While no final decision has been made yet, it would seem that the Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service board will not be setting up a taxing district anytime soon.
In 2021, the State of Minnesota made a change in an existing law allowing municipalities to establish taxing districts for their fire departments. A consultant’s report to NAFRS that same year made several recommendations. Among them was to take advantage of the law change and create a taxing district.
NAFRS is currently governed by a joint powers agreement. For nearly ten years, Northfield, Dundas, and seven area townships making up the Rural Fire District have shared the responsibilities of funding the fire department, but the agreement has not always been easy. The NAFRS budget is usually created and set in July for the following year. While Northfield and Dundas are able to use that information as they finalize their budgets in December, the Rural Fire District Townships are required by state statute to set their budgets and tax levies in March, a full four months before the fire department budget is set, and that can cause some problems. If NAFRS had the ability to create its own tax levy, the township issue would be eliminated.
NAFRS Chief Tom Nelson said the Taxing District sub-committee has been looking at the issues and debating if changing the full structure of the organization is the best way to go.
Because he creates the budget every year, Nelson has volunteered to give the townships a credible estimate of what the department will require in the following year, and he does not think it will be a difficult task.
“When you look at what expenses are, it’s basically like any other small business. You’ve got your salaries, and you have equipment costs, and you have operational costs. And then in our case we have the facility. That was built in 2018, so now things are getting a little older [and have to be fixed or replaced.]”
One area that could easily disrupt an estimated budget created nine months in the future, he said, is capital equipment. Fire trucks and emergency vehicles can be extremely expensive and if something goes wrong, the bill could push the budget far past Nelson’s estimate. Creating a taxing district would give NAFRS the power to bond for capital equipment. Nelson said while it would be nice to have that ability, there are simple solutions to that issue as well.
“A Joint powers board cannot bond, and some of the things that are brought up are, ‘How can we buy that piece of equipment if we can’t bond?’ Well, it’s no different than going on vacation. You can either save the money and then spend the money on vacation, or you just put it on the credit card and pay it over time.”
In order to create the taxing district for 2025, the board would effectively have to make a decision by the end of June. Nelson said there are still too many unanswered questions for the board to move that quickly, and he does not see it happening this year.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Area Fire Chief Tom Nelson can be heard here
Hillmann credits ‘Culture of Caring’ for high graduation rates, among other factors
The Minnesota Department of Education released the four-year graduation statistics for the Class of 2023 yesterday. While the news was not as good as it could have been across the state, Northfield rose above the crowd and once again performed at a higher level than most other districts in Minnesota.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Matt Hillmann, said he would characterize the four-year graduation rate of 83.3% as flat, noting that it dipped .3% in 2023 after increasing .3% in 2022. However, Northfield’s four-year graduation rate of 96.9% was up by 1% over 2022.
Hillmann was proud of the percentages and noted that they are even more impressive when it’s considered that the class of 2023 was in 9th grade when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. Those students, he said, dealt with a lot of adversity, but they persevered and as a community we should all be proud of them.
“We can be super proud of the Class of 2023. We’re super proud of their families and then super proud of our community, too. I think that that makes a difference. This community believes in public education, and they believe that students should be supported and that they believe that students should have what they need to be able to accomplish their goals.”
Hillmann said he attributes the high percentages to what he called a “culture of caring.” Students know that every adult in their school cares about them and their academic process. He also referenced programs like music and the arts, or the vocational programs, and said having options to participate gives students a sense of belonging, and it offers them a chance to do something that they care about. He said that is when students really become engaged.
“Our high school…gives you all sorts of opportunities to participate and to connect. When you have all of those things that come together – a supportive community, a world class set of educators that we have here in Northfield, and then we have these other components that just make students want to be part of something, that’s the recipe for success.”
Hillmann thanked the families of the students along with the greater community for the support they show Northfield Public Schools.
Easter bunny scheduled for Dundas Easter Egg Hunt
The annual Dundas Easter Egg hunt will once again be held in Memorial Park tomorrow.
Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen said there will be more than 4000 easter eggs for the kids to find. The city is also asking, but not requiring, that the plastic eggs that are found be returned for re-use next year.
Kids will be divided into four age groups of 0-2 years, 3-5, 6-9, 10 and above. While the event is free to attend, there is a suggested donation of $1 per child hunting for easter eggs.
Following the tradition of many years, the Easter Bunny will be at the hunt to silently cheer on the egg hunters.
Participants are asked to bring their own basket or bag. The event will begin at 10 am tomorrow morning.
KYMN News 3/29/24
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
