What a Property Tax Cap Would Mean to St. Paul
From:
Bob Spaulding
Date:
May 15 15:17 UTC
Short link
So Governor Pawlenty has said he would like to see a property tax cap
as a required part of any tax bill he signs, and any budget
agreement. The Governor has proposed a 3% cap, or inflation,
whichever is lower. The DFL legislature has counter-proposed a 5.5%
cap.
For the moment, I'll try to ignore the irony of a Governor who slashed
tens of millions of dollars in local government aid for St. Paul
suggesting that it is us who needs help managing our finances well or
predictably, and instead just look at the policy impacts of the
Governor's proposal.
If property taxes cannot rise beyond inflation (or even if they can
rise a small bit beyond inflation), we'll have a helluva time hiring
all those extra police officers John Krenik argues so passionately
for. If our fair city has more kids in our schools, we won't be able
to tap any more money to educate them. Except....
I'm sure someone will suggest that we could just make round what - the
ninth consecutive round - of cuts to city services. From where shall
we cut it? The libraries? Parks and recreation? Sorry, cutting
$5,000 from the Public Works Director's salary won't get you
anywhere. And in a city that is regarded as among the most efficient
and effective cities in metro, I don't think you'll find much waste.
The nature of things is that we'll always find a little waste, and
some will always try to make political hey from those instances.
The reality is property taxes are the one and only significant source
of revenue the City has real authority over, and now the state wants
to take that local control away.
I think - and I thought Republicans thought - that local control was
paramount when it came to budget issues. That's why I think district
councils, at their best, can be an effective part of the policy
puzzle. That's why I like local school councils.
So what do you think capping property taxes will do for the city? And
can the state really make the argument with a straight face that it is
cities that aren't being responsible? Or are property taxes going up
because of state actions?
.