I spent 30 minutes today waiting in line to pay my property taxes for my home
in St. Paul. As I listened to my fellow St. Paul residents in line and their
comments, I am very concerned that our elected officials are not concerned
about us, as we are taken for granted!
One individual was a City of St. Paul worker and his outrage at the waste in
his department alone has me very concerned as to what is going on in other city
departments.
So the question I have is, "Are our elected leaders taking us taxpayers for
granted?"
I have seen the property taxes for my house plus fees and assessments go up
some $2,147.00 over 3 1/2 years and I don't live on Summit Avenue. I will be
hit with a mill overlay of $5,000.00 in addition to the high property taxes I
already pay. In speaking to the Public Works supervisor who did our street, he
stated that this should last about 5 years and will need to be redone, as it
was put over a concrete slabs that have serious settling issues? What a total
waste of money if it is only going to last 5 years.
Are we getting good value from our paid property taxes or are we being taken
for granted?
Our school system keeps asking for more money with a reduced students
population. The State of Minnesota already funds 54 cents out on every dollar
of our state budget that goes towards education. Sure we value a good
education, as this should be a priority, but with the mess in St. Paul Public
Schools ($179 Million overrun in building projects), I really wonder if our
money is being wasted or is it just expected!
It is my personal opinion that our Democrat elected leaders are leading us down
a road to Flint, Chicago and Detroit! Crappy cities run by socialist
Democrats!
Our streets are crap, crime is up, our 911 calls are up 23%, our murder rate is
at an all time high at 23 and those shot has reached 191 this year alone and
Mayor Carter wants to cut our police force and reduce training for our firte
department. Totally crazy move by Mayor Carter!
Our mayor and city council signed off on a trash contract with the trash
haulers BEFORE passing an ordinance establishing the trash collection system
that we now have. Mayor Carter has publicly stated that he is going to ignore
the vote if the citizens vote no and continue with the current trash contract
costing taxpayers an additional $27 MILLION. WTH (What The Heck) is Mayor
Carter thinking, are we are made of money that he can just flush down the drain
to fund his failed trash experiment. The old trash collection system was
working just fine and was a better than the socialist trash collection model we
have now that was the brainchild of our Democrat elected leaders forced upon
us. Now they are thinking of taking over alley plowing, crazy! I hope that
this November people vote "NO" and that the ordinance for Universal Collection
of trash is shot down. Doesn't Mayor Carter and our city council have any
consideration for us working class stiffs? Their just tax and tax us some more
is getting very old!
I think before our mayor asks us to pay more in property taxes he should cut
his cabinet of $100,000 per year fluff political payback positions! What a
waste of money!
Our Public Works Director, Kathy Lantry needs to be fired for the poor job she
has done while in charge of public works. Our streets are crap, very little
preventative maintenance, the streets are poorly plowed in the winter. On my
street alone come spring there was no on street parking, as the snow bank was
8" feet from the curb! Yes, I have pictures!
I am so tired of these socialist Democrats pushing their social engineering
agendas when they can't even plow and maintain the streets and they have let
crime run amuck and they want to cut our police force. So much for public
safety, as our elected leaders just don't care about us!
Our St. Paul leaders have hit the poorest among us the hardest with their high
property taxes. The poor are paying for your socialist experiment through high
property rents due to increased property taxes. The senior citizens who are on
a fixed income are also being hit hard, as you keep raising their property
taxes. My neighbor who has lived in his home since 1971 is being forced to
sell due to your gross mismanagement and high property taxes!
How much taxes money does the city require? How much are you going to continue
to take? I remember Mayor Norm Coleman and Randy Kelly being fiscally
conservative with the people's money, why can't our current crop of elected
leaders do the same?
I am highly disappointed in Mayor Carter and the majority of our city council
members (Wards 6 &7 excluded).
What we need is real leadership down at City Hall. I wish our elected leaders
had a chance to hear the comments made by the citizens waiting in line to pay
their property taxes. It would have been good for Mayor Carter and our city
council to actually look the taxpayers in the eye and tell them why they are
taking so much of their hard-earned money and throwing it down the toilet with
their failed socialist policies.
John Krenik
St. Paul, MN
"Now ready to let the socialist Democrats ruin our city like they have in other
cities!"