By Tim Douglass

tdouglass@pctribune.com

Glenwood City Administrator Dave Iverson provided city commissioners with their first look at the proposed 2025 city budget and how it could affect the city levy.

The commission will now spend September pouring through the budget and adopt a preliminary budget and levy by Sept. 30.  Once the preliminary budget is adopted, the final budget that will be submitted to Pope County by the end of the year, can be reduced, but cannot be raised, Iverson reminded the commission.

Iverson said there is “room in the budget to make some cuts,” but said the first draft of the budget shows about a 15% increase in the city’s levy using only a 1% property value increase.  The actual tax capacity of the city is unknown so no definite levy can be stated at this time.

“It’s a realistic budget” but the city is facing increasing expenses in most areas, Iverson told the commission.  “Everything is more expensive” so he said the budget had to include those increases and the city has to estimate the levy needed to pay for those increases.  

He also said he had included increases in city employee compensation with a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) of 3% and a market labor adjustment of another 5%.

The actual budget will likely be changed, however, in the coming weeks before the preliminary budget needs to be adopted.

City hears of plan 

to inventory city’s ash trees

The city commission also heard about a plan to inventory ash trees within the city, both on private property and city-owned boulevards.  The Buckthorn Brigade has agreed to volunteer to help do the inventory of trees using an app that they used to map buckthorn in Barsness Park.

The inventory, Iverson said, would provide information about where all the ash trees are located, their size and condition.

“It’s a starting point, but we need to stay ahead of this in the city,” he added.

Earlier this summer, it was officially confirmed by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture that emerald ash borer (EAB) was found in Pope County.  

Iverson said he and other local officials believe EAB was in the area long before it was officially confirmed.  The insect larvae kills ash trees of all varieties.  

EAB was first discovered in Minnesota in 2009. The insect larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on part of the tree that moves nutrients up and down the trunk. Often trees will show several signs of infestation because of this, according to MDA.

There are now 52 counties in Minnesota with EAB.

According to the MDA woodpeckers like to feed on EAB larvae, and woodpecker holes may indicate the presence of EAB. Also EAB tunneling can cause the bark to split open revealing characteristic S-shaped galleries underneath.

Iverson told the city commission that EAB could have a devastating effect on the city’s tree population over time.  “We have to inventory what we have, come up with a renewable plan, a treatment plan and even a restoration plan, he said.  “It’s a big deal,” he added. “We’ll identify the ash trees we have in the city and develop th plan based on that,” Iverson added.  He said he believed that the inventory of trees could be completed this fall.  

Glenwood City Commissioner Mavis Pattee asked Iverson if there was some funding available in the cities proposed budget.  

“Not a lot in this budget,” Iverson responded.  “She said “we know its coming and we need to start building a pot to deal with this.”

Again, Iverson reiterated that the inventory was not a financial burden at this time because the Buckthorn Brigade is volunteering their services to do it.  “But it is a serious situation and the trees are an asset to the city,” Iverson said.  “The financial side of this is yet to come.”

In other business, the commission:

•Approved a pay request for $3,942.70 to Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc. for the 2024 Glenwood Stormwater utility evaluation.

•Met newly-hired full-time Glenwood Police Officers Benjamin Dorren and Baily Sorenson.

•Acknowledged and accepted the “unfinished project report” from city administration.  The report included the city’s plan to establish an ash tree inventory and subsequent plans to deal with trees affected by emerald ash borer.

•Heard a report from Rick Schara of West Central Initiative about their work in Glenwood, Pope County and throughout the nine-county area.  He provided packet on the WCI work and projects, stating that it was a 503(c) non profit that relies on support from the counties and cities in its service area.  He provided information documenting that since 1986, WCI has invested in Pope County with 197 grants totaling $1.6 million and 80 loans totaling $2.7 million.  

He named about eight local funds managed by WCI and four projects WCI assisted with in Pope County, including Early Childhood Initiative, COVID-19 Resiliency Fund grants, and distributions of small business relief grants.  

Schara said he would provide the city with an average amount other cities in the area contribute to WCI.