Stand up for our HERO of Rockville

What would we do without Senator Tarryl Clark (DFL) Saint Cloud? Have more money in our pockets to spend as we see fit. The DFLers insist that they should be the ones deciding how to spend our money. But never mind that issue......FOR NOW!

The St. Cloud Times reminds us everyday just how lucky we are to have Senator Clark representing us in St. Paul. When I saw the headline yesterday Clark's bill makes pitch for more Local Government Aid to Rockville something caught my eye. No mention in the headline of the similar bill (HF1746) in the house. Why? The house bill is sponsored by a Republican.

I spent last Thursday at the capital with Representative Steve Gottwalt (R) St. Cloud/Rockville and I witnessed Steve talking to the mayor of Rockville regarding his bill in the House. The only mention of Steve's bill occurred in the last paragraph of the newspaper article.

• by; Lawrence Schumacher, St. Cloud Times ST. PAUL — When Rockville merged with Rockville Township and the town of Pleasant Lake in 2002, it consolidated services and became more efficient — everything state officials say cities should do, Mayor Brian Herberg said.
  Then, the state cut the state aid the city receives from more than $200,000 to $62,000 this year. Aid will decrease further next year, he told senators Monday.
  Herberg testified in favor of a bill from Sen. Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, that would increase Rockville's Local Government Aid by $140,000 in each of the next two years.
  "We did what everybody asked, and we're suffering the consequences as a result," Herberg said.
  The newly merged Rockville opened a new City Hall and a new fire hall at a cost of about $2 million last year.
  Many cities saw their state aid decrease in the first half of the decade, as the state tried to balance its budget.
  Clark's bill would apply only to Rockville, though by law legislators are prohibited from crafting bills for only one city or group. The bill specifies an aid increase for any city that has a population of fewer than 3,000 people as of 2006 and whose boundaries were formed by a merger with another city and a township in 2002. That leaves only Rockville, Clark said.
  The Senate Property Tax division held the bill over for possible inclusion in a big property tax/Local Government Aid bill.
  A similar bill in the House of Representatives from Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, has not yet received a hearing.

It's interesting how this article is designed to make Senator Clark look like a hero for giving more money to the City of Rockville. Could it be that the St. Cloud times wouldn't want to make Gottwalt look good to anybody.

YES

Imagine if the headline had read; Gottwalt's bill makes pitch for more Local Government Aid to Rockville, and then at the end of the story it stated that Clark has a similar bill in the Senate. I don't think that day will ever come.

I personally don't agree with the way LGA is set up, and think cities need to live within their means. However I do understand Rockville is a little limited in their ability to collect property taxes though, so I may make an exception.

Property Tax and the democrats lack of plan

Ass Award Winner!

Yet again the democrats are up to...well nothing. Every time there is a problem, they seem to forget to attach a solution. Just another day at the capital.

>>> Jodi Boyne 3/13/2007 2:26:15 PM >>>
The House Democrats held a news conference this afternoon to announce that property taxes have gone up. Representative Paul Marquardt offered no solutions to provide any immediate relief or long term reform for property taxes. The 40-minute news conference as summed up by one
reporter: "you brought us here to complain but offered no solution."
According to a nonpartisan House Research report, property taxes on homesteads will go up by an average of 6.5% (their value went up by 5.3%). The property taxes on all classes of property taxes are expected to increase by 8.9%, which is less than the 9.4% in market value. This will result in a $600 million increase in property taxes.
Members of the Capitol Press Corps noted that this seemed like a smaller increase than years past, which could mean property taxes are headed in the right direction.
The only solution the House Democrats mentioned was their plan to raise $250 million in revenue through tax compliance and the closing of FOC loopholes. They also advocated for LGA increases, which Representative Paul Marquardt said is direct relief (dollar for dollar) to taxpayers.
House Research has figures that show that for every dollar of LGA the state provides, homeowners receive about 38% to 42%, Marquardt said.
House Republican Leader Marty Seifert addressed the Capitol Press Corps immediately following the Democrat news conference. His comments
included:
- Property taxes have gone up and no one is more concerned about providing relief than House Republicans.
- You can't solve a $600 million problem with $250 million.
- House Republicans proposed an immediate 15% reduction in property taxes with control mechanisms on local government.
- Enough is enough. We need specific solutions with control mechanisms.
We should pass Representative Sviggum's proposal to provide the immediate relief and then spend the rest of the session figuring our long-term reform.
- We don't need to raise taxes. We have a $2.2 billion surplus. We should stop throwing a wet blanket on our economy and focus on providing tax relief and living within our means.

We need to pass property tax reform. Lets start with Sviggum's bill. Please democrats, we are putting up ideas for you, start working with us to get some long term reform together.