Last week during their regular meeting, the Northfield City Council continued their discussion of the 2024 budget and the long-term projections for what the 2025 budget might look like.
A month ago, the Council approved a preliminary budget that included a tax levy increase of 11.5%, with instructions to City staff that the increase and the budget needed to be reduced. Two weeks ago, during a work session, the Council was presented with options that would trim about $350,000 from the budget, decreasing the tax levy increase to 9%. City Administrator Ben Martig said by shrinking the tax levy increase to that amount, Northfield would have one of the lowest tax levy increases in its group of peer cities.
“When you look at our peer cities and our preliminary levy compared to the other cities, we already in this year are the fifth lowest in our peer cities for total city taxes. The interesting thing is, even with the preliminary levy of 11.5%, we actually go lower. We move down to the fourth lowest of our 14 peer groups and that’s because these other cities are facing similar issues. The average increase is about 9.3% for our peer group.”
There are differing opinions on the council about how to proceed.
Mayor Rhonda Pownell said, based on the average home value of $350,000, an 11.5% levy increase equates to a monthly tax increase of about $21, while a 9% increase comes in at approximately $17. She said the $4 difference is negligible and removing $350,000 from the budget is not the responsible thing to do, when the city has greater needs. The mayor said a cosmetic reduction of 2.5% is nothing more than a “feelgood” number which only delays necessary work, shifting the burden to future budgets, and increasing the costs of work that must be done. Councilors Jessica Peterson White and Jami Reister expressed their agreement with the mayor, however, Councilor Davin Sokup disagreed with her. He said he is concerned about the amount of debt the city is taking on, and that the $4 monthly difference in taxes might not seem like a large number to the mayor, it is a large number to some. Councilor George Zuccolotto agreed with Councilor Sokup, adding that $4 could be especially difficult for people on fixed incomes.
The City Council will continue to discuss budget options until the final vote on the 2024 budget which is expected to happen after the city’s Truth in Taxation Hearing on December 5th.
Comprehensive Planning begins on Saturday
Meanwhile, the Northfield general public is being asked to share visions for the future of Northfield at the kickoff meeting this Saturday at Greenvale Park Elementary School to create a new Comprehensive plan for the city, which is being called Northfield 2045.
The Northfield 2045 Comprehensive Plan will serve as a guide for the city looking 20 years into the future. A statement released by the City of Northfield said the meeting will feature interactive stations where participants, including kids, will be able to share their vision on housing, parks, economic development, and transportation.
The statement said that the city values inclusion and access for all participants and can provide reasonable accommodations for full participation in this event. The meeting location is wheelchair accessible and Spanish translation services will be available if requested. Please email Jasmine Carey or call her at 651-212-5005 with any other accessibility needs or any additional questions.
Food will be served one hour prior to the meeting, at noon. The meeting itself will get underway at 1:00pm.
Those wishing to stay up to date with the Comprehensive Planning are asked to visit the Northfield City website. The Comprehensive Plan site includes a survey asking people what they would like to see in the plan.
The Comprehensive Planning meeting will be Saturday at noon in the cafeteria of Greenvale Park Elementary School.
School Board will discuss high school facility strategies
The Northfield School Board will meet tonight in the boardroom of the Northfield School District office building.
Among the items on tonight’s agenda will be a vote on a Community Survey the district would like to run in order to determine what kind of solutions the general public would support with regard to the condition of the Northfield High School facility. They will also discuss the timeline for making a decision on a bond referendum for the facility that is expected to be on the November 2024 ballot, the proposed 2024-2025 school year calendar, and a request to hire additional English Learner Instructional Support at the Northfield Middle School.
The School Board will always invite public comments from those who live in the Northfield School District. Time for those comments is scheduled at the beginning of each meeting. Registration is required to address the School Board. Those wishing to do so may sign up beginning at 5:30 pm.
Tonight’s meeting will begin at 6:00.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
