The Bill Comes Due
The election will bring change in the Maplewood City Council -- but not until January. In the meantime, the sitting council needs to finish its budget for 2008. Two days after the voters spanked the council majority in the September primary, the trio decided to give Rebecca Cave a last-ditch campaign gimmick, by voting 3-2 (with essentially no discussion) to freeze the property tax levy at 2007's level. This allowed them to campaign on claims of holding down taxes, while putting off the actual hard work of balancing the revenue shortfall with other revenue sources (non-property tax and fee increases) and service cuts until after the election.
Now the election is past, and we can see the bill for Rebecca's campaign strategy. Take a look at today's meeting packet, which includes the proposed 2008 rates for all kinds of city fees and taxes. As expected by anyone who wasn't lured in by the council majority's shell game, we see many double-digit (and larger) increases.
Is your street due for repair in 2008? Expect to pay 10% more for your assessment. If your street is getting a complete reconstruction, that will be an extra $500 out of your pocket, compared to people whose streets were fixed this year.
Environmental Utility Fund fees on properties in Maplewood are increasing 10%. For the typical single-family home, that means an extra $4.92 per year.
The really big increases are in the Planning Fees schedule. Have a plot of land that you need divided into multiple lots? The fee per lot created for residential one- or two-family dwellings is increasing from $87 to $1,110 -- a 1,176% increase. If you need to apply for a Conditional Use Permit for a single-family residential property, the fee is increasing 51% from $997 to $1510.
How about a sign for your business? The "Wall Sign Permit" (apparently we expect to issue 50 each year) has its fee increasing 46%, from $72 to $105.
All these fee increases aren't enough to cover the shortfall from the tax freeze, though, so even if they are all approved this evening, we can expect to see additional fee increases and spending cuts as the budget process moves forward.
Now the election is past, and we can see the bill for Rebecca's campaign strategy. Take a look at today's meeting packet, which includes the proposed 2008 rates for all kinds of city fees and taxes. As expected by anyone who wasn't lured in by the council majority's shell game, we see many double-digit (and larger) increases.
Is your street due for repair in 2008? Expect to pay 10% more for your assessment. If your street is getting a complete reconstruction, that will be an extra $500 out of your pocket, compared to people whose streets were fixed this year.
Environmental Utility Fund fees on properties in Maplewood are increasing 10%. For the typical single-family home, that means an extra $4.92 per year.
The really big increases are in the Planning Fees schedule. Have a plot of land that you need divided into multiple lots? The fee per lot created for residential one- or two-family dwellings is increasing from $87 to $1,110 -- a 1,176% increase. If you need to apply for a Conditional Use Permit for a single-family residential property, the fee is increasing 51% from $997 to $1510.
How about a sign for your business? The "Wall Sign Permit" (apparently we expect to issue 50 each year) has its fee increasing 46%, from $72 to $105.
All these fee increases aren't enough to cover the shortfall from the tax freeze, though, so even if they are all approved this evening, we can expect to see additional fee increases and spending cuts as the budget process moves forward.
posted by Frostbrand @ 12:56 PM
2 Comments:
At 3:47 PM,
Anonymous said…
You can push the numbers ad nauseum, and twist them as much as you wish. But the simple fact is that Mayor Diana Longrie has consistently pushed for restraint on spending. Her voting record cannot be denied. Confusing the citizens with numbers will not change the facts. Nor will it change the truth.
Like the wood ticks by the way-they are amazing little creatures.
At 5:23 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hollie Wenzel(Managing Editor for the Lillie News) oftentimes likes to get the last word in with her "power of the pen." She calls it the "Editor's note. I call it the "Editor's B.S." Here is her reply
Editor’s note: Current reports on the Review’s Web site hits show that not only is readership up, with people staying on the site longer, but Maplewood city stories are constantly among the top 10 chosen to read further.
Readership on the Web site is not the issue. Readership in the hardcopies(the actual newspapers) is at an all time low. It's why newspapers are dropping like flies,
and why the Lillie News is circulating solicitation materials asking for $15 donations "to defray the costs of publication."
"Maplewood city stories are constantly among the top 10 chosen to read...? It would be difficult to be otherwise considering the fact that there are only 11featured articles in the entire edition! For those Maplewood folks who love to rely on statistics to figure out the truth instead of recognizing the obvious try this one on for size-the odds of not being in the top 10 stories would be 1 in 11, or 9%.
Print this Mr. blog author. I dare ya.
Post a Comment
<< Home