September 16, 2008 Special Election
City of St. Paul - Referred to the People by the City Council24-246 THREE YEAR LOCAL OPTION TAX FOR CITY OPERATIONS
QUESTION: Should the city renew $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value each year for three-years for operations beginning in 2008-09? This measure may cause property taxes to increase more than three percent.
SUMMARY: This measure may be passed only at an election with at least a 50 percent voter turnout. The City of St. Paul is faced with a variety of expenditures including land-use planning, housing development and resource protection. At the present time one part-time employee, consultant assistance, and volunteer citizens are addressing these issues. The City’s permanent tax rate of $.6157 per assessed $1,000 currently raises approximately $16,943 annually. The average homeowner within the city with a home assessed at $150,000 the annual taxes collected are approximately $92.35. These funds are deposited in the general fund to cover expenditures such as; street lighting, police protection, land-use planning, housing development, resource protection, budget, financial management, insurance, general administration, professional services, auditing, legal consultation, engineering and planning. Measure 24-246 proposes a three-year local option tax; passage of this measure would result in an increase in property taxes of $1.50 per year per $1,000 assessed value. The average homeowner in the City with a home assessed at $150,000, the annual property tax increase would be approximately $225. The proposed rate would raise approximately $41,279 for each of the fiscal years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 for city operations.