The Big Lake Township Annual Meeting was reconvened before their regular meeting. Every year, townships around the state are instructed to hold their annual meeting in March to approve their annual levy for the next calendar year. However, the state and the county do not need the levy amounts reported until the end of September. Big Lake Township for many years has made a habit of holding the annual meeting in March and then recessing the meeting in September, to allow for the treasurer to take more time to work on the levy.
During the annual meeting, residents of Big Lake Township are encouraged to come and vote directly on the levy.
The presented levy for 2025 increased over the 2024 levy by 2.29%, from $2,750,000 to $2,687,000. The county estimates that the tax capacity of the township increased by seven percent, so residents should see the township portion of their taxes come down from the previous year.
The assembled residents voted to approve the levy. The next annual meeting will be held March 10, 2025.
Transportation Grant
Big Lake City Road Engineer, Layne Otteson, attended the meeting to give an update on the transportation grant for which the city and township applied together. The grant was approved, and Otteson wanted to go over the proposed project again.
The impact on the township area of the project will come mainly in the form of adding sidewalks near Liberty Elementary School.
The plan will need to be reviewed by several government agencies before it can be implemented.
The township’s projected total for the project is $28,290, with the grant reimbursing the money after the project is completed. Construction will happen some time in 2025.
Firefighter Retirement Plan
The Big Lake Fire Department Relief Association has an investment fund set up to pay out a small pension to retired firefighters. The fund currently has $1.2 million in assets, and the interest on this principal pays out to the retirees. However, the management of the fund via Charles Schwab costs so much annually that the Relief Association will soon be forced to use the principal to pay those fees.
Their advisor from Charles Schwab recommended that they instead use the Voluntary Statewide Volunteer Firefighter Retirement Plan to manage the fund, as it costs far less than Charles Schwab does.
The board approved of this action.
Ladder Truck
The Big Lake Fire Department is expecting delivery of a ladder truck in early 2025. The town board was approached with the opportunity to pre-pay for their portion of the truck in order to get a discount.
Deputy Treasurer Becky Guthrie advised against this action, however. She noted that the township would most likely earn more interest from letting the money sit in a township account than they would save by paying early. The board opted to take her advice and decline paying early.
ARPA Funding
The board briefly discussed ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding, as the money given to the township needs to be committed to a project by the end of the year. But since the Treasurer, Ken Warneke, was absent from the meeting, the board decided to hold off until a later date to dedicate the funds.
Announcements
The meeting wrapped up with two announcements.
The annual dog vaccination clinic and well water testing at Lion’s Park will take today, September 21, from 9 a.m. to noon. Dog owners can bring in their furry friends to get vaccinated, and township residents can bring in a sample of their well water for a quality check. More information is available on the township website.
Absentee voting opened on Friday, September 20th, and residents are welcome to request a ballot and mail it in at any time now. Mail-in ballots must be received by the county on or before the morning of Election Day to be counted.
