Tuesday, March 31, 2020

City Update 3/31

The City Council extended my Emergency Declaration last night. The Declaration will remain in effect until June 20, or until canceled by Council Action.

City Staff will work on either a rotating shift or working from home. While a staff member will be in the office most days, the doors are going to be locked unless an appointment has been setup for one of the few items that needs to be completed in person.

Bill (and cash payments) can be placed in our utility drop box in front of City hall. The Council has also authorized the waiving of any late fees, so this months bill can be paid later. If needed we will work with our residents on a one on one basis to arrange a payment schedule after the current crisis has been lifted.

Reminder: Soap and water are better at removing the virus from your hands than is hand sanitizer. Hand Sanitizer is alcohol and works well on bacteria, not viruses however.

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Mantorville's Emergency Declaration


CITY OF MANTORVILLE, MINNESOTA
MAYORAL DECLARATION NO. 2020-1

WHEREAS, the Mayor of the City of Mantorville, Minnesota ("Mayor") finds that the following local emergency ("Emergency") exists in the City of Mantorville, Minnesota ("City"):

  1. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization determined that the COVID-19 outbreak constitutes a pandemic. On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a national state of emergency as a result of the pandemic. On March 25, 2020, Governor Tim Walz issued Emergency Executive Order 20-20 ordering all Minnesotans to remain at home.

  1. On March 13, 2020, Governor Tim Walz issued Emergency Executive Order 20-01 declaring a state of peacetime emergency to address the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota. The Governor’s Executive Order along with this Declaration triggers activation of the City’s emergency management plan and enables the City to exercise its emergency powers.

  1. The spread of COVID-19 in the United States and Minnesota has raised serious public health concerns and resulted in a great deal of uncertainty. Much remains unknown about the virus and how it spreads.

WHEREAS, Minnesota Statutes, Section 12.29 authorizes the Mayor to declare the existence of the Emergency, to invoke any necessary portions of any emergency operations/management plans and pandemic response plans, and to authorize aid and services in accordance with interjurisdictional agreements; and

WHEREAS, Minnesota Statutes, Section 12.37 authorizes the City, acting through its governing body, to: (1) enter into contracts and incur obligations necessary to combat the disaster by protecting the health and safety of persons and property and by providing emergency assistance to the victims of the disaster; and (2) exercise the powers vested by that section in the light of the exigencies of the disaster without compliance with time-consuming procedures and formalities otherwise prescribed by law; and

WHEREAS, the Mayor finds that the Emergency is sudden and could not have been anticipated; and

WHEREAS, the Mayor finds that this situation threatens the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the community and threatens the provision and delivery of city services as a result of the Emergency; and

WHEREAS, the Mayor finds that the Emergency poses the risk of and may cause catastrophic loss of public health, safety, and welfare if not immediately addressed.

NOW, THEREFORE, as the Mayor of the City of Mantorville, Minnesota, I declare that a Local Emergency exists effective at 5:00 p.m. on March 27, 2020 in the City of Mantorville, Minnesota.

This declaration of a local emergency will invoke any and all emergency operations/management plans and pandemic response plans of the city. The portions that are necessary for response to and recovery from the Emergency are authorized, including but not limited to all appropriate community containment and mitigation strategies. To the extent normal state laws and city policies and procedures impede an efficient response or compliance with federal and state directives and recommendations, the City Clerk-Treasurer, Emergency Manager, and their designees are authorized to suspend compliance with those laws, policies, and procedures and to take those actions necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

Dated: March 26, 2020. 
 ________________________
Charles Bradford, Mayor
City of Mantorville, Minnesota

Monday, March 23, 2020

Refundable Payroll Tax

On Friday, March 20, the U.S. Treasury Department, IRS and U.S. Department of Labor announced that small and midsize employers can begin taking advantage of two new refundable payroll tax credits designed to immediately and fully reimburse them for the cost of providing COVID-19 related leave to their employees. Additional guidance, including how to claim the credits in advance, is being prepared and will be posted to the Coronavirus Tax Relief page on IRS.gov as soon as it is available.

Please refer to Coronavirus Tax Relief on IRS.gov with questions, or reach out to our office if you need assistance.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

SBA Loans avaialble

Good afternoon,

As you are likely aware, the U.S. Small Business Administration is now offering low-interest loans for working capital for Minnesota small businesses and non-profits suffering losses related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela
·        Note: The website is experiencing high volumes of traffic, and may be slow. Some users are experiencing issues using the Chrome browser, so if that happens to you, please try a different browser.

SBA loans will provide some measure of relief for the substantial losses many businesses have already experienced. In addition, Senator Smith will continue to fight for Minnesotans in Washington as we navigate the current public health crisis and eventual economic recovery. Please reach out if you have questions or concerns.

Best,

Bree Maki
Senior Southern Minnesota Outreach Director | Office of Senator Tina Smith
Childcare, Broadband and Telecommunications State Representative
1210 1/2 7th Street NW, Suite #218 | Rochester, MN 55901

Dodge Co Health Update

The City has recently received this from Dodge County.






Thursday, March 19, 2020

TP Shortage

The most important thing all of us can do to slow the spread of the NOVCO-19 virus is to stay home if you feel sick. The City of Mantorville is working with State and other local governments to monitor and assess the situation and the local needs to address issues as they arise. Please take not of some special items related to the current global concern.

The City of Mantorville's water supply remains safe. If you were drinking tap water before there is no reason to drink bottled water now.

Toilet Paper is out of stock in all area stores. When your on-site reserves are used up you may have to switch to "other options". The other options might include taking a shower instead, using baby wipers (which are still in stock) using paper towel or some other means (Shopko has a paperless toilet seat). The Waste water treatment plant can handle Kleenex, tp and human waste, our treatment plant can not handle sanitary napkins, paper towel or cloth rags. Please dispose of used paper towel, dirty rags and sanitary napkins in the garbage. Please help us keep our plant running smoothly.

The City of Mantorville will continue to monitor the on-going situation and make any needed changes as the need arises.

Monday, March 16, 2020

City of Mantorville is OPEN!

The City of Mantorville is conducting business as usual.
Our scheduled meeting for March 23 WILL occur on schedule!

Sunday, March 1, 2020

State Of The City


Twenty-Nineteen is finally over and most of are probably saying hooray! I attended the Chambers annual dinner a few weeks ago and since 2019 was so challenging, we were asked to share something good about 2019. Mantorville saw historic flooding, wind damage and large hail damage, personally I had some challenges as well. When it came to my turn I said that my initial reaction to what was good about 2019 was that it was over! I then went on to say that if I had left my answer like that it would have been short sighted. With the Flooding the high winds and record-setting hail damage what I saw each time was our community coming together and neighbors helping neighbors. In my personal challenges too I have seen the true strength of a community like Mantorville with so many offers of help, support and prayers. Thank you one and all for everything you helped out with and the great offers of support, those have meant a great deal to my family.
The new year has begun and I am able to get back to my blog.

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 YearLevy Dollar Amount Levy RatePopulation Cost / Person
2009 $406,611.00 56.00% 1157 $351.44
2010 $414,743.00 57.00% 1197 $346.49
2011 $423,037.00 63.00% 1201 $352.24
2012 $427,268.00 73.00% 1204 $354.87
2013 $427,268.00 72.00% 1215 $351.66
2014 $422,995.00 72.00% 1206 $350.74
2015 $424,525.00 72.00% 1200 $353.77
2016 $427,226.00 70.00% 1210 $353.08
2017 $440,118.00 68.00% 1216 $361.94
2018 $453,322.00 61.00% 1209 $374.96
2019 $480,521.00 57.70% 1217** $394.84
2020 $509,352.00 56.75% 1219** $417.84
** Projected Population

Last year we hired a new Public works employee and this year we are hiring a new Assistant Clerk. I am looking forward to 2020 and the many new promises it brings. The State of our City is strong and we will only continue to improve.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford
Mayor, City of Mantorville