On a unanimous vote Sept. 4, the Litchfield City Council proposed a $189,000 increase in next year’s property tax levy. That would be a 7.6 percent increase over this year’s $2.5 million levy.
A final levy will be set in December. A public hearing on the budget and proposed $2.7 million levy will be at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3, during that evening’s regular city council meeting.
According to city officials, the increase is needed to cover the following expenses:
- A portion of a new police officer's salary and equipment;
- cost-of-living increases in city employee pay and benefits;
- $19,000 in estimated operations for the new splash pad, and other inflation-related expenses;
- and a $20,000 contingency in the event unanticipated needs arise next year.
City Administrator Dave Cziok told the council that Litchfield could get by with only a $169,000 levy increase, but that would leave the city without flexibility if equipment fails or if other unexpected needs came up.
Cziok said that he and other staff will review and rework the council’s proposed operating budget, which was set at nearly $5.3 million, and that he would let the council know if he can find savings that might allow them to reduce the budget and levy before a final levy needs to be set in December.
The reason the levy is significantly lower than the budget, Cziok explained, is that the city receives other revenues, including state Local Government Aid, to bridge the gap between what the city needs and what property taxes can be expected to pay.
No additional help from the state is expected for 2019, as Litchfield’s Local Government Aid allotment is slightly lower than in 2018. In 2019, the school district will reimburse the city $50,000 toward the school resource officer. Other portions of the city’s total budget are covered through fees, such as permit applications.
There are also separate enterprise operations for water, sewer, electricity, the golf course and other municipal services; budgets for those are not part of the levy and will be presented later this year.
Since the city’s total tax capacity increased during 2018, this will spread out the increase. Therefore individual property owners who have not made tax-assessable improvements will see their share of city taxes rise by less than the 7.6-percent figure.
Council members noted that modest increases in county (about 3 percent), and possibly school, taxes are also expected for 2019.
While debating the merits of a “get by” operations budget and a levy with flexibility, council members noted that the $20,000 difference between the proposals would amount to about 39 cents per month, or less than $5 a year, for the average homeowner.
Another option for a $219,000 levy was presented and discarded. All opted for the more modest $20,000 in flexibility. (Councilor Betty Allen was not present for the meeting.)
The total budget includes $5,267,982 for general city operations, plus the same amount as this past year for debt service, $876,565.
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
- The council awarded certificates of appropriateness within the city’s downtown historic district to Rod Manderscheid for two East Depot Street properties, to Anthony Lies for 223 N. Sibley Ave., and to Kim Olson at Re/Max for 309 N. Sibley Ave. Most of the repairs involve painting and replacing existing items, but the Re/Max application also included emergency brick tuck-pointing. Some properties will qualify for the city’s downtown improvement reimbursements.
- The council tabled an application for a seat on the Airport Commission. Councilor Vern Loch said the commission is in the process of writing new bylaws and may change the size of the commission during the process.
- Police officer Ashley Sandquist was appointed to replace retiring police officer Dennis Hanson. Sandquist previously worked for the Kimball Police Department.
- The council agreed to support a Heritage Preservation Commission application for a Certified Local Government grant to complete a downtown walking tour brochure and video. Twenty-eight historic sites are slated to be described, with three featured on the video. If awarded, the federal historic grants, administered by the Minnesota Historical Society, would cover 60 percent of the $10,000-to-$14,000 project, with the city picking up the balance.
