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By stacey wiedewitsch
Mille Lacs County Times
I have a unique position within the community in that I am the only person who faithfully attends and pays attention to the three local governmental type meetings that take place. I am talking of the Milaca School Board, the Milaca City Council and the Mille Lacs County Commissioner’s meetings. In the past two years, I have yet to miss one meeting from any entity.
My concern is this: each entity is planning to ask the voter for an increase in their taxes. The city wants money to rebuild the parks, the county wants money to build an entire new courts facility and the school wants money for both an entirely new school and money to operate the school we currently have.
The school has been in meetings with an architectural firm for over a year and has determined that a new grade five through grade eight school building would most suit the district. Not all the costs have come in yet, as the school has halted further development after a failed operating referendum last year, but it was estimated to cost the residents about $28 to $32 million, depending on the options the school board decides upon. In addition to the new school, the current school needs an operating referendum to continue with the programming that it currently has. If a referendum is not passed in November, an additional $300,000 or so will have to be cut from the budget for 2009-2010. Cuts of almost $600,000 have already been approved for the 2008-2009 school year. The school has decided to run an operating referendum and will place it on the November ballot.
The city has recently decided that a large scale redo of Recreational Park is in order and is thinking of asking the citizens to support its decision with a referendum. This initial cost for just Phase 1 of the project is anticipated to cost the residents about $1 million. The mayor, Pete Pedersen, is hopeful to receive large donations to the cause to offset some or all of the cost to the citizens. That ideal has yet to materialize. No decision has yet been made whether or not to place the referendum on the same ballot as the school’s referendum or to wait to hold a vote at a later date.
The county board has decided to build a new court facility. This new facility will have four functioning courtrooms, large areas to accommodate several of the county’s departments that are vital to the smooth functioning of the facility and updated security checkpoints. It is estimated to cost the residents of the county about $9.5 million. The commissioners just recently have given their consent to start the bidding process for Phase 1 of the project. This tax increase will take place on the 2008 payable taxes in 2009.
When one looks at the cost to the resident of each project, the effects probably will not affect the budget much. Each individual project probably will not raise taxes more than $100 or so. But when each of the four tax increasing projects are added together, the increase will most definitely be felt.
In a county within Minnesota that currently has one of the highest land taxes payable from the land owner in the first place, and the current economy that has effected each member of the area in some way, either with rising gas prices or rising food prices, each entity asking for more, within a year of each other, seems ill timed.
What do you think?
(Responses can be sent as letters to the editor or online at www.millelacscountytimes.com.)
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