St. Paul mayor calls for more aid from state to keep tax hikes down

Throughout St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman's budget address on Tuesday, he called on the state to help the city bridge its $17 million gap in a highly anticipated special session of the Legislature.

That request drew boisterous applause, although there was a hush when Coleman told the packed house at the Minnesota History Center that he would recommend a nearly 15 percent property tax levy increase in 2008 without additional aid.

If the state grants St. Paul more local funding, his alternative would be about a 7 percent levy hike.

"The St. Paul where you and I grew up became a city that bucked our obligations to our children and our community in exchange for a political pass," he said. "Today, we need to reject the false choices we've been given and make the tough choices that will put St. Paul on a solid footing for the future."

Coleman presented two budget scenarios, depending on if the city gets the additional $10.2 million in local government aid he's seeking from the state.

He wants to add 25 officers and 125 new squad cars to the police department with more state aid, and 13 officers and 100 leased squad cars without any more aid. Currently, there are about 600 police officers on the force.

Some of the city's recreation centers also will be affected by Coleman's budget proposal to cut operating costs.

Seven centers would be managed by outside groups, including the St. Paul school district. Recreation centers at Frost Lake, Highwood Hills, Homecroft, Dunning, Eastview, Desnoyer and St. Clair would all be transferred to various "partners," while the Orchard recreation center building would be "eliminated," regardless of whether St. Paul receives additional state aid. But two more recreation centers would be transferred to other agencies if the city doesn't get the additional aid.

"In parks and recreation, we will make significant and painful cuts, but we will provide better services to our customers when and where we need them most," Coleman said.

Old police cars

Police Chief John Harrington said he needs the additional officers and new police cars, because some of the department's cars are more than six years old and have been heavily used, and because the city is preparing to host the Republican National Convention next summer. But he said he worries about the effect that losing recreation centers will have on communities.

"I have a great deal of concern that the kids in the city do need a place to play," he said. He also said a department assessment will look at how well it has adapted to its growth in recent years.

The City Council has to approve a maximum levy by mid-September and a final levy by December. Council Member Debbie Montgomery said the council will take a look at every recommendation in Coleman's budget proposal. She said she's concerned about the proposal's effect on recreation centers, which also serve the city's senior population.

"It's an older city with an older population that are on fixed incomes," she said.

Coleman wants city leaders to take a three-year approach toward balancing the budget by 2010 by recommending comparable levy increases in the coming years. If the city doesn't receive the $10.2 million additional state aid, Coleman anticipates a 14.6 percent tax levy increase. That would cost the owner of a home assessed at $181,000 -- the median assessment in St. Paul -- $72 more next year for city services.

In addition, homeowners who see a dramatic increase in their home's taxable market values would see even higher increases.

However, if the city does succeed in getting more local government aid, Coleman recommends a 7 percent tax levy increase. The cost for the owner of that same house, assessed at $181,000, would then be $30. If that house's taxable value also increased by 13 percent, the tax bill would rise by $94.

The city has raised its levy the past two years, after an 11-year span in which the levy did not increase. Local government aid cuts, beginning in 2003, have left the city more than $30 million below what was projected for 2008.

But Phil Krinkie, president of the Minnesota Taxpayers League, said the city shouldn't rely so heavily on local government aid. He said that aid was cut in 2003 because of the disparities between what each city received.

"I don't think you can just depend on the state to come to the aid of the cities," he said.

Myron P. Medcalf • 651-298-1546 • mmedcalf@startribune.com