| Anoka prepared for state funding loss |
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| Wednesday, 24 June 2009 | |
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Union Editor Anoka is among cities state wide facing state funding losses for 2009 and 2010. Last week Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced the unallotments to cities over the next two years under Local Government Aid and Market Value Homestead Credit (MVHC) funding sources in an effort to balance the state budget. Anoka’s MVHC has not been touched, but the city does stand to lose $241,438 in LGA for 2009 and an additional $557,088 in 2010. While the loss is significant, according to City Manager Tim Cruikshank, the 2010 unallotment is slightly less than anticipated. “We weren’t expecting the LGA to be increased for 2010,” he said. According to figures released from the League of Minnesota Cities, Anoka stood to gain nearly $1.5 million in LGA for 2010 – nearly $200,000 more than what was projected for 2009. After a 7.64 percent reduction by the governor that total will be just over $901,000. The city is expected to net just over $1 million in LGA for this year, plus an additional $324,000 in MVHC. Since LGA payments in December of 2008 were pulled at the last minute, totaling more than $300,000 for Anoka, the city has been planning for this loss of funding. Gov. Pawlenty was clear that the cuts were coming for cities and counties. Cruikshank said to prepare the city postponed as many capital improvement projects and equipment purchases as possible in the 2009 budget. When discussing capital improvement projects and equipment purchases for the upcoming year at a work session Monday, Mayor Phil Rice said he was concerned about the long term results of postponing projects. “This puts us right back in the place we were with street renewal 30 years ago,” said Rice, referring to a backlog of streets in Anoka that desperately need repair after being postponed in the past. At the same time city council and staff have tried to take advantage of historically low contract prices. “When $3 million can buy you $4 million worth of work it’s a pretty good buy,” said Rice. In order to keep operational costs down, Cruikshank said the city is considering wage freezes for all staff in 2010 and 2011 and potential furloughs – unpaid time off work. “Those would be across the board – for everyone,” said Cruikshank. The city will also be promoting early retirement options for eligible staff. There have also been cuts to the amount of hours the service desk is open at the Anoka Police Department. The challenge will be to provide the level of service residents expect their tax dollars to buy with the amount of funds available in a struggling economy. As for taxes, Cruikshank said staff will not be proposing levy increase for operations, only to cover the city’s debt. The city manager said the funding cuts will bring some changes in municipal operations, but there might be some advantages for residents as the city works to streamline services. In late summer or early fall the parks department will be moving into the public works facility. At the same time, the parks’ administrative staff will move into city hall. “So city hall will really be one stop shopping for people,” said Cruikshank. Currently, residents who need to do parks-related business have to visit their office on Jacob Lane, near Greenhaven Golf Course. Once vacant, the building also could be leased to generate revenue. Instead of complaining about the loss, the city is instead working to become less reliant on the state to fund its general operations. Cruikshank told the council Monday he and Finance Director Lori Yager are working on a plan that would take that state funding out of the general fund budget and be used specifically for capital improvement costs. “While we’re certainly appreciative of that money, the goal is to be more independent,” he said. Mandy Moran Froemming is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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