The Council heard presentations last night from Planning and Zoning, Finance/Administration, EDA and Parks. The City's Finance Director also gave a brief overview of the entire budget.
I asked to have some follow through on the budget structure to make it clearer where and how City funds are spent.
Mayor Apitz asked to have a discussion on pay raises for himself and the council. I am amazed by this discussion. The Mayor is paid $3,925 and Council Member $2,838. This is above the area average. Mayor Apitz and Council Members Johnson and Larson thought we should be getting paid more for the extra meetings.
One of the many reforms I have been pushing is having work sessions so the Council can be educated on specific topics. These meetings are new since I was elected but this is work that should have been done years ago. Being the Mayor or City Council Member is not easy and is not to be done for the money. It is an honor to serve the Citizens of Isanti. I will fight any pay or per diem increase that is proposed. Pay increases will be discussed at the August 15th council Meeting. Isanti is looking at double digit tax increases and yet these three want to raise their pay.
There were two surprises last night. The first is that the proposed Property Tax Levy increase went from 11.86% to 14.73%. The second is a request for $30,000 to have a consultant review the p/z ordinances. This is not needed at this point. The Planning and Zoning Commission still has much work to do to reform these ordinances. The City has another $15,000 in the budget for codification.
There is a request for a $10,000 intern to work on planning and zoning. This should not be paid for by property tax dollars but should be paid for by building and development fees.
The City's Debt payments is currently eating up 15% of our total budget. This must be reduced. Isanti can not continue to grow debt and burden the generations to come. We must make the tough choices to keep our City debt manageable.
If we remove the $30,000 from the budget and pay for the $10,000 intern from fees we will save the taxpayer $40,000. or 1.5% of the tax levy.
This is but the start. As we continue to discuss staff request I will be laying out further reductions to balance our budget. I will not vote for a single dollar more in taxes. We need to reduce the tax burden on our residents. I will be presenting changes that will lower our tax levy by at least 7%.
The next budget work session is August 10th 6pm.
About Me
- George
- I have served the City of Isanti as Mayor since 2007. We have accomplished great things together and I look forward to building on our success. United, we move forward to a better future. You may contact me at 763-442-8749 or e-mail me at george@georgewimmer.com.
7 comments:
George, I thought the budget work session was tonight?
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=11605485&postID=115341130839719868
Did it get moved to Wednesday night?
No the session was always on Wednesday as I posted.
"The second Council Work session will begin the budgeting process on Wednesday July 26th at 6pm. The City Budget is the plan for our future. We set priorities and give direction to staff for the next year of city operation."
Sorry you missed it. The next one is August 10th at 7pm.
Looks like a simple miscommunication, in the comment link I posted you said it would be the 27th but then you had also said would be the 26th in the blog entry.
Either way, I appreciate you trying to get this information out to the public. It seems the mayor and a few of the council members do not have the best interest of the city in mind. I wish there was a way to get this out to more people.
I apologize for any misinformation. Word of mouth helps a lotas do letters to the editor. I will be starting my active door to door campaign and will have several lit drops for residents. Volunteers help get the word out. The Campaign is quite expensive since most people do not pay close attention till the very end of the election cycle and by then it can be to late.
Jeff,
I was just informed that the Meeting time for the August 10th budget session has been changed to 6pm.
George
George,
Will there be public hearings on these proposed budget increases? We plan to get the word out to our neighbors about proposed increases. My neighborhood already has people moving out and the increased property taxes may cause more people to leave!
The Preliminary levy is set at the Sept 5th meeting. The truth in taxation meeting is in December---which is of course after the election. It is important for the Citizens to be aware of the process and the budget. The City will have a much clearer picture by the time of the September 10th budget work session.
The other problem is if people try to sell their home when taxes are high they will not get full value.
People should also remember that the Mayor, Council Members Johnson and Larson voted a 30% increase in City spending last year. This has left us in a difficult situation. With specific cuts in City spending we can reduce taxes.
Rapid Residential growth has put us in a costly situation. Growth can be good if managed properly.
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