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Minnetrista council approves preliminary 2025 levy; discusses early hire for engineering technician
Summary
Council passed a preliminary 2025 levy described in the packet as roughly $7.0 million (a 9.4% increase) and discussed accelerating hiring of an engineering technician to handle road projects and reduce consultant spending; staff were directed to post the position with an anticipated January start if a qualified candidate is found.
The Minnetrista City Council voted to approve the 2025 preliminary tax levy and discussed staffing and budget priorities tied to road projects.
Finance Director Brian Grimm summarized the annual levy items and told council the packet proposed a gross levy listed as about $7.0 million and characterized in the packet as a 9.4% increase from the previous year. Grimm said the packet reflected outcomes of earlier work-session discussions.
Mayor Lisa Whalen raised the prospect of hiring an engineering technician at the start of the calendar year rather than midyear so the position could oversee road projects instead of relying on consultants. Grimm said staff see flexibility in using street CIP funds or general fund balance to mitigate levy impact and outlined a recruitment approach: post the position in late fall with an onboarding window around January 2025 if a suitably experienced candidate applies; otherwise, the hire could occur later in 2025.
Council members signaled support for posting the job and directed staff to proceed with recruitment and budget adjustments between now and the levy finalization in December.
The council then approved Resolution No. 73-24, the 2025 preliminary tax levy, by voice vote. The council also approved Resolution No. 74-24 to set the debt levy as a percentage of 2025 bond payments and scheduled a public comment hearing on the proposed 2025 levy and budget for Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
Next steps: staff will post the engineering technician position per council direction, continue work on finalizing levy calculations and present adjustments before the December final levy adoption.
