By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
Last week, KYMN aired a news special about the Ice Arena Project, and this week during the news, we will be highlighting some of the important topics covered. You can find the full show here.
Today, we are answering the question about why there is no referendum for the Ice Arena Project. In 2017, the question of a new Ice arena was put to voters, which raised the question of why, this time, voters are not being given a choice on the ice arena. The answer ultimately depends on how the city is funding the project. In 2017, the city was seeking to use a Sales Tax to pay for the project; now instead, the city will be using property taxes to cover the bill. Northfield City Administrator Ben Martig cited state law as their guide in the process:
“We follow a policy of following what the state statutes have for the debt mechanisms that we’re using and the current one that we’re using with the lease levy doesn’t require that that vote, whereas the local option sales tax does. Rice County is another good example of that recently where they approved the building of the new jail with property taxes. They did go after the fact and ask the voters though, do you want to use a sales tax to pay for it?” – Ben Martig, Northfield City Administrator
Martig noted that the State Government has implemented a moratorium prohibiting new sales taxes, meaning the city has to pursue property taxes to fund this project. The city hires a lawyer who specializes in city debt and financing to verify each time that their debt process is legal, and Martig stated that Northfield has particularly reputable counsel.
“Our Bond Council, who has been with the city for a very long time, is one of the most reputable in the state of Minnesota. Her name is Jenny Bolton, she does the majority of bond work across all entities. She has looked at the charter provision, and been familiar with it.” – Ben Martig, Northfield City Administrator
It also feels like it’s worth noting at this point why the Northfield School District had to put the High School renovation questions to a referendum. That comes down to the different laws governing Cities and School Districts, and that school funding is highly regulated compared to cities. In most scenarios, school districts have sought voter approval to raise taxes.
