By Brenda Erdahl
Maple Lake City Councilors expected to go into Tuesday’s (Dec. 5) Truth in Taxation hearing with a lower than anticipated tax increase. In September, the council announced a proposed 19% increase to the 2024 certified tax levy which would have been among the highest tax hikes in the county. After a lengthy budget meeting, Monday, Nov. 27, that number was whittled down to 9%.
Mayor Lynn Kissock said the council’s strategy back in September was to go in high with the hopes of landing on a more fitting number. At the time, there were still some unanswered questions regarding the 2024 budget, she said. By Monday many of the blanks had been filled in and City Administrator Renee Eckerly was ready to propose a 10% levy increase, almost half of what was presented a little over a month ago.
That wasn’t good enough for Councilor John Haack who stated he wanted that number knocked down to 7,6 or even 5 percent. According to Eckerly, that kind of reduction would mean cuts to staff and capital improvement as the rest of the $2.8 Million budget is needed for bills.
Like the rest of the world, The City has been dealing with rising costs across the board. Needed street improvements over the summer dealt The City a blow and the capital improvement fund took a hit thanks to the huge rise in the cost of vehicles, namely fire trucks. The city’s contract with the Wright County Sheriff’s office for police coverage also increased by almost $100,000, Kissock said.
The council did manage to shave off another percentage point by the end of Monday night’s 2 ½ hour meeting. After combing through the budget, councilors found an extra $20,000 in reserves that they could put toward the 2024 budget to knock the levy increase down to 9%. The $20,000 was part of a surplus earmarked for professional services in 2023 that wasn’t spent.