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Editor's ViewpointMeditations Of A Minnesota Mossback |
TnT ... A Golden Opportunity . And Wishful Thinking.
People who attend a lot of local government meetings - like me - note that citizen voices are becoming more strident on issues of government spending.
It's the perfect time for it, as Truth-in-Taxation hearings begin in a few days.
"T-n-T" hearings - as they are referred to for short - are not intended to be so much explosive in nature as they are an opportunity for taxpayers to comment on proposed local government budgets before they are adopted.
Do the hearings make a difference?
They seem to.
Following Hugo's 2006 T-n-T hearing last December, for instance, an eleventh-hour $100,000 city budget cut was enacted. This year, the city of Hugo was ranked 98th out of 113 Twin Cities metropolitan communities - 113 being lowest taxed - by the independent Citizens League in its 2007 ranking of property taxes.*
Although the Citizens League rated the city of Lino Lakes 14th out of those 113 communities, I find it interesting that last year there was little citizen input at the Lino Lakes T-n-T hearing. Clearly, Lino residents seem content with the level of service the city is providing for the price they are paying.
That works for me. People who live in a community should decide what services they want to pay for.
Some think that Hugo city officials should cut deeper.
Last month, several representatives from We The People attended the Hugo council's budget workshop to suggest that the city trim an additional $600,000 from its proposed 2008 general fund expenditures which, at last look, were projected to tally $3,929,088. For comparison, last year's budgeted general fund expenditures were $3,625,575.
Suggested cuts include eliminating some city personnel positions, scheduled equipment replacements, and smaller expenditures such as mulch for the city hall rain garden.
In eliminating $600,000 from its preliminary budget as We The People proposes, the city of Hugo would be on target to spend $3,329,088 - 8 percent less in 2008 than it did in 2007.
The group said it would be back in December for T-n-T.
That's how the system is supposed to work.
When it comes to local budgets, spending, and priorities, city residents have a golden opportunity to weigh in on the kinds of services they want - or don't want.
Police protection, parks, pothole patching, and planning for transportation improvements like the I-35E interchange are services that cities usually provide.
Wishful thinking doesn't build soccer fields and city halls. Tax dollars do.
The reason the I-35W/E Coalition - which has been heavily involved with bringing the planned 2009 interchange reconstruction project to the final design stage - meets at Hugo City Hall is that the Oneka Room is the only locally-situated government space where the group can easily assemble. Unlike other city community rooms, the Oneka Room is big enough. The Hugo Senior Citizen Club meets there. The Hugo Lions Club uses it. Legislators and senators hold Town Hall meetings there.
Hugo taxpayers paid for it, and I'm one of them.
I like the new trees and banners along Frenchman Road. Hugo looks like a place that wants me here.
To quote the woman who spoke at the recent legislative Town Hall meeting in Hugo, "Taxes pay for stuff that all of us want."
Sometimes taxes pay for stuff that we don't want. Kudos to We The People for taking the time to get involved in the budget process.
If I were to get up in front of the Hugo City Council on Dec. 3, I would tell council members that I want additional police presence in the city. The council's 2008 budget, as proposed, will add another deputy. It's a good start, but I don't think it's enough.
My youngest child plays soccer on Mahtomedi soccer fields, but I can understand that some residents want more soccer fields in Hugo. I might not agree with the expenditure, however. Those soccer fields, planned for Rice Lake Park, are in the planning stages now.
Police protection and soccer fields aren't free.
Neither is street salting and snow removal, dumping park garbage cans, and mowing the ditches.
Though law enforcement might be my priority, and recreational opportunities might be my neighbor's priority, we might agree that public safety and places to play and compete in our neighborhoods are part of what makes Hugo a great place to live.
Or we might not.
But wishful thinking won't add deputies, build soccer fields or trim the budget.
Speaking up at the city's Truth-in-Taxation hearing will have a lot more effect.
*Rankings are for total taxes, including county, city, school district and special taxing districts, expressed as a percent of the market value of the community's average-value home.