Ness says Pawlenty to blame for rising property taxes

Steve Kuchera

Nov. 4, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Property taxes in Duluth are going up, and going up too fast, Mayor Don Ness said during a Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce forum Tuesday morning.

But the blame belongs largely to the state and Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has slashed state aid to local governments, and Duluth is doing what it can to hold down taxes while providing residents with needed services, the mayor said.

Ness and David Montgomery, the city's chief administrative officer, appeared at the forum at the Technology Village to answer questions on how the city is handling its finances.

One of the first questions Ness received was whether the city had considered planning a budget that would not require a property tax increase.

Such a budget would require cuts far deeper than those the city already has made, Ness said.

Ness's 2010 budget calls for the city to cut general fund expenses for the second consecutive year from $77 million to $75 million. That would be a 7 percent reduction in operating expenses from 2008.

The city's budget is $5 million less than Herb Bergson's last budget, Ness said.

Tuesday afternoon, City Councilor Todd Fedora said the major reason that the size of the city operating budget is declining next year is because the city has finished making payments to the state for a pension plan shortfall.

Although the city will spend less for operating expenses next year, the savings are more than offset by cuts in state aid. To help cover the losses, the City Council voted in September to set a maximum property tax rate 5.4 percent higher than last year. Nearly 3 of those percentage points will go toward paying for a planned new police headquarters.

Ness and Montgomery were asked if the city has considered working to eliminate its debt.

Any city the size of Duluth will always have debt for such needed improvements as the planned police station, Montgomery said.

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