The state has a forecast $4.5 billion budget deficit between now and June 30, 2005. Local government aids � 30-plus percent of the city's budget - will almost certainly be cut by the state.
So....what should the city cut? Or how much should it raise taxes above the already blockbuster 8-percent-total-property-tax revenue rise? NRP will seem an appealingly big target, at $15 million per year. However, there are legislative issues (NRP is not just a city program, it's a joint powers agreement with schools, county and state). Also, as neighborhood people will undoubtedly point out, NRP is not a gratuitous appropriation, it is a participatory way of allocating city resources, so "cutting" it may cut out citizens without necessarily targeting the right spending. At this point, I am not advocating any solution - I'm more interested in list members' posts serving as an informal "budget summit." David Brauer List manager _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
