01-12-1998 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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m • [Draft letter to the editor (or ask to submit it as a guest column); print out on city letterhead] Dear Editor: Over the past few months, the___(your city name].______City Council and staff have been working on our city budget. We’ve been juggling our community ’s needs for flist infrastructure, street improvements, library, paries, water tower- etc...]____with the money available in our budget. We’ve taken into account our future growth projections, the quality of our neighborhoods, the unique needs of our businesses and schools, and the equipment our city departments may need, like snow plows or fire engines. In other words, we’re considering the needs and wants of our neighbors, friends and families. Last spring, the legislators in St. Paul enacted a law limiting how citizens in__ city]______can spend our tax dollars. But these “levy limits’’ don’t take into consideration our [your good spending track record, our unique needs, or what services our community believes are important. In fact, levy limits can end up costing taxpayers more money because we have to borrow money for equipment or projects instead of saving and budgeting. Some groups that lobby at the state Legislature have accused cities of being the cause of rising property taxes in Minnesota. But look at the facts -- cities have held the line on our tax levies. From 1990 to 1996, cities increased their levies just 1.78 percent, adjusted for population and inflation. By contrast, counties increased their levies by more than 10 percent, and schools by more than 15 percent. If an individual city ’s levy did increase, it’s because that city faced unique needs, like a fast growing population, aging streets and sewers, or a natural disaster. Levy limits are just a political quick fix and not the answer to rising property taxes or reforming the property tax system. Levy limits arc a one-size-fits-all policy that ignore differing needs in the state ’s 850-plus cities. Cities are careful stewards of your tax dollars. As your local government, we are in the best position to make responsible decisions about the services in our community. We encourage citizen involvement in the budgeting process and will continue to work to meet your needs. And as members of the League of Minnesota Cities, we’ll be working next year to repeal levy limits and bring spending decisions back to our community. Sincerely, [mayor or city manager]