State of the City

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