Update 10:36 p.m. June 18, 2009: I checked Matt Entenza‘s charts and they show only projected tax increases in different cities or groups of cities throughout the state. He said the charts are based House Research.
I’ve tracked down the charts, which aren’t on his campaign Web site, to a Web site run by Minnesota 2020, a progressive think tank that Matt started. The House Research he referred to is here. I don’t have time to go through it right now so you’ll have to figure out the assumptions yourself.
Below is one of the charts:
Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Matt Entenza dropped in to town today to call Gov. Tim Pawlenty out about those LGA cuts.
Matt’s argument was that a) LGA cuts would force cities to raise property taxes and b) the impact of the cuts was disproportionate, hitting rural cities more than other cities in the metro area. The hardest hit would be Iron Range cities.
He had some examples, but I didn’t bring them home. So, instead, I randomly picked a few Twin Cities suburbs and found that, some suburbs, didn’t get very much LGA, if at all.
(By the way, if you haven’t seen it, here’s the governor’s press release on the LGA cuts.)
What’s striking is how much more dependent rural cities are on state aid than urban cities. Property tax levies, on average, make up 77 percent of the revenue that cities statewide get from both levies and LGA. Notice how East Grand Forks’ levies make up less than half that amount.
Notice also how, on average, there’s about $413 in property tax levied for each person in the state. In East Side, that amount is about $338, meaning homeowners there paid less taxes.
This data comes from the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. What it doesn’t show is all the revenue sources that each city gets — fees, for example, are used by many to supplement their budgets — or how much commercial property each city has, which would reduce dependence on homeowners.
| Population | Levy+LGA 2009 | Levy | Certified LGA 2009 | LGA unallotment 2009 | LGA unallotment 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State total | 4,283,123 | $2,293,118,025.00 | $1,766,976,478.00 | $526,141,547.00 | -$44,619,614.00 | -$102,384,067.00 |
| EGF | 7,879 | $5,494,895.00 | $2,662,926.00 | $2,831,969.00 | -$173,338.00 | -$420,019.00 |
| Crookston | 8,051 | $5,040,959.00 | $1,569,235.00 | $3,471,724.00 | -$166,995.00 | -$385,321.00 |
| TRF | 8,515 | $4,267,376.00 | $1,582,406.00 | $2,684,970.00 | -$141,368.00 | -$326,190.00 |
| Hibbing | 16,170 | $16,030,906.00 | $7,266,192.00 | $8,764,714.00 | -$355,740.00 | -$889,350.00 |
| Virginia | 8,732 | $8,740,493.00 | $4,260,928.00 | $4,479,565.00 | -$192,104.00 | -$480,260.00 |
| Anoka | 18,038 | $7,288,101.00 | $5,982,990.00 | $1,305,111.00 | -$241,438.00 | -$557,088.00 |
| Burnsville | 61,393 | $26,079,715.00 | $26,079,715.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Edina | 47,090 | $24,153,933.00 | $24,153,933.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Oakgrove | 8,433 | $3,306,165.00 | $3,106,165.00 | $200,000.00 | -$109,525.00 | -$200,000.00 |
| Waverly | 1,028 | $1,007,248.00 | $945,000.00 | $62,248.00 | -$22,616.00 | -$56,540.00 |
| Wayzata | 4,145 | $3,444,682.00 | $3,444,682.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Levy+LGA/pop. | Levy/pop. | Certified LGA 2009/pop. | Levy v. Levy+LGA | LGA unallotment 2009 v. Certified 2009 LGA | LGA unallotment 2010 v. Certified 2009 LGA | |
| State total | $535.38 | $412.54 | $122.84 | 77.1% | -8.5% | -19.5% |
| EGF | $697.41 | $337.98 | $359.43 | 48.5% | -6.1% | -14.8% |
| Crookston | $626.13 | $194.91 | $431.22 | 31.1% | -4.8% | -11.1% |
| TRF | $501.16 | $185.84 | $315.32 | 37.1% | -5.3% | -12.1% |
| Hibbing | $991.40 | $449.36 | $542.04 | 45.3% | -4.1% | -10.1% |
| Virginia | $1,000.97 | $487.97 | $513.01 | 48.7% | -4.3% | -10.7% |
| Anoka | $404.04 | $331.69 | $72.35 | 82.1% | -18.5% | -42.7% |
| Burnsville | $424.80 | $424.80 | $0.00 | 100.0% | – | – |
| Edina | $512.93 | $512.93 | $0.00 | 100.0% | – | – |
| Oakgrove | $392.05 | $368.33 | $23.72 | 94.0% | -54.8% | -100.0% |
| Waverly | $979.81 | $919.26 | $60.55 | 93.8% | -36.3% | -90.8% |
| Wayzata | $831.05 | $831.05 | $0.00 | 100.0% | – | – |
Note: If you’re not familiar with the state, EGF is East Grand Forks, TRF is Thief River Falls. These and Crookston are cities in our region. Hibbing and Virginia are Iron Range cities. And the other cities that follow are Twin Cities suburbs.
Tu-Uyen,
You are becoming enlightened; rural Minnesota and CGMC is the real benafactor of LGA while metro cities must support themselves without LGA and also face the evils of Fisacl Disparities in the 7 county metro area. It is tiresome to listen to EGF whine about their percieved needs inlight of all they have received to rebuild after the floods over the years…it is time they learn to stand or tread water on their own two feet/fins.