6.1. SR 06-07-2021 - 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 safety inspections, planning and zoning, economic development, environmental services, parks and recreation, library, street maintenance, snow removal, infrastructure maintenance, and others. The City also provides municipal water, sewer, storm water, 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 as indicated by the building permits with a construction value of $67,780,871 being issued in 2020. New construction accounts for $29,742,347 and additions/remodels make up the $38,038,524 balance. In 2020, the city issued 116 new housing permits which is comparable to the 118 housing permits issued in 2019. Single family homes accounted for all of the new housing permits. The average value home is about $267,000 compared to $250,000 in 2019. There remains continued interest in both affordable and market rate multi -family housing projects. Many of Elk River's employers reported stable employment levels during 2020 through the pandemic and are expected to remain stable. This is largely due to the diverse industry sectors of manufacturing, retail trade, government, and health services that drive the local economy within the region. The economic outlook in this region continues to look promising with the recent developments that should continue spurring tax base growth and employment. (2)