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Taylors Falls Council members, minus Troy Aanonsen, voted 4-0 Monday this week to adopt a double digit increase in next year’s budget, but expressing hope the number will be decreased over the next several weeks, when a final tax figure must be enacted.

Mayor Brandon Weiberg pointed out that last year at this point in budgeting, the council had embraced a 23 percent increase which ended up being adopted at an 11 percent hike for the current year.  The proposed for 2025 is an increase of 12.15 percent.  “We are starting high” Weiberg acknowledged,  but there will be workshops between now and December 4, at 6 p.m. which is the date for the city truth in taxation public meeting. 

The budgeting includes: the council had eliminated its base wage in 2024 but added this back in for 2025— which amounts to $6,250 additional in the council line item. 

The city also increased expenditures for ordinance work and zoning updates by $5,000. 

Taylors Falls staff have a relatively new benefit—city-paid insurance assistance, which added $30,984. 

Administratively there will be costs for network security and other internal upgrades budgeted at an extra $38,000.   

And, the streets account is proposed to get a $10,000 boost from $40,000 to $50,000.

The council made some budgeting reductions however.  

In accepting the sheriff patrol contract for 2025 the hours were cut from the equivalent of fulltime to an eight-tenths position or from 40 hours weekly to 32 hours.  The city continues to be covered by overall countywide 9-1-1 service,  so Mayor Weiberg reminded meeting visitors there will always be first responders and law enforcement to take your emergency call.  The hours reduction shaved $31,000 from the sheriff contract, which can always be reviewed and increased at any time. Council members said the sheriff is very easy to work with and has been agreeable to needs expressed.  

Taylors Falls is one of several cities in Chisago County that pay extra for specific patrol and tasks required.  Taylors Falls focuses on having law enforcement in town during the bustling tourism season.   Stacy, Rush City, Center City, Harris and Shafer also have individual county contracts.

Staff are also taking over cleaning tasks at city hall and the contract for cleaning services will be eliminated, for a savings of $9,350. 

The final levy for Taylors Falls for this year was $267,173 and proposed for 2025 it is at $292,464.

The council was pleased to learn from a presentation by the Economic Development Commission that the collaborative effort to re-write the strategic plan is something the EDC is willing to take on, instead of hiring a consultant.

Peter Vitalis and Buck Duncan, downtown businesspersons, reported the commission wants to reboot itself as a resource for the community and council consensus was to accept their request to put a “pause” on hiring a consultant for the outreach process.

Council member Tim Grote stated he was glad to be told this, “I appreciate your engaged attitude,” he commented.

Taylors Falls had investigated hiring an outside consultant to develop the plan.  Mayor Weiberg noted, “No contracts have been signed” so it should be hassle-free to shift responsibility for the project.  

The EDC has a vacancy for an alternate member if anybody is interested in getting involved, contact city hall or speak with a council member.

The adult use cannabis issue has been put on hold in Taylors Falls to the end of this year. A moratorium on applications for adult use cannabis business was approved unanimously.  The action gives the city time to fine tune rules and standards while the state puts its license system in order.

There are now a little over 2,000 applications into the state to be considered for licenses for adult use related businesses submitted by “social equity” candidates, council learned.  The state will do a lottery initial social equity licensees, probably sometime in Q-1 of 2025.  Taylors Falls wants to have code in place and be prepared to get on board with the adult use market by then.

Kirsten Libby and Bill Parker were invited by Council member Larry Julik Heine to meet with council Monday night.  Libby has been involved in crafting statutes and regulations for medical cannabis and now is involved in recreational use cannabis as an attorney specializing in this field.  She was Deputy Commissioner of Health under Governor Carlson.

Taylors Falls stands to get in on a “serious” marketplace, Libby explained.  She also represents a tribal nation and has clients who are negotiating the brand new areas of inspections and establishing cultivation, transport and retail operations.

Parker was a former President and CEO of the medical cannabis business Leafline Labs.

Council member Julik Heine said he wanted council to consider the expertise these two could provide in drafting the city’s code in coming months and said, “We want to do this right.”

Zoning Administrator Elizabeth Haas commented that she is up for the challenge and the city has had some experience now with low dose product sales (CBD) 

The city hired a two-person consulting firm Erickson Northstar for a utility rate study and the men were on the agenda to recap their services. Allen Erickson and Nick Dragasich said their process involves analyzing the Taylors Falls customer base, their water and sewer use, and impacts of rates on them. They will help the city plan for future systemwide needs. They look at efficiencies in the department, age of the equipment and city growth.  The study will look at volume based, fixed and meter specific and other billing methods in order to arrive at a recommendation for rates that is equitable to all users and sufficient to support operations.  Rates may not be predicated on income, under state law, the council was advised.

Pastor Kevin Schumann, who has been steering the peony garden project at Cherry Hill Park, told the council he’d secured a $400 donation from peony growers Swenson Farms in Howard Lake MN.

There will be an “Octoberfest” style event at the farmers’ market at Heritage Park (scenic overlook hill) October 13, from 11 to 3 p.m.

Council approved Lions beer sales during that event.

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