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There have been several days of testimony in the contested annexation case being heard by an administrative law judge in Wyoming City Hall. Hearings allow lawyers representing Stacy and Chisago City to make their cases for being awarded acres of of Wyoming Township that are now in the orderly annexation petition. Administrative Law Judge Stephen Mihalchik is presiding over the hearings.

Interesting information has surfaced in this process.

A planner with McCoombs Frank Roos Bill Weber, worked with the township and Wyoming City on the combined comprehensive land use plan. Weber, with over 30 years in the planning field, said two cities contesting an orderly annexation is "unique" in his experience, when questioned by attorneys.

The size of the annexation is also out-of-the-ordinary. If the whole township is authorized to blend into the new Wyoming City, which is what the petition seeks-- the result will be a city bigger in area than Circle Pines or Mahtomedi.

Attorney Christopher Hood pointed out in cross examination of Weber; even if Chisago City is awarded the 4,400 acres it seeks out of the township annexation area, Chisago City's population would become 5,365 and the united Wyoming would still have a population of 6,310.

In response to testimony that Wyoming City must retain the contested acres to create a viable city-- Attorney Hood asked planner Weber if Wyoming City doesn't also have Linwood Township to expand into. Weber said that's certainly possible. Weber noted Chisago City has Chisago Lake Township for expansion.

Hood referred to one of the factors that comprise "community" which Weber spoke of addressing the Comp Plan, asking if Weber was aware the contested area Chisago City seeks is in the Chisago Lakes School District and not in Wyoming city's Forest Lake School Dist.

The legal counsel for Stacy City disputed Weber's report for the judge. Attorney Hoff said the report inaccurately depicts the 770 acre area being sought, adding Weber has "fundamentally misunderstood" the Stacy City request in information Weber submitted to the hearing.

Amongst boxes of studies, reports and charts that the administrative law judge is receiving, there was a financial analysis commissioned by Wyoming City; done by David Drown Associates, Inc. in Minneapolis.

This approximately 20-page report concludes:

~ Wyoming City taxpayers are paying a lot of money per capita for law enforcement and even by annexing the whole township into the city, the level of police service will be adequate.

Using 2005 audits and statistics the Drown report shows Wyoming City at $154 per capita for "police expenditures." The report says, "...with a surplus of police force capability right now, Wyoming will provide experienced police services to the expanded community, with no increase in fulltime positions."

The report notes the city's 2008 budget increased per capita spending for police to $164.

~ A 10 to 15 percent increase in Wyoming fire department expenditures is projected after annexation.

~ The public works department, under the annexation agreement, grows to eight fulltime staff. The township (three staff) has one public works retirement planned. The analysis says this is a "relatively high level of staffing" even for a community the size of the fully consolidated township and city.

~ There will be six administrative employees in the newly-annexed city. The agreement developed along with the orderly annexation petition required all three township admin staff be retained and the three city staff be kept. "Combining all at the Wyoming City Hall will not be easy," the Drown analysis concluded.

~ Wyoming City bought into the wastewater treatment plant consortium at 498,000 gallons per day, and now uses 297,000 GPD. According to the analysis, the new combined city will eventually require 3.5 million gallons per day new wastewater treatment capacity. The Wyoming city engineer was scheduled to speak this week on addressing this future capacity and infrastructure needs.

~ The city expects to lose $22,500 in Local Govt. Aid in the first year of consolidation, and the existing township annual fire payments of $20,000 will go away. Revenues decrease at least the first year after annexation. But, in state aid projections for the second year revenues of the newly-combined city there's $250,000 as "new" money mostly as street cost-sharing or municipal state aid, from MnDOT.

~ Wyoming has one of the highest tax rates in Chisago County. For 2007 it was 45.7 percent. The township's was 16.1 percent. For 2008 the rates were gotten closer to each other, but there's still a gap. Wyoming City is at 37.8 percent in 2008 and the township rate is 24.7 percent, according to the Drown Assoc. analysis.

In the year following consolidation the city plans to drop its rate to 35.9 percent. The goal is to have a united new city tax rate in five years of 27 percent.

The orderly annexation agreement proposes to tax in-coming township parcels (not using sewer and water lines) at 50 percent of the city rate in 2009, 2010 and 2011. In 2012 this goes to 60 percent. In 2013 this is 70 percent, and so on.

~ The analysis goes into depth on how loss of the proposed annexation territory will affect the financials of a united city.

The contested areas are 43 percent of the current township's tax capacity. The judge is informed that, assuming the contested areas go to Chisago City and/or Stacy, the new city tax base is decreased by 18 percent. There's a domino effect that impacts Municipal State Aid formulas and a host of other potential revenues, that are based on population and valuation for taxing purposes.

The report also points out that loss of the contested area means the "best location" for a new trunk line for development in a united Wyoming won't be available and the services would have to be extended through developed neighborhoods.

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