Budget Options
As we move toward finalizing the city's 2009 budget, the city council and staff have been looking at options for reducing the increase in the tax levy. Some broad options were discussed back in September when we set the maximum levy (the 6% potential increase that shows up on your truth-in-taxation statement). At our November 3rd workshop, staff presented a number of more detailed scenarios, from the full 6% down to a zero percent increase, with the manager's recommendation being a 3% increase. I've extracted the relevant portion of that meeting packet, so you can see the details.
The council asked for more details on the impact on a department-by-department basis if we went with the zero percent increase scenario. That information has been provided in the packet for the upcoming Monday council meeting; again, I've extracted the relevant pages, for folks who don't want to download the full 152-page meeting packet from the city website.
If you have thoughts about these budget options, now is a good time to share your views with the city council (you can e-mail us all at once at CityCouncil@ci.maplewood.mn.us). I take it as a given that nobody likes higher taxes per se -- what is much more helpful is to know what people are willing to give up, in terms of level of service, in order to see lower taxes.
The council asked for more details on the impact on a department-by-department basis if we went with the zero percent increase scenario. That information has been provided in the packet for the upcoming Monday council meeting; again, I've extracted the relevant pages, for folks who don't want to download the full 152-page meeting packet from the city website.
If you have thoughts about these budget options, now is a good time to share your views with the city council (you can e-mail us all at once at CityCouncil@ci.maplewood.mn.us). I take it as a given that nobody likes higher taxes per se -- what is much more helpful is to know what people are willing to give up, in terms of level of service, in order to see lower taxes.
Labels: finance
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