The state of
the City is good:
The City still has maintained it’s AA- Standard and Poor’s (“S&P”)
rating for a third year in a row. During the last review a note of “no change
expected” was noted and is a strong indicator that Mantorville is on solid
fiscal grounds. The City is able to move forward with the needed WWTP as well
as some much needed infrastructure and the City is currently planning for the
future.
Tax Levy
Rate:
The City
was able to once again reduce the tax rate.
|
Tax Year
|
Levy Dollar
Amount
|
Levy Rate
|
|
2009
|
$406,611.00
|
56%
|
|
2010
|
$414,743.00
|
57%
|
|
2011
|
$423,037.00
|
63%
|
|
2012
|
$427,268.00
|
73%
|
|
2013
|
$427,268.00
|
72%
|
|
2014
|
$422,995.00
|
72%
|
|
2015
|
$424,525.00
|
72%
|
|
2016
|
$427,226.00
|
70%
|
|
2017
|
$440,118.00
|
68%
|
Historical Tax Levy
information for Mantorville
You may notice in the above table that the levy amount
for the City exceeded the amount from 2012 for the fist time for the 2017
budget even though our tax rate has decreased. The reason for this is that the
taxable values of properties within Mantorville increase around nine percent
last year. The council did not want to raise our tax levy amount by nine
percent (zero rate change) while the housing market is just starting to
recover. The council did feel that the levy needed to increase over the 2012
dollar value in order to meet some of the construction needs during the next
two years.
Park Board
Vacancy:
The park
board has had some members retire, and this has opened up a couple of
opportunities to serve our community. If you have an interest in identifying
policy’s for our parks, keeping the plantings healthy or just have an interest
in helping shape the future of our parks, I encourage you to fill out an
application in City Hall to be considered fort this important committee. This
past year the park board was able to invest in additional development and build
a new play area in Dennison park. Some of the original equipment from the old
school grounds was repurposed and will see new life up at Dennison.
Waste Water
Treatment:
The City
was able to break ground on the long awaited Waste Water Treatment Plant this
fall. With an unseasonably warm November the construction crew was able to make
additional progress with installing some of the pipe-work and was able to
deliver most of the materials needed for the project. The work will wrap up
this week with the securing of materials for storage over the winter and
progress will resume once the frost is out of the ground.
City Re branding efforts
The EDA and the
City have been working on a re-branding project during 2015. The final three
designs for the new look and feel for the City were on display and several
citizens voted on their favorite designs. After public input the EDA choose a
design and the EDA is taking the next steps to finalize this work in 2017, we
will make an announcement and rollout of the new design at the Mulligan stew in
March.
Streets and
Infrastructure:
The City
was able to start phase one of the fifth street project and plans are in place
for the continued work on phase two of that project. The County invested in the
restoration of the historic retaining wall along highway 57 next to the courthouse.
In 2016 the county also rededicated the historic courthouse that is situated on
top of the hill in Mantorville. Work continues on our parks and roads. The last
year was a productive year for the Mantorville community.
Safe Routes to School:
In 2016 plans were started for the next phase of safe routes to schools. The City of Kasson, The City of Mantorville, the School Board and community members were invited to take part in the discussions to determine what the area needs were for safe routes to schools, what each government sector could do to promote this effort and how all of the stakeholders could work together to benefit our students. The design firm took the input from this meeting and worked on a plan that was presented in January.
In 2016 plans were started for the next phase of safe routes to schools. The City of Kasson, The City of Mantorville, the School Board and community members were invited to take part in the discussions to determine what the area needs were for safe routes to schools, what each government sector could do to promote this effort and how all of the stakeholders could work together to benefit our students. The design firm took the input from this meeting and worked on a plan that was presented in January.
Welcome new
Council:
The new Council was sworn in at the January 9th Meeting.
Joining the Mantorville City Council is Ryan Christensen. Deputy Mayor Henry
Blair, Council Member Will Lambert were also sworn in at the January 9th
meeting. Council Member Don Hofstad was not up for re-election this year.
A bright future
The last year
brought both Challenges and opportunities. The Council was able to move forward
with some much needed constriction projects and infrastructure needs while maintaining
our S&P rating with sound fiscal policy. The state of the City is sound and
healthy and every indication is that Mantorville will have another healthy year
in 2017.
Yours in service,
Chuck Bradford,
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com
