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Current Events
- If you or people in your area want to meet and discuss current/future topics related to the city, reach out to me to set up a time to visit. (email, phone call, or in person)
- As you're driving on the river road by Stephens' park, you'll notice construction on the south side of the road. That's the new central water system treatment facility in progress.
- Many of you are familiar with the phrase "rural look and feel" or "rural character." Dayton residents have said this is important to them and I agree. It's even in our mission statement. We've had a couple work sessions on the topic and I believe it'll result in a list of ideas we will be prioritizing for the future. If you have ideas, please let me know.
- There is a possibility of correcting Dayton's logo from the consultant-driven toothpaste logo to something that actually has meaning. If you have thoughts on this please let me know.
Item N (2026 Budget)
This was to finalize the 2026 budget and levy. It took quite a few discussions to get here and a lot of fortitude on the part of the council to keep the levy rate from growing.
When a city grows, there is more demand on city services (parks / public works, police, etc.) due to increases in developed properties (more people). For the most part these extra services are covered by the additional taxes provided by those properties.
In addition to growth costs, there are inflationary costs. These costs include staff raises, equipment costs, etc. If everything balanced out, the increases at city hall would be paid for by increased property values, resulting in increased taxes, paid for by your increased household income. Obviously everything doesn't balance out. That's also why the fed should be aiming for 0% inflation, not 2%. Sorry 🙂
Every year, the county gives us a number called "tax capacity". That value is roughly 1% of the total value of property in the city. That includes the increased property values and the newly developed property. The levy (taxes) divided by the capacity equals the tax rate. That tax rate dictates how much you'll pay in property taxes. When I was elected mayor, Dayton's tax rate was 56% (in the highest 5% in the state). In 3 years we reduced that rate to 36% where it's stayed and will be that amount again this year. That's lower than all the cities around us with the exception of Maple Grove.
While I believe our rate could be reduced, I don't have the votes to do that. Keeping the rate the same is still a significant accomplishment and isn't easy with all of the push by staff to increase it.
Property taxes, tax capacity, etc. are a lot more complicated than you'd think. If you want a better explanation go HERE or give me a call and I'd be happy to walk through it 🙂
Item O (EDA Appointment)
There was only one applicant for this opening and he was also currently in that seat. We voted to reappoint Tim Huttner to the position.
Item P (Amendment to an IUP)
This was a request by the permit holder to remove a requirement on the permit that didn't allow him to use a portion of his driveway. This was added to the original permit to keep his truck noise further from the neighbor. Unfortunately, the side effect of not being able to use that portion will result in even more noise due to the grade of the portion he is allowed to use. The request was not approved.
Item Q (Amendment to an IUP)
This was a request by the permit holder to add signage to the permit. When he requested the original permit he didn't request any sign permission. This was approved 5-0.
Item R (Concept Plan)
This is a concept plan for an assisted living / memory care facility next to the Sand apartments. It will be a 32 unit, single story facility. Since this was a concept plan, they were just here to present what they're thinking and take feedback. The plan was received well by the council with just some minor suggestions.
Item S (Concept Plan)
This is a concept plan for an assisted living / memory care facility just south of Raintree Plaza. It will be a 58 unit, 3 story facility. Since this was a concept plan, they were just here to present what they're thinking and take feedback. Given they'll be right next to legacy homes which are typically single level, there was a good amount of concern regarding the 3 stories. The concept as presented would likely not get approval.
Item T (A3 District)
As I predicted... the Met Council didn't approve our previous amendment submittal for the A3 zones. They won't allow it if there's any property in it with a 2030 sewer date. What's ridiculous is, those are likely not going to stay 2030 for the next change since it's extremely unlikely sewer is anywhere near there for that decade. This item was to alter the amendment to pull that land out of the A3 area and it was approved to go back to the Met Clowncil 5-0.
Item V (Aerial Truck Contract)
About 1.5 years back the fire chief presented a request to purchase an aerial (ladder) truck for $2.5M. At that time it was likely going to fail a vote 3-2. The chief made the claim that we didn't have to come up with the money until just before we took possession and we could change our minds up until then. So, with no risk to the city we thought it would make sense to get it ordered and decide later if we didn't want it. A couple of months ago we found out that there WAS a cancelation penalty of $250k if the order was canceled after work had started. So... during the council's discussion of the long term plan last month it was decided to have staff look at what the liabilities were to canceling it immediately. Staff determined there was currently no liability so we voted to cancel the order 5-0. There was a lot of discussion on leaving open the possibility of buying a used vehicle, though we are about to take possession of a 3rd engine soon. That ladder truck would have been our 4th engine. For a city our size, that's kind of a bit much.
That $2.5M would have cost each average home about $550.
Item W (Long Term Plan)
This was just a formality to accept the plan we worked on a month or so back. It passed 5-0.
Item X (Final City Tax Levy)
This was just a formality to accept the levy we had discussed a few items back. It passed 5-0.
Item Y (PD Hire)
This was approval to move part-time officer Marlen Salazar to full time. It was approved 5-0.
Item Z (Park Name)
The park known as Area 21, now has a real name... Dayton Farms. It was approved 5-0.
Please contact me for any questions or opinions.