Mayors of Minneapolis, St. Paul focus on jobs, public safety

In their annual budget proposals unveiled this week, the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis both emphasized two important areas for increased attention and investment — jobs and public safety. And both city leaders are suggesting significant property tax levy increases.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman committed to adding 3,000 jobs to the city over the next three years, with a focus on encouraging employment in areas with high concentrations of poverty and diversity. To support that goal, the mayor suggests putting $2 million into a Job Opportunity Fund to provide a mix of loans and grants to those who can help create good-paying jobs. His budget also would fund positions for community ambassadors to work with young people, and the Police Department would add three full-time community-engagement staff members.

In Minneapolis, Mayor Betsy Hodges said that 70 percent of the new spending she proposes would be aimed at improving public safety. Her budget would add five firefighters and 15 sworn police officers, including three for a police and mental health co-responder pilot program. Her spending plan is rooted in the fundamentals of public safety, managing growth and good government — all of which have equity components.

Hodges and Coleman continue to press their equity agendas, including job training and educational opportunities for lower-income residents. The mayors understand that their cities' growth and prosperity are tied to communities of color. Nonwhites make up the fasting-growing segments of the population, so their success is crucial to the vitality of the cities.

Hodges is calling for a 5.5 percent property tax levy increase in 2017, which also would fund the agreement the city reached with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board for park and road maintenance and improvements over the next 20 years.

In addition to the new cops, she would devote nearly $1 million to community-driven public safety strategies. Due to higher property values and an expanded tax base, her proposed budget could reduce taxes on the median $190,000 home by $24, according to a preliminary estimate.

Coleman asks for a 4 percent hike, along with various fee increases. Should the levy increase hold, the median $161,000 home would see a $22 annual tax increase as well as a $63 increase in fees.

Those are the highest percentage levy jumps in several years. Coleman's budget assumes that the Legislature will approve a $3 million increase in local government aid (LGA) in a special session. Hodges did not factor in additional LGA relief in her proposal, so her proposed levy increase could be cut. Coleman and Hodges both said that levy increases are often necessary to prevent inflation from cutting into the basic funds needed to maintain city services.

Both Minneapolis and St. Paul are benefiting from a recovering economy, population growth and increased interest in urban living. With those realities as a foundation, the mayors' budget plans represent a good place to begin spending discussions.

As the two city councils start those talks, they should be mindful of keeping service levels high and property taxes as low as possible to keep the growth going.