Remarks by Patrick Keane
68 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 3 of 3
- Play at 2:26:40
“I'll make a two-part motion. Number one, adopting a resolution certifying the 2027 preliminary tax levy of $124,901,338, which includes the preliminary operating and capital budgets and establishing Monday December 7th as the public hearing date for the final adoption of the 2027 supplemental budget and levy increase and part 2 approving a $100,000 funding for any path home from the 2025 state statewide affordable housing aid fund.”
City Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 2:27:26
“Yeah, again, it was a nice surprise going from 2025 to 2026 and seeing the 2027 come down 2027. 2% or more. I also note that they are electric went from 6 down to 4 because of operational things that happened through the year going into 2027. so those are nice to see and I usually like to state we staff works very hard on trying to get this budget all together and keeping everything straight. But. I ALWAYS WANT TO CONSIDER THIS TO BE OUR COUNCIL BUDGET. THIS REFLECTS OUR PRIORITIES AND DECISIONS WE MAKE THROUGH THE YEAR. YOU DO THE BUDGET AT THE END BUT IT REFLECTS THE DECISIONS AND THE…”
City Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 35:07
“Yeah, I just wanted to clarify while we're on the special revenue municipal rec, I see we make a reference to the new arborist position that was in the decision pack. But again, I wanna make sure that's not funded through the special revenue fund, that's levy funded position?”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 35:43
“Okay, so from my perspective, the decision package was approved, so the levy goes up a nominal amount, but that money is put into this municipal rec, and then the salary is paid out of there, and if it's over or under, the balance stays there. Correct.”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 36:16
“Okay. I just didn't know how commingled the different sort of rec things are with forestry.”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 50:13
“Just on these specific things, General Manager McCullough, I'm trying to understand like on the and also on the Meadow Lakes. These are driven by new developments, but it sounds like they're being worked into the rates thing, which almost sounds like the expenses are being spread across the customer base and not carried by the new developments. Is that like a policy or that just sometimes happens with the way the work happens?”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 51:34
“Right, and I didn't want to get into the complexity of teasing those apart, but I do appreciate the goal of trying to drive the expense to where they're being driven from, and to have them paying it, as opposed to just absorbing into the system.”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 1:08:28
“Again, I appreciate trying to shut this down in the supplemental budget discussion, but I'll add one thing. I hear the discussion between the tool side of it versus the policy. I also think there is a style side of this. What is an elected official's job? And some want to do it one way, and some do it a different way. Some view it as their responsibility to communicate to everybody, where, to me, I'm always trying to direct them towards the communications group. And the communications I do is one to one, I don't try to do it a blast. So I think there's a style part of this too, and I haven't…”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 1:36:23
“Early on slide seven, government services growing. In my view, I was trying to look at the overall seven year view and we're at about 6% a year average, which is above the growth of Rochester and also like above inflation. But we've also added a bunch of services like 311. And most of all of those things have been council approved. So I'm watching and thinking, is it reasonable? But I'm also watching on page 12 when you talk to tax capacity below 50%. I just have this bad feeling that that is so overwhelmingly supported by these increase in property values that have happened over that same…”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 1:52:15
“Yeah, I'm going to just follow up on Council Member Palmer's thing. I understand that there is one transit fund at the end, but I think it would be misleading to try to reflect BRT in here now, especially, I mean, I actually struggle when I look out in 28 and 29, because that is a Mayo-supported thing, so that there probably shouldn't be, depending on our metrics, we shouldn't be underrunning it, but the fact that we don't have those federal and state commitments yet, it just would make this less valuable for me to try to look through. But again, it's jumping off the page here that you are…”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 2:20:28
“Yes, so first off, I really do appreciate your team coming in with KPIs, but also understanding that this is a way to look at it, and there's different connections to it, but it almost is almost like looking at the scoreboard than looking at the game. And within the game, it still strikes me as our biggest problems we're still trying to get over is the collapse of ridership during COVID. It has not come back, whether that's systemic or something we just have to figure out. This idea that we got funding help during COVID and now we're coming out of it. And that's clearly the main problem when…”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 2:23:48
“Well, I'm glad to see the micro discussions coming to the discussion. I think VIA does bring a lot to the table, more than just that sort of, not just operational partner, but also having that experience. But I also want to sort of vote for not so much asking what our customers watch, but watching what they do. And this whole thing with the Mayo shuttles and how they got put in place, and then we're gonna try to figure that out. In the meantime, BRT comes in, and I think it's gonna change behaviors, depending on who gets the 2,500, parking passes and who gets something else. But I am worried…”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 2:26:14
“Yeah, no, I appreciate that. And I don't want to belittle the because I really do appreciate have KPIs. But yeah, I guess the other part of this, the underpinning of this is this idea of the number of people who are so dependent. And I don't mean just people trying to get to their jobs, but people running businesses that this is the way this stuff works. And if if we fail on it, it really is going to drive a lot of other problems that that I just don't want us to have to deal with.”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 2:49:29
“Yeah, thanks for being here. And again, I did meet with you. I appreciate getting, there's something about this that I get suspicious of with the idea of like economic mobility, but I really liked the thing you started out with. And it started out with economic stability, moving to economic security, moving to like building wealth. And I almost thought I'd missed the first one is like at risk, starting out at risk. I am still unclear if like, I mean I know this is not, like I really appreciate the city's not trying to take this in here, we're gonna do this, but if you had, if you were gonna…”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 2:50:40
“And I think they're all contributors too, and I always get caught up with this mobility, because I look at this mobility as being able to kind of build a career or build something. My other comment is, and this is getting personal lately, but I don't like to see the first time we talk about economic mobility, we talk about let me help you start a business, because 85% of us, we get a W-2, that's what our careers are, and to say we're gonna start out with entrepreneurship is a wonderful thing, and hopefully some people really do well with that, but it is ignoring the majority of the…”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 1:00
“I'll move to approve as presented. Second.”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 2:45
“Council Member Keene. Just minor logistics, but the resolution does repeal and replace a resolution with a specific number, but the one we're making does not have a specific number. That's just logistics that'll come after we make the resolution?”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026
- Play at 3:18
“I'll move to adopt a resolution to repeal and replace resolution 137-26, authorizing the execution of the fiscal year 2022 Rebuilding America infrastructure with sustainability and equity, also known as RAISE grant agreement with the United States Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Department of Transportation to provide up to 19.9 million in federal funding for the construction of the Sixth Street Bridge neighborhood safety and riverfront improvements, project number J7919.”
City Council · Aug 24, 2026