The St. Paul City Council ensured Wednesday that the city's property tax levy in 2014 won't be a penny more than this year's.
The council approved a maximum property tax levy increase of zero percent, following Mayor Chris Coleman's recommendation last month in his budget message to keep next year's levy flat.
The size of the levy will remain $101.2 million, about three-fourths of it going to fund city operations. The council will continue to work on the budget before final approval by the end of the year.
Coleman last month proposed a budget of $510.9 million, slightly higher than this year's spending plan. An additional $10 million in state aid, he said, helped the city avoid a significant budget gap.
St. Paul's 2013 budget included a 1.9 percent increase in the property tax levy. The increase was 4.9 percent the year before that.
The council approved a levy ceiling, which means that while it can no longer increase the levy, it could still reduce it.
The Ramsey County Board also voted Tuesday for a maximum property tax levy of zero percent for 2014.
KEVIN DUCHSCHERE
