(KNSI) – St. Cloud residents could see a policy change regarding how the city sets its property tax rate.
For the last 20 years, the city would capture the growth when it came to property tax increases, meaning homeowners’ taxes would only increase if their land value did. That led to budgets former Mayor Dave Kleis would say, when adjusted for inflation, the city was spending $8 million less than his first budget.
The preliminary data showed values increasing between 4.4% and 3.29%, although those will likely change in the next few months.
Newly elected Mayor Jake Anderson took an early peek at possible property valuation and told KNSI News those increases, along with inflation, could lead to the first rate hike in decades. “We have some financial challenges coming up, just like everyone, and it’s best to present those early on if there’s going to be tough choices made. My goal is to always keep the tax rate flat and to capture the growth to do it. But I’m also a financial realist.”
He says years of lean budgets have left no fat to cut, and “any cuts we make will be painful, and it’ll cause a reduction in services. That’s just being honest. Find revenue or cut.”
He stated the city started having staff, including police and firefighters, leave in droves for higher-paying positions elsewhere. That forced the city to conduct a wage study and increase pay to bring them to the middle of the pack.
St. Cloud has $65 million in bond debt and enjoys an AA+ rating, one of the best. The city will take on more than $43.5 million in new debt to build Fire Station 6 and its training center, which will be paid for through a voter-approved property tax increase.
The mayor will present his budget in August after he has some firm numbers.
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