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St. Paul City Council backs hike in property tax
Council members clashed over whether seniors and others on fixed incomes could afford the 14.6% increase proposed for 2008.
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After hours of bickering, the St. Paul City Council voted 4-3 Wednesday to maintain Mayor Chris Coleman's proposed maximum property tax levy.
That amounts to a 14.6 percent increase for 2008.
The council will set the final budget in December.
Council Members Kathy Lantry, Pat Harris and Debbie Montgomery voted against the increase, while Dave Thune, Lee Helgen, Dan Bostrom and Jay Benanav supported it.
Matt Smith, the city's financial director, said a taxpayer living in a house with a $170,000 taxable value could pay between $25 and $91 more on their tax bills next year as a result of the levy increase, depending on what happens to the taxable value of their homes in 2008.
Harris and Lantry supported a proposal to move $1.4 million from the city's sewer fund to the general fund, which would have lowered the levy by 2 percent.
"There are actually people attached to the maximum levy that we set," Lantry said.
Montgomery said some seniors who live on fixed incomes could not handle a property tax increase.
"I reject the notion that we should inflict this high of an increase," she said.
Benanav, who supported the levy increase, said that it was a tough call but that he knew of no other way to solve the city's $17 million budget gap.
"The reality is that if we're going to keep our city vibrant, including libraries, we don't have a choice," said Benanav, who is not seeking reelection.
Thune concurred, saying that the city would have to prepare for major cuts without a levy boost.
The council also approved a shift of $300,000 to the city's library budget in hopes of restoring hours at some libraries, but the mayor's overall levy remained intact.
The mayor's office intends to hammer out details of the final budget with the council in the coming months, Coleman spokesman Bob Hume said.
"It's a step in the process," Hume said of Wednesday's vote. "It's a step toward our goals of bringing the city to structural balance."
Myron P. Medcalf • 651-298-1546
Myron P. Medcalf • mmedcalf@startribune.com
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