On Wednesday, June 23, 2004, at 09:57 AM, Victoria Heller wrote:
Minneapolis taxpayers should keep a copy of this statement handy when they
vote for things like the new $100 million glass palace library. How much do
you think it will cost to heat and cool this greenhouse? Where will the
money come from?
I maintain that if Minneapolis voters had been told the truth about the
mountains of debt they faced, they would have lived with the old library for
a while longer.
The discussion on the new library began in 1989. Public input, research, deliberation, study and tons of planning went into the decision to place the question of funding a new library with capital improvements to all the branches. That passed with an approval of about 70% on November 7, 2000. The voters of Minneapolis said yes in a big way to a new library.
The "mountains of debt" come to an annual $5.25 per home owner (home valued at $103,500) in 2001, going to $58.69 in 2005 and at that level until 2030.
Or do your own math on your home in 2005 by multiplying the assessor's estimated market value by .000567083.
Money to operate the library comes from various sources. The portion Ms Heller is likely referring to, property taxes, is $11.6 million this year, about half of the library's $21.1 million operating budget.
As we move into the 2006 opening date of the new central library, there will be no increases because a cap of 8% has been placed on property tax over five years. The library will get 4% for operating and 4% for the referendum -- unless the tax formula is changed. The expectation is that it will not.
However because the taxes we get back - called local government aid - have gone down dramatically, all city services, including libraries have had to shrink their budgets.
The cutting of government aid came after the referendum, after the new building was underway. Should we have known? Maybe. Could we have known? Not likely. Bonding to pay for large civic projects, like a library system that will serve the public for generations is a good way to spread the cost over time and among large numbers of people.
But when the governor and legislature cut $2.8 million out of the 2004 library operating budget, this shortsightedness gives no time to make up the difference and forces less access to the libraries on the people of Minneapolis.
It does no one any good to think the new central library building is to blame for mountains of debt nor to think the voters of Minneapolis were duped into voting for the referendum.
Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock Southeast Minneapolis DISCLOSURE: Mayor's appointee to the Minneapolis LIbrary Board
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.migizi.org
http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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