Sunday, April 14, 2013
The school board's resolution states that the district intends to place one question on the fall ballot seeking an eight-year levy subject to a rate of increase for inflation renewing the existing levy and increasing it by $482 per pupil.
The Stillwater school board on last week unanimously passed a resolution of intent to hold a levy in November. The resolution states that the school district intends to place one question on the ballot seeking an eight-year levy subject to a rate of increase for inflation renewing the existing levy and increasing it by $482 per pupil, for a total of $1,495 per pupil subject to inflation. If passed, the levy would begin in 2014, and be payable starting in 2015. Before the discussion, School Board Chair Kathy Buchholz noted that the resolution was passed more than four months before the state requires an official ballot decision to be made. The board felt it was important to get information about a levy out to the public with time to respond…
Monday, March 25, 2013
The results of a recent survey suggest the Stillwater Area School Board should consider placing one levy question on the ballot this November that includes a renewal of the expiring levy and an increase to help fund the strategic plan.
A recent survey of district residents suggest there is a high level of support for Stillwater Area Public Schools, but passing a levy referendum this fall is “by no means a walk in the park.” Bill Morris of Decisions Resources shared that message with board members Thursday when he provided an overview of the results from a recently conducted survey of 400 district residents. The board should consider placing one levy question on the ballot this November that includes a renewal of the expiring levy and an increase to help fund the strategic plan, Morris said. He also suggested the board consider including funding to enhance safety in the schools, which can be rolled into one levy question. “Passing a levy is never easy,” Morris said. “It …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
The average value home in Woodbury will see a $6 increase in taxes in 2013.
Despite $220,000 in cuts over the past few months, most Woodbury residents will still see a slight increase in their 2013 taxes. The Woodbury City Council on Wednesday approved the 2013 budget and levy. The increase on the average value home is expected to be $6. Home values in Woodbury are still in decline, City Administrator Clint Gridley said, though new housing units are up this year and sheriff’s sales are down. “Our market is healing,” he said. Still, because home values are down, tax rates will go up for many in Woodbury. It’s estimated that 57.5 percent of homeowners will see an increase. That increase (or decrease) depends on the assessed value of a home. Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens noted that the value of her home has gone down …
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Woodbury City Hall
8301 Valley Creek Rd, Woodbury, MN
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The council meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.
The Woodbury City Council on Wednesday will hold its annual Truth in Taxation hearing on the budget, likely approve a liquor license for a new liquor store and possibly OK funding mechanisms for the Bielenberg Sports Center expansion project. Check out the full agenda on the city’s website. The city will open up the floor to residents for a public hearing on the 2013 budget, which is expected to be at about $61.8 million. The proposed budget represents a 4.2 percent decrease from 2012. The council will have three options regarding the levy, which distributes the tax burden. The proposed levy (about $28.8 million) has come down about $204,000 since previous budget talks. If approved as presented, the levy would increase the tax impact on …
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Woodbury City Hall
8301 Valley Creek Rd, Woodbury, MN
/articles/new-liquor-store-bielenberg-financing-budget-considerations-woodbury-council-preview
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Thursday, September 13, 2012
A reduction from the state’s fiscal disparities program left the city with $481,000 less than initially projected.
As the Woodbury City Council wades through plans for the 2013 budget and levy, projections from a complicated state program came in lower than expected—$481,854, to be exact. “That is a big change,” City Administrator Clint Gridley told the council during Wednesday night’s meeting. Since 2000, Woodbury’s average increase from the program has been 9 percent, according to a council memo, and the city budgeted for a 7 percent increase this year. When Gridley asked House Research about the city’s 9 percent reduction for 2013, officials there didn’t know why it happened. “It’s a complicated program,” he said. The fiscal disparities program “is a system for the partial sharing of commercial-industrial (C/I) property tax base among all …
44.91984
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Woodbury City Hall
8301 Valley Creek Rd, Woodbury, MN
/articles/a-shock-to-woodbury-s-2013-budget-plans
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Taxes come in lower than expected.
After a presentation by Finance Director Aaron Bushberger, the District 833 School Board unanimously approved its 2012 property-tax levy in swift fashion Dec. 15. The levy, which has been discussed at length by the board over the past months, is a 0.5 percent reduction over last year’s levy. The proposed amount that was mailed out to taxpayers at the end of last month was $53,580,298, but the final amount came in about $155,000 lower due to the fact the Minnesota Department of Education had a slightly lower property tax calculation than the district. “Since it’s lower and to our advantage, we’re going to be going with that number,” Bushberger said. Before the approval of the levy, board member Ron Kath lauded Bushbeger for the work he and…
Friday, December 16, 2011
The city tax levy will not increase next year.
The Woodbury City Council on Wednesday set the 2012 budget and levy. The budget will see a 5.1 percent bump from 2011, to $64.56 million, and for the first time in two decades there will be no city tax levy increase. That doesn’t mean every Woodbury resident will see the same tax bill as last year, however. City Administrator Clint Gridley noted that the tax levy if fixed and is used to distribute the tax burden. Because property values are still in decline, the tax rate for some homes will increases. Still, the average increase for a Woodbury homeowner will be $1, Gridley said. The city will keep costs for services flat in all areas except ambulance service, which will increase 7 percent. This is due to declining Medicare and Medicaid …
44.91984
-92.936949
Woodbury City Hall
8301 Valley Creek Rd, Woodbury, MN
/articles/woodbury-council-sets-2012-budget-levy
1705757
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Levy set to decrease by 0.5 percent.
In a year when more than 100 schools districts asked residents to approve higher levy amounts via referenda, the South Washington County School Board has been able to slightly reduce its levy from last year. The final levy amount the school board is recommending for the 2012-13 is proposed at $53.4 million a 0.5 percent decrease from last year’s levy. The school board proposed the property-tax levy amount at about $146,000 higher at its Oct. 27 meeting, but has since been able to pare down that amount due to the issuance of refunding bonds and a fund surplus. “We’re able to levy less this year because we’re carrying over some funds,” Superintendent Mark Porter said at the Dec. 1 meeting. The school board is set to approve the final levy …
Monday, November 7, 2011
For Woodbury folks in District 834, here's a preview of the Stillwater Area School District levy and bond referendum.
Like one-third of the school districts in the state, the Stillwater Area School District will have a levy request on the ballot. District 834 will have three questions on the ballot on Tuesday: an operating levy, a capital projects levy and a bond for improving science labs an improving air quality at six schools. For taxpayers, approving all three questions on the ballot would mean paying about $130 a year extra on a home with an assessed valued of $150, or about $268 a year extra on a home assessed at $300,000. Click here for a breakdown of the estimated tax impact of the levy based on your home’s value. Even if voters approve the levy/bond requests, the School District will still have to cut $5 million from the budget. That budget-…
Sunday, October 9, 2011
The South Washington County School Board on Thursday held a special meeting to address the budget.
The good news: The South Washington County School Board is reducing its property-tax levy from last year's level. The bad news: Reductions in state aid means taxpayers in District 833 probably won’t see much of a break. At Thursday’s school board meeting, the board approved a budget for the 2012-13 school year that is .21 percent lower than the 2010-12 budget. The total budget is just over $53,580,000—about a $113,000 decrease from last year’s budget. District 833 is only levying 23 percent of the max amount allowed by the state, which Superintendent Mark Porter said is a good thing because it shows the district is in a strong financial position. However, during the past legislative session, lawmakers nixed the Market Value Homestead …
North Hill Dude
8:34 am on Saturday, March 30, 2013
400 people surveyed hardly represents the entire district. It sounds like they sent surveys out to residents who had young children? What I would like to know is why aren't district salaries and benefits ever brought up when they comprise such a huge part of the $100 million dollar budget? $0.77 of each dollar spent goes to salaries/bennies, that is a staggering amount. It would be refreshing to … more ›