Spending down slightly in proposed 2013 St. Paul Park budget

Talk about it

City spending will decrease by less than 1 percent next year and property taxes for many homeowners are expected to remain largely flat under St. Paul Park’s proposed 2013 budget released this week.

The city’s $2.5 million budget reduces spending by roughly seven-tenths of 1 percent from 2012 levels and projects revenue to decrease the same. The city’s proposed $1.5 million property tax levy represents a 2.6 percent increase over 2012.

That increase, however, is due to an increase in debt payments to finance projects that made millions of dollars in street repairs in 2010 and 2011 and fixed a leaky roof on St. Paul park City Hall, said City Administrator Kevin Walsh, not additional operating expenditures.

Under the proposed budget that is subject to City Council approval in December, a Washington County tax impact formula shows a St. Paul Park home valued at $150,000 that decreases at the city average of 13 percent will see a more than $60 decrease in taxes paid to the city in 2013. A city estimate projected at $150,000 home would see property taxes paid to the city rise by around $20.

Walsh said he expected the property tax impact on most homeowners would be minimal.

“I think a lot of residents will see the city portion of their taxes stay flat,” Walsh said.

Major expenditures proposed in the 2013 budget include a nearly $1 million bonding project that will repaint a Broadway Avenue water tower, $40,000 for street maintenance and crack filling and up to $30,000 for park improvements.

St. Paul Park Public Works will also begin removing some ash trees in the city right-of-way to combat against Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive insect that is spreading across the Twin Cities metro area.

The St. Paul Park City Council will set a preliminary 2013 levy at a meeting early next month. The levy can then be lowered, but not raised, before the council approves a final budget in December.

Tags: st paul park, news, updates, government