On Tuesday night, the Northfield City Council met in the training room of the Northfield Police Station with many of the city department heads for their annual budgeting session. During the meeting, the city proposed that the preliminary property tax levy increase be set at the maximum amount allowed by Minnesota law, which is 15.8%. It would be the fifth double-digit property tax increase in seven years.
City Administrator Ben Martig said there are several reasons for the size of the levy. Property taxes, said Martig, are really the only way the city has to finance itself. Local Government Aid from the state is helpful, he said, but the amount Northfield will receive in 2025 is “flat.”
The city has a high amount of debt that must be paid off. Street construction and infrastructure costs, he said, have risen faster and higher than the inflation of the last two years, which means recent street reconstruction projects, including the current reconstruction of the College and Water Streets area, have cost substantially more than they would have five years ago.
Another program that is driving the tax increase is the city’s Capital Maintenance Plan. The city has parks, vehicles, and municipal buildings including the Northfield Community Resource Center, that must be taken care of. The city has been increasing the amount that goes to fund this plan incrementally, he said, because it has been so underfunded for so long.
Still another reason is the cost of labor that the city requires. He said they will generally check on the labor and wage market every three years, because Northfield wants to stay in the middle of the market, compared to the cities they consider their peers. They don’t want to be too high, but they also want to offer wages competitive enough to attract and retain quality employees. And, he said, labor costs are the vast majority of the budget.
“Sixty-five percent of the budget is just the cost of wages and benefits of employees because a lot of the government services we provide are people driven. So, things like libraries or police services or streets operators, it’s the people we’re paying that are the biggest source of the cost that we have.”
He said the city is working to increase the commercial industrial tax base which would help to better control the high levy increases every year, but accomplishing that goal takes time.
The City Council will set the preliminary budget and tax levy at the end of September. The final budget will be approved in November.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig can be heard here
Seminars will talk about ways to recognize AI generated news
The Northfield Public Library will host a monthly 3-part speaker series beginning August 26th to help voters learn how to make sense of the evolving media landscape.
This coming Monday, the topic will be “Understanding Polling.” Christopher Chapp, a St. Olaf College political science professor and the director of the Institute for Freedom and Community, will share the basic ins and outs of political polling and how to make sense of it all.
On Monday, September 30th the topic will be “AI and Election Media.” St. Olaf and Carleton librarians will give an interactive presentation about the potential impacts of artificial intelligence on election media coverage and deciphering news that is generated by robots.
On Monday, October 28th, the topic will be “Seeking Trustworthy Voices.” St. Olaf and Carleton librarians will give a second interactive presentation demonstrating good ways to identify reliable information about the election, and why it is a good idea to seek news sources other than social media.
The series is sponsored by the Northfield Public Library, the League of Women Voters of Northfield and Cannon Falls, St. Olaf College’s Institute for Freedom and Community, and Carleton College’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement.
The programs will run from 6-7pm at the Northfield Public Library. A brief audience question and answer session will follow each presentation. For more information, visit the City of Northfield website at northfieldmn.gov.
Ruth’s house celebration includes free family activities
Ruth’s House of Hope will celebrate their 20th anniversary tomorrow. KYMN’s Logan Wells has more.
20 years ago a group of women founded Ruth’s House as a place for female victims of domestic violence, or women and children in crisis, and who needed a safe place to go. With the help from Rice County Social Services Agencies, other non-profits, and countless volunteers Ruth’s House has expanded to offer more services including a case management and helping those with the next steps in their life like finding an apartment and getting a job. Ruth’s House has also expanded to Northfield with the addition of Sarah’s House with the mission of helping women in drug and alcohol treatment programs.
With Ruth’s House now celebrating their 20th Anniversary, their hosting a thank you party for the community, here is Outreach Coordinator Sue Stout:
“We decided that in honor of the over 2000 individuals that we’ve served at Ruth’s House over the last 20 years, we’d like to do a community wide celebration. And this isn’t a fundraiser, this is an event that’s free for the public to attend. We just want to celebrate the community of folks that we’ve served and celebrate our volunteers and the supportive community that’s around us and have a big anniversary party.”
The event is this Friday from 5pm to 9pm at Apple Creek Orchard in Faribault. Activities at the celebration include hayrides through the orchard, lawn and carnival games, a bounce house, and food trucks. There will also be live music from Mary Clare Stroh and Sawyer’s Dream. The event is open to all the members of the community and families are encouraged to attend as well. No tickets or RSVP is needed for the event.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Sue Stout of Ruth’s House of Hope can be heard here
Wayne Eddy in his own words…
And finally, beginning today and running on weekday mornings through Wednesday, KYMN will present a special tribute to the man who built this radio station. In 2014, Wayne Eddy became the guest on his own show, the Wayne Eddy Affair, for one week. Speaking with Jeff Johnson and Tim Freeland, Wayne told his life story over the course of those five interviews. We will re-present those interviews to you, as we honor our founder and the man known as Mr. KYMN.
The special will air daily at 9am, just as the Wayne Eddy Affair did.
KYMN Daily News 8-22-24
Contact Rich Larson at rich@kymnradio.net
