6. HANDOUT 02-14-2011Q STAR TRIBUNE ~J
HXCLUSIVE
`w@'1C'
By RICHARD MERYnEW
or more than
has Hstenedto
apolis taxpaye
one cry.
Until Deqen
ly women teazed up as tt
packed City Hall heazijtg
bills have pushed them'~to
"I've neyer seen thafity
tion," said Becker, an elect
Board of Estimate and Tai
for real people."
Homeowners across 1
CITY DREAMS
BUCKLE UNDER
TAXES' WEIGI~T
• Fallinghomevaluesand
rising propertytaxes unnerue
Minneapolis homeowners.
long prided itself on bavil
will to be the region's apor
convention hub.
Many homeowners are 1
percentage increases in 20
of more hikes to come.Unc
frustration is replacing th
willing to pay for the extra;
Some people talk od me
Others aze struggling t6 bet
anger to city leaders they of
their concerns.
"Is there something gl
Becker, anout-of--work hor
herself at the December he
since taking office in
been one of the most i
"State cuts and per
made it hazd for us to
Taxes 5ontlxtues on A9 -
"We're at a breaking poir-t:'
!~
f eeling trapped'
yeazs, Cazol Becker
e protests of Minne-
She had never seen
r, when three elder-
took turns telling a
t their property tax
nger and frustra-
mber ofthe cit}fs
"This is real pain
Twin Cities metro
azea aze feeling the
weight of a tax bur-
den that's falling
more and more on
their shoulders. But
perhaps nowhere is
the stress greater,
and the stakes high-
er,than in Minneap-
olis, the state's most
populous city, its
17usiness center and
the place that has
the means and the
s, entertainment and
sing double-digit tax
- and the prospect
r that pressure, deep
pride of a city long
rg out, if they can.
communicate their
i oerceive as deaf to
on here?" asked
mer who testified
;. "I'd say yes.' It's
nger to tough budgets
admits this yeaz has
for the city.
sues have especially
:e the budget without
"Real pain for real people:'
1CPP WHEBI9R •jeffwheelei@staztribwe.mm
Steve and Rachel Maves bought their south Minneapolis house eight yeazs ago for 5180,000.
Its value first went up but has sincefallento 5165,OOO.Theu propertytaxes continue to rise.
`We're
~ TA%ES FROM AS
passing ontaxes that Ithinkare
way too high;' he said. "People
aze very afraid."
Council Member Rob-
ert Lilligren, who repre-
sents neighborhoods south of
downtown, also has noted the
change of tone.
"In my ward, there are
many people who would say,
'T.ax me mote if I get a cop
on the street. Tax me more B
my street gets better lighting.
Tax me more if my street gets
paved; " he said. "They see a
value in being taxed for some-
thing if they get something in
return. But I think now we're
at a breaking point"
Neazlyadecade inthe mak-
ing, thesitvatipPhas been
shaped by forces partly be-
yond the city's control.
It started with a change
in classification rates by the
Legislature that resulted m a
shift of t~e prti8e[tytax bur-
den from cgmrdercial a¢d~m•
dustrial properties to residen-
tial. Arun-up in home valves
followed, bringing a steady
climb in property taxes. On-
going cuts N state aid to local
governments, along with the
city's financial commitment
to sports and entertainment
venues and its obligation to
pay into public pension funds
added to the burden
Then came the recession,
job lasses, wagecuts and [he
housing crash City, county and
school districts have struggled
looking m tax increases as pan
of the solution.
Even so, public jobs and
services are being cut, mak-
ing the tax increases sting
even more.
"I was born and raised
here and have meverleft the
city and I don't particulaz-
ly want to. But the tax situa• '
tion is something they need
to address;' said Joyce Suek,
59, who faces adouble-dig-
it percentage tax increase on
her home near Lake Nokomis.
'9 can afford i0. Some people
can t. AndIwon't beable td af-
forditforever." '
trapped'
~T~T~ several closedpensioHfunds
Commerc' ,industrial andxesidential shazes ofthe citys taxbase. fox police andfuefighters in-
1996 P YABLE IN 1899 2010 PAYAHLH IN 2011 toastatewide fond also could
Apanme t Commercial/ Apartment Commercial/ have along-term impact.
Knowing the squeeze may
33% industrial
`..~'~+,,idi 56% 9sz -_ ;,,n„~r.ial
S% well get worse, the mayor
t --J
~ A-± plans to meet with neighbor-
1 j,
, hood groups incoming weeks
.
~f{~ totalkaboutbudgetandtaxis-
+ sues in hopes of fmding solu-
tions to ease the pam.
Residenti "There aze no easy answers
33% to holding down property tax-
es and continuing to Fight to
lower crime and Fix the pot-
holes in aperiod where all the
TR8N0 IN MARHET VA LOH AND TAXES buildings aze worthless and
Taeu trend inmazket value andtaxes paid forahome on there are huge cuts from the
E.SOth St, est of Lake Nokomism south Minneapolis. state and there are huge pen-
Taxable Total Percent lion debts;' Rybak said."But
Year martial value ]oral taxes diange part of my job is to get the
"
;;2$~-= lai400=- -, ,.-
-, $Of,^ 52,438 n/a. right balance.
'
2004 .
$164,600 52,730 12.0% The mayor
s long-term
205 82].2,500 52,375 3,0%.' strategy is to attract business-
2006 $294,300 53,297 10.8% es downtown to fill up office
:?OSJ7 $25,6,000 ; $3;326 '.. p,9%'<' buildings and increase their
2008 5260,000 53,577 7.5% market value, boosting the
~2A1~6 'u ~R64.~t1 r 43 .: 6' t~
20 0
5264400
$3,710 -14% The more people in the
~ t $~6rk~d0 , ~ 8 d - 1i4'( gtty, the more they share the
b d "Sit d
rental
home
neighb
Oth
can'tial
"I di
out qf~
ing,'In
accept
cal go
Moves
who al
percen
souN 1
'fhe
other ci
Tens
ern cor
Bs each
ues
Beyondolty Bxriits ..Whit
The frustration bubbled care of tl
over that December night at common
thepacked City Ha]I budget Rybak'sc
hearing that ran past midnight. alarm N
Seventy-five people signed up neapolis
to speak; two-thirds addressed ing to ri
the tax issue. to a Two
Manyscoldedthe mayorand heart pa
councBmembers forwha[they paramed
saw es poor management and to regpor
for not cutting deeper atatime accident
whenhomeowmers azemaking apolis co
their own tough choices. "Then
"I think there has to be a to hostii
more creative way [o not only the buxd
cut the rate ofgmwth,but to al- olis prop
Mirreapotis
starm6we m en, t es saz .
There aze signs the down-.
town business climate is im-
proving. Vacancy rates down-
cutthebudge[;'said Ttvo taus town dedlined slightly in 2010
ek, 32 a Realtor and ACter hours of testimo- while emp4uymept was up,
>erty owner whose ny that December night, the according. to SardGrabazski,
i the East Calhoun City Council approved 0$1,36 presidentandCEOOftheMin-
>od. billion 2011 budget that rain- neapolis Downtown Council.
said they simply es citywide tax collection by "We're not out of the woods
I to pay more. 4.7 percent, down from the ZS yet;' Grabarski said. "But
lose myjob.I'm not percent maximum increase Rybak is correct - if down-
[ButI'tnjustth'ink- .proposed i¢ August The town thrives, it really helps
,wn economy, this is council also cut the city work- in sustaining the neighbor-
behavior by my lo- force by BO people, including hoods and the police and the
mart[?"' said Steve 32 firefighters and 24 police fire protection throughout the
7-yeaz-old engineer officers. whole city."
aces adouble-digit The vote offered no reas- Fox Steve and Rachel
tax increase on his surances. Maven, good news can't come
ieapolis home. "There are.two feazs here;' soon enough. They bough[
i will be felt outside Becker said. "One is that we're [belt Phillips area home for
is, too. getting screwed. And the sec- about $180,000 eight yeazs agog
don't stop at the and tear is that ic's going to get seeing it as the perfect place to
idMazk Haveman, worse:' raise their four children.
fuector of the Min- The city projects its ta3aeed "We ryst love the diversi-
payers Association. will increase by 5.5 percent to ty;'said Rachel Moves, astay-
ishas "benefits that 6.7 percent in each of tlKnext at•home mom. "The city is. a
take advantage of" five yeazs ve[y rich place for families
thousands otwork- in an economy where few to he;'..'
ute to Mvmeapo- can dream of annual salary Their home's value has
y. Thousands more
` increases of that magnitude, droppedfxom a high of nearly
it night xo
take in some owners aze feeling that $200,000 toabout $165,000~ia
entertain{nent van-. the math is agahutthem: 2030.'173eirproperty taxes atie
taurants, "You can't pay you[. wort- st8l rising:,
hey're here, we take gage, you can't pay foryour Steve Moves said some
n;' said John Stiles, utilities. You can't pay for your neighbors }lave told him [hat
ations director for food, "said BeckeFwho was theyd be gone if not for the
ice."If there is a fire laid off f[om her job mfinance-. - slug$ish teal estate market.
xeir building, Min- at the University of Minnesti-' He;tmd his wife have thought
iefighters are go- to in September. She-:gold she about moving, too.
>ond, If you come feels "closer andeloser to that "We ie feeling trapped,"
game and you have buzz saw." Moves said.
nations, you get a `Tt makes me think'Do we
from Minneapolis No easyanswers believe it's going to get any
And if you have an How bad. it gets over the better?'Ifit's no4Ishould just
i the street, Minna- next gear depends on how take my huge lossand leave
will respond ... much the Legislature cuts now instead ofstickingaround
ue a lot of benefits from the current $SZ5 mil- and, in Five yeazs, being in an
these people. But ]ion in Iocalgovemment aid even worse situation:'
falls on Mirmeap- to the city The outcome ofthe
ty owners." cit}'s ongoing effort to merge amna.amerynew•stas7s-oars