reported stable or growing employment levels between 2016 and 2017. This is largely due to the upward trend in manufacturing activity in the region. Many larger Elk River employers are experiencing modest growth. There has been continual interest in both affordable and market rate multi-family housing projects. In 2016, several businesses completed expansions and renovations to their facilities and several senior projects were approved with construction expected to be completed in 2017. The outlook in this region looks promising with commercial industrial activity and the recent increase in housing projects that have made their way through the review process for construction in 2017. (2)