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Politics & Government

Roseville Budget Debate Destined To December?

Plenty discussions ahead.

Ongoing debate about Roseville’s 2012-2013 budget is scheduled to resume at the City Council’s Aug. 22 meeting. But any talk of tax hikes or revenue increases won’t end until the final budget vote in December.

The next reality check for the five-member Council is Sept. 12, when it must establish a tax levy that cannot be exceeded, Roseville City Manager Bill Malinen said Thursday. “It can’t go up after that date; it can only go down,” said Malinen.

Roseville’s 2011 budget is $39 million, with $14.7 million of that sum coming from the city tax levy. The remaining money comes from a variety of city fees, charges for municipal services and enterprise funding, he said.

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In 2012, Roseville plans to shift to a two-year, or biennial, budget period similar to the state of Minnesota. But unlike the Minnesota Legislature, Roseville’s two-year budget period won’t be divided into a longer policy-setting and shorter bonding sessions.

“It really was for our purposes,” Malinen said, referencing duplication of effort involved in the lengthy annual consideration of the Roseville city budget. The two-year budget framework gives city officials more time to consider changes in state law and their impact on city finances, he noted.

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One such change occurred in July, when a budget deal was hammed out between Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders to erase a projected $5.3 billion deficit for the two-year budget period that started July 1.

As part of the deal, the state eliminated its Market Value Homestead Credit program, freeing up about $475,000 currently levied to Roseville taxpayers.

In budget terms, Malinen earlier this month recommended that the money be used to pare an expected tax increase of more than 3 percent to 1.8 percent – and lessen planned reductions in city programs and services.

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