There was an excellent analysis in the Strib on Sunday comparing Minneapolis to St. Paul.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/4134000.html Editorial writer/reporter Steve Berg compared what the owner of a $200,000 house in each city pays in city taxes. Bottom line (I could not find the detailed chart online, unfortunately): the Minneapolitan pays more - about $400 more (approx. $1700 a year versus $1300, if memory serves, about a 30 percent difference; that includes the private garbage fees a St. Paulite pays.) I would add that the true gap might be higher, since I believe $200,000 will buy you more home in St. Paul than Minneapolis. Notwithstanding all the things I love about Minneapolis - and I am a Minneapolitan by choice - the story raises good questions about our city government. Berg is quite generous to Minneapolis despite its taxation shortcomings, noting that the state and fiscal disparities subsidize St. Paul, much moreso than Minneapolis. Still, I doubt that makes up $500 difference. Now, I am the last person to complain about taxes - I once teasingly suggested I'd run on the double-your-city-taxes platform, since taxes are not always bad, and public funds buy many things that are good. However, it is worth discussing if Minneapolis is getting 30 percent better government than St. Paul. The Minneapolis model has always been spend more to get more; it's one reason we have a much more vital downtown than our sibling city. However, Berg notes that state commercial property tax changes have hit Minneapolis particularly hard. Downtown once paid 42 percent of our tax load, now it's down to 33. The old argument used to be do what's good for Downtown because they pay for the city. That's less true thanks to the state, and another reason our taxes are 30 percent higher. Was this a failed policy, or are there other monetary or non-monetary benefits we're overlooking? Berg mentions that a big factor behind the tax difference is that Minneapolis is paying off debt taken on in the '90s and before. One thing he didn't mention, and I'm curious about, is how the two cities' overall credit cards compare; I have been told over the years that one reason Norm Coleman was able to limit tax increases is that he charged up the city's credit card. If true, did Minneapolis leaders outborrow even Norm? Or is St. Paul's day of debt reckoning approaching, closing the gap? There's more fodder for all. Again, it's a fascinating read and even if you disagree with some of Berg's points, it shines an interesting light on our fair city's fiscal philosophy. David Brauer Kingfield REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
