Periodic Financial Reviews

Periodically we look at the long term debt of the city and see if there are opportunities to make a change that benefits the finances of the city. Recently that effort was done concerning a couple of issues. The first involved the Tax Increment District 1. This district was established about 24 years ago with intended development to occur along the frontage road, most of which occurred in the area of Sherburne Avenue and Highway 10. There was also development that occurred along Bank Street as part of the original district. Tax Increment takes the value before development and freezes it at that rate and when development occurs a new value is determined. The property owner pays taxes just like any other property but the “increment” between the before and after value creates a tax that is collected separately and used for economic development purposes.

As development occurred the city collected increment to offset costs associated with public improvements. The area of benefit expanded in 1994 to include a larger improvement district and as debt was incurred the proceeds of this district were pledged to debt service for the 1996A Tax Increment Bonds.

As time progressed and revenues were collected the city recognized that these bonds could be called as adequate revenues were available to pay off the debt. As there were sufficient revenues to address the debt the need to continue the Tax Increment District was unnecessary. Dealing with that the city decertified the Tax Increment District which places the property within that district out side of a tax increment district becoming part of the entire tax base of the city.

With the early payment of the bonds the city was able to reduce the required levy to met bond requirements recognizing an impact of approximately $35,000 per year. The city also saves in interest expense over the remaining life of the original issue for the bonds that will be paid off. These bonds also had assessment income pledged to debt service so with the bond paid, that revenue comes to the general fund until the assessments are paid in full.

Managing debt service involves more than making payments and keeping the books. The benefits of periodic reviews of debt service seem to be apparent with this example. The tax payers of the City of Becker become the winners when these actions are taken.

Advisory Committees

The City of Becker has a few advisory committees that are served by residents of the community. These include the Planning Commission, Economic Development Authority and the Park and Recreation Committee. Each year terms expire for incumbent members which allows for others to participate in serving their community in an advisory role. These position are voluntary however a per diem is paid.

For 2008 the city has 2 seats on the Planning Commission that will expire and one seat on the Economic Development Authority that expires. If anyone is interested in applying for these positions please request an application. You must be a resident of the city to apply. We have posted a form on the web site at www.ci.becker.mn.us or a copy can be mailed out or emailed as you prefer. The number at city hall is 763-261-4302. Requesting a copy by email please use nfiereck@ci.becker.mn.us.

Hockey Arena

Hockey Arena

The Becker Big Lake Ice Association has been diligently working on a plan to provide an ice arena for use by Becker and Big Lake participants. This organization has worked hard to address ice time needed to practice and play. They recently have submitted a working plan to provide for an arena in Big Lake on property they acquired in the Big Lake Marketplace.

Their plan provided for a joint powers board to be established among those entities that would participate in the funding of the facility. Having the facility on property owned by the association not only would diminish some of the costs associated with construction it would allow the Association to use that as collateral in seeking a loan to finance a portion of the facility. The association also intended on providing additional funding for construction costs. They had asked the cities of Big Lake and Becker for assistance with the remaining costs of construction. They had also wanted to seek participation from the associated townships as well.

In allocating costs the Ice Association devised a formula using 4 factors. These factors were (1) population and number of skaters (2) budget (3) users and (4) responsibility. These factors were used in conjunction with each other to determine an appropriate share of costs, and benefits, of an ice arena.

The city council held workshops to discuss and address questions concerning the proposed facility. As part of the follow up, alternate locations were also discussed and the impacts of cost shifts as a result were also reviewed. The council was impressed with the Ice Association’s level of organization and will to fulfill the association’s dream of an ice arena. There was a good deal of honest hard work accomplished to find a proposal that was fair for those parties involved.

The council discussed the matter at its November 6^th meeting and felt the City of Becker was not willing nor in a position to participate at this time. They cited location and cost per participant as issues. They also felt our present tax base situation did not lend itself to financing. They did feel this to be a good project but difficult to participate in.

Director of Golf

Those people who are part of golf in Becker know that we have seen Jeremy Lupinek depart for a job with Ping Golf in Arizona. Although we wish Jeremy well in his new pirsuit he has left a large void to fill at Pebble Creek. Jeremy did a great job and will be missed. Upon learning of his decision the city immediately started the recruiting process. An advertisement was accomplished and the notice period for applications began. We received approximately 40 applications for the position and these were reviewed and scored to bring the most qualified applicants to the top of the list. After further review 6 candidates were brought in for interviews. After conducting these interviews the list was reduced to three candidates. The final interview was conducted with department heads and council members sitting on three panels for rounds of interviews. It was noted we had three very qualified candidates and any one of them would have done a great job. During this final selection process one of three candidates dropped out leaving the city with the choice of the two remaining candidates.

In the end the council chose Troy Malo, a PGA Professional presently working in Deer Run Golf Course in Victoria, MN. Troy's formal education includes a Bachelor on Business Administration with majors in marketings and management from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He also has a PGA Professional Golf Management Graduate degree.

Troy's most recent experience has been with Deer Run where he has been working for the last 9 years. Prior to that he worked in various capacities at Baker National Golf Course for three years. His formal title at Deer Run was Business Manager/Assist Golf Professional. Troy brings a number of great ideas with him to improve operations and provide a fun, relaxed atmosphere.
He will be starting at Pebble Creek in mid-November. We welcome Troy Malo as a member of our community and look forward to his leadership at Pebble Creek Golf Course.

Progresive Decision of Cooperation

When we look to the future some of us think about family goals. Others think about job goals and how to be better at what we do. Still others think about accomplishing some task such as getting that degree. With the city and township a goal of working together was established. More specifically the City of Becker and Becker Township agreed to an Orderly Annexation Agreement.

So what's that? An agreement such as this can take a number of different forms but it generally provides for the terms and conditions under which the city can annex property from the township to become part of the city. In our instance the the agreement provides for all of Becker Township to someday become part of Becker. It also provides for the terms and conditions under which the city may annex. The agreement provides for a joint advisory planning board to review land use applications. When finally assembled this board will review applications and recommend actions to the township board for final action by them, rather than Sherburne County.

Accomplishing these tasks is not a minor matter. The township needed to develop a comprehensive land use plan. They will need to establish a zoning and subdivision ordinance. They will also need to take the final steps of removing county authority and establishing their own authority. They are effectively creating their own destiny while working with the city to plan for a better community of Becker.

The plan does not annex anything at this time. The plan doesn't change taxes. It does specify how annexations will occur and under what conditions. It clarifies the city can't annex by ordinance. Only through cooperation can the city annex. The Orderly Annexation Plan also effectively lets the communities of Monticello and Big Lake know in legal form that Becker Township is off limits for annexation. This too provides for addressing our own destiny.

We look forward to working with the township in a more proactive way. They have the best interests of the community at heart and want to move Becker in the right direction. We have an interest to not only do the same but also work towards the community of Becker moving in the same directions. This may be a historic decision but it really is a progressive decision of cooperation. I applaud and thank our political leaders for their foresight. They have made a responsible decision for the future of Becker.

Who will survive?

We’ve heard it a bunch of times. Why is the city letting all these exercise businesses into town?

When it comes to competition some business owners fell the city can and should restrict certain uses from occurring because there already are enough businesses providing that service. The city can’t and won’t regulate these activities. We have no authority to do that and it would really destroy the free market system that exists if we did. There are a lot of arguments to support a free market system. The majority of these arguments address the needs of the consumer but they also address the rights of a business person to establish a business.

In Becker we take pride in creating land uses that are functional and attractive but we have no control over the number of exercise facilities or restaurants that exist within a community. The market dictates what will be supported and what businesses will survive. The city only has authority over zoning matters. That being said if a “use” is permitted in a district the city has no authority over the establishment of it. If it is a conditional use we have review authority and the ability to control certain aspects of the development of the property. We can establish conditions on it but still have no say in whether the use should exist or not.

All this being said business people create the business climate and who operates what business. We hope they do their homework and understand the market place as we want to see their businesses survive and thrive. You as a consumer play a role in this by supporting the businesses you use. Perhaps there is room for all the exercise facilities and perhaps there isn’t. Your use or non use and some time will give us the answer to who will survive.

Zoning

I believe the majority of people understand we have zoning laws which address areas for specific land uses. The primary districts are commercial, residential and industrial zoning districts. Within these broader categories we may have subsets like single family or multiple family residential as examples.

What may not be as broadly known is that within each zoning district there are Permitted, Accessory and Conditional uses. Permitted uses seem obvious, a list of those activities that are permitted in that district. An accessory use is something that is used in conjunction with a permitted use. A detached garage or shed are examples found in a residential district. A Conditional Use is a use that is generally permitted with conditions attached. The conditions make the use acceptable within the district in which they are located.

In the area of commercial growth a good deal of land uses are conditional uses. They require a Conditional Use Permit. The zoning ordinance lists those types of businesses and business activities that require a permit. Application is made and the business activity is viewed from a zoning perspective to determine what conditions will make the business acceptable. Things like screened trash areas, lighting that doesn’t spill over to another property or even the need for fencing to separate uses are the types of concerns addressed. The permit then specifies what conditions are needed to make that use compatible.

The use (business) itself is not something we can regulate except to say that a use not authorized in a district, isn’t acceptable in that location. It can however be located in a district that allows that use. Use variances are not legal. This would be allowing a use otherwise prohibited in a district.

The use of zoning has long been seen as a means to protect property values but it also is a means to provide standards in development. It further defines the “common sense” in land use to help us all work together. It may have its detractors but zoning has been held by the courts as a reasonable use of police powers and brings order to our lives.