>Fully half of the annual property tax increases we're going to see (and the mayor admits that they are going to happen) are going to go toward paying off the debts incurred under the previous city administration. Things like Gavidae Commons, moving the theater, and lawsuit payouts.Wizard -- Far more serious was a major change in the tax structure, decreasing the tax rates for commercial buildings & expensive houses, and increasing them for other (lower value) residential housing.
>
WM: Paying those debts was doable had there not been such deep LGA cuts
and had Ventura not decided on tax rebates, etc.
This meant that all of a sudden, the pool of tax receipts on downtown business property that Minneapolis had counted on to pay off these debts (some of them incurred in supporting the building of this property in the first place) was suddenly gone! The tax receipts were reduced to a level that would no longer pay back the debts. The financial structure that Minneapolis had counted on in doing these TIF's (which was risky, but still in the black) was demolished, and the city had to cut drastically and also increase property taxes to cover these debts from other income.
Worse, these are systemic changes. The LGA allotments are biannual budget items, and the amount returning to Minneapolis could be increased again if we elect a better Governor & legislature.
But the tax rate changes are permanent, and would take a major effort to change back. (The previous ones had gone without major changes since back when Wendy Anderson was Gov! So these changes will probably last a few decades, too.) And notice how everyone (including you) seems to have forgotten about them entirely. Plus you won't see the media mentioning them much -- they were real big beneficiaries of these changes. No, they're quite happy to see people forget about them. It's this major shifting in the tax burden away from commercial property and toward housing that hurt Minneapolis the most, and will continue to hurt it for years to come.
TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.)
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