January 01, 2014
State of The City
Happy New
Year Everyone. 2013 was a busy year for the City. The year ended with a few new
building permits, request for expansion, lot splits and some lot combinations.
The City looked at our budget, accounting practices, personnel needs, equipment
needs and proposed projects. Mantorville is on solid financial grounds and is
poised to be in a very strong position as we climb out of the current
recession. The City Council and City staff has worked with the State
Legislature and our representatives on a couple of projects ranging from bike
trails and tourism to infrastructure.
Lower Taxes for All
The City is
allowed to charge up to 1% of the taxable market value of a home. If the City
were to charge the entire 1%, our “advertised levy rate” would be “100%” of
that 1%. In other words a house with a taxable market value of $100,000 would be tax by the City in
the amount of $1,000. Over the last few years the City has either raised the
levy by a small amount like 3% or held even with a 0% levy. Thanks to the City
council and our committee chairs we were able to do something very few
governing bodies ever do, lower the rate at which we tax our citizens. In fact,
our rate for 2014 is lower than our rate for any of the last three years. The City
has passed a “1%” levy DECREASE that sets our rate at less than three fourths
of the max the City is allowed or a dollar value of $422,995. In order to put
this figure in perspective, I have included a table below that illustrates the
tax levy amounts and levy rates for the last five years.
Tax Year
|
Levy Amount
|
Levy Rate
|
2009
|
$406,611
|
56%
|
2010
|
$414,743
|
57%
|
2011
|
$423,037
|
63%
|
2012
|
$427,268
|
73%
|
2013
|
$427,268
|
73%
|
2014
|
$422,995
|
72%
|
Historical Tax Levy information for Mantorville
The City was
able to reduce our tax levy for this year while at the same time finalizing
plans for two large projects to begin.
Waste Water Treatment Project
The first
big project the City is looking forward to is the construction of the new waste
water line between Kasson and Mantorville. This project has been in the works
for several years now and the City is hopeful we can get final signoff from the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and begin the project in the spring. In 2013,
the City held a number of meetings to solicit input from our neighbors. The City
also asked our Engineer to put cost figures to various options. The City
considered a simple upgrade, complete over-haul of our existing plant, a new
plant at a new location and the opportunity to connect with Kasson. After
several debates and planning meetings the City Council chose to pursue the most
cost effective option for our citizens and the option that would meet all of
the foreseeable future needs. More information is available on my blog in the
May 6 and March 1 2013 articles. My blog is located at
www.MayorBradford.BlogSpot.Com.
The project is estimated to cost around $2 million dollars.
Seventh Street Project
The second
big project that the City is looking forward to is the update and repair of
seventh street. The area around seventh street has some drainage issues, repair
issues and has a tapered width that should be addressed. After we resolve some
of the drainage issues around Seventh Street, we will be able to continue
moving forward with a updated drainage system that will eventually terminate at
the river. Part of this effort has already been completed in the down town area.
This project is estimated to cost about $500,000.
The Right Equipment
The City
purchased a new rescue truck for the Fire Department. The new truck replaced a
1980’s truck the department had been using. With the department adding First
Responder service to their offering the department saw a substantial increase
in usage on their rescue vehicle and the 1980’s truck simply could no longer
perform at the level the department needed. The City spent about %100,000 on
this new truck.
More Competition Means More Prosperity
The City has
signed an agreement with AT&T to lease space on top of our water tower for
the placement of a new “cell location”. This will allow AT&T to better
serve the Mantorville area, open an additional choice in cell providers to our
citizens and provide the City with much needed additional “Non-Tax” based
revenue. Once AT&T completes the installation of the communication
equipment the company will pay the City a monthly lease payment of $900.
A Friend in Need
Another
event worth noting was the repurposing of the old school in Mantorville. While
most of the building was determined to be suitable for the counties needs, not
all of the building meets the counties criteria. By purchasing the old school
building and repurposing it most of the structure. The county was able to
retain all of their existing services in Mantorville while also preserving a
portion of our history.
The Best is Yet to Come
The New Year
brings new opportunities, new challenges and new friends. As we say good-bye to
2013 and hello to 2014, we are optimistic about what the future brings for the City
and our citizens. We look forward to completing our planned projects and making
plans for the projects that are still on the drawing board. On behalf of the City
and myself, let me extend a heartfelt “Thank You” to everyone that attended a City
meeting this past year, wrote a letter to the council and provided
recommendation or guidance during our decision process. Your input is more
valuable than you know and we truly do appreciate your time and efforts. I also
wanted to say thank you to all of our neighbors that have volunteered either in
a formal way on one of our subcommittees or in an informal way on one of our
projects, so much of the character of Mantorville would be very different without
your contributions, THANK YOU!
Yours in service,
Chuck Bradford, Mayor - City of Mantorville
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com
