The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday passed a 2011 budget without an increase in the property tax levy for the first time since Mayor Chris Coleman took office five years ago.

The adopted budget, after accounting adjustments, is about $473 million, an increase of about $4.2 million from 2010.

Coleman hailed the passage, calling it a victory for property taxpayers in St. Paul. Still, he and officials in local governments across the state are bracing for what will happen at the Legislature as lawmakers look for solutions to solve a $6.2 billion hole in the state budget.

Coleman built his budget assuming the city would receive $62.5 million in local government aid from the state. The city has had its allocations cut in recent years, though.

"As we head into the new year, we are eager to work with Gov. Dayton and the Legislature on a budget solution for the state that allows local governments the resources necessary to do what we've done in St. Paul -- to craft a budget that invests in public safety and other critical services without increasing the burden on property tax payers," Coleman said in a statement.

The city's portion of the property tax levy has increased annually by 9 percent, 15.1 percent, 8 percent and 6 percent in Coleman's first term in office.

Still, given increases in the St. Paul Public Schools and Ramsey County levies, more than half of city residents will see their tax bills rise in 2011.

The meeting Wednesday in St. Paul was uneventful compared with the hours-long ordeal in Minneapolis on Monday in which that city's council members voted 10-3 to adopt a budget with a 4.7 percent levy increase.

For more St. Paul budget information, go to www.stpaul.gov/budget.

Other action

Council Member Russ Stark introduced an ordinance to create rules for ranked-choice voting in municipal elections. The voting method, approved by city voters in 2009, would be used only for City Council and mayoral races.

Ranked-choice voting, also known as instant-runoff voting, lets voters rank candidates by preference.

A public hearing will likely happen Jan. 19.

Chris Havens • 612-673-4148