Westonka taxpayers lose

It was a very close election yesterday, but with voter turnout at only 35% the result can’t be assumed to reflect the wishes of the majority of school district residents. The whopper bond on Question #2 barely squeaked by with only a 110 vote lead out of 5,132 votes.

There is no question if this referendum had been held in an even numbered year, where voter turnout is typically 60-80%, it would have gone down in flames. But the Westonka school board knows that and realizes their ability to suppress opposition voting is much better during an off-year when other statewide races don’t draw their opposition voters to the polls.

In addition, Question #2, which will increase district property taxes for the capital projects levy, passed as well and 100% of the incumbent school board members were reelected.

The only solution to repairing the public’s trust in school district elections is to require they be held in even numbered years, when voter turnout is higher and outcomes are more likely to represent the community as a whole. But that would require a school board that values the voice of the majority.

Since Westonka doesn’t have a school board that values the voice of the majority, the only vehicle to accomplish getting rid of these off-year, voter suppressive elections, is for residents to petition to have a referendum on the ballot requiring them to do so.

Alarming omissions – Westonka ballot question #1: levy renewal

The Westonka Bond Con continues. Most of the focus of the Westonka school district election coming up has been on the whopper $170 Million dollars ($93.4M bond plus 5% interest for 25 years) for a high school remodel (what the majority of the bond is allocated for). But, there’s another question, question #1, on the ballot asking voters to renew a soon to expire annual $2.575 million dollar capital projects levy.

First, it’s not just $2.575 million dollars. The levy is for ten years so the amount voters are considering is over TWENTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS, NOT 2.5M. Promotional info drumming up support for the measure takes great care to only focus on annual numbers, as the true cost of these bonds are rather alarming.

The strategy is to minimize the amounts and tax impact in hopes of lowering voter turnout. School district voters might actually show up if they knew they were going to be voting on close to TWO HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS that could begin hitting their taxes in 2024.

Second, and more importantly, they’re leading voters to think that renewing the expiring levy has no impact on their taxes. Seriously. They actually have a chart on the school district website (see below)! I know they assume everyone is a low information voter, but extending a $25,000,000 levy absolutely DOES impact taxes. How could it not?!

https://www.westonka.k12.mn.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=1395

The fact the district is duping voters into thinking that another $25 million dollar commitment won’t impact their taxes is outrageously deceptive.

If the levy is NOT renewed it will absolutely result in a levy DECREASE. The expired levy would go away having been paid off. So how could there be no impact on taxes if it doesn’t go away? I’m confused.

A “yes” vote means you’re agreeing to keep making payments on an expired levy totaling over $25,000,000 passed in 2014, without the benefit of disclosures required for new bond referendums.

A “no” vote means you realize that the 2014 levy, authorized for ten years, has expired, been paid off and you’re not agreeing to keep making payments on it for another 10 years.

Don’t fall for the con. There will be a decrease in the levy if the renewal fails, and there will be a corresponding impact to property taxes if it passes.

Early voting begins Friday, September 22 in Suite A of the Educational Service Center, 5901 Sunnyfield Rd. E., Minnetrista, MN. Go to the pollfinder to find out where to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, November 7.

Ouch! Minnetrista passes preliminary 15.1% increase to net levy

Minnetrista residents will be feeling the pinch when they get their property tax assessments for 2024 if the 15.1% preliminary increase to the city’s net levy is adopted before year-end. Public comment is scheduled for Monday, December 4, 2023 at 7pm at city hall. The city council has the authority to lower the increase before making it final in December.

Some of the drivers of the increase include a 19.5% increase to the public works and law enforcement labor contracts for the years 2024 through 2026. Public works increases were approved at 12.25% for 2024; 3.5% for 2025; and 3.75% for 2026. For law enforcement the increase was approved for 10% for officers in 2024 (10.5% for sergeants/lieutenants), 5% increase for 2025, and 4% increase for 2026.

Another factor driving the hike is a 62.22% increase in debt, a 40% increase in snow & ice removal and, of course, inflation bringing the city’s gross levy for 2024 to $6,693,104.

If Minnetrista property owners live in the Westonka school district there is another increase to their property tax coming if the school’s $93.4M ($170M including 5% interest for 25 years) bond referendum passes on November 7.

I asked Bing AI to look up the history of the city’s preliminary tax levy increases for the last seven years, between 2017 through 2023:

According to the official website of the City of Minnetrista, MN, the preliminary tax levy for the year 2017 was $4,740,000¹. The preliminary tax levy for the year 2018 was $5,000,000¹. The preliminary tax levy for the year 2019 was $5,200,000¹. The preliminary tax levy for the year 2020 was $5,400,000¹. The preliminary tax levy for the year 2021 was $5,500,000¹. The preliminary tax levy for the year 2022 was $5,354,229¹. Finally, for the year 2023, the approved tax levy is $5,854,229, which is a 9.18% net levy increase from 2022 ¹.

To calculate the gross tax levy percentage increase from 2017 to 2023, we can use the following formula:
Gross Tax Levy Percentage Increase = ((Final Levy - Initial Levy) / Initial Levy) * 100
Using this formula and the data from above, we can calculate that the gross tax levy percentage increase for 2017 to 2023, a seven year period, is approximately 23.49%.
Bing AI, http://www.cityofminnetrista.com

Residents are invited to address their concerns to the city council and staff on December 4, 2023 at 7pm at city hall.

Westonka Schools to decide on $91.5M November bond referendum

The Westonka School Board is meeting Monday night, June 5, 2023 at 6pm in the Performing Arts Center to discuss a facilities $91.5M bond referendum for the November 2023 ballot. The bond would ultimately cost school district taxpayers $170M according to the school’s financial analysis, more than doubling the district’s current debt load.

According to the MN Department of Education Score Card, Westonka schools have shown a continuous decline, since 2019, in the number of students meeting standards in math. Westonka’s students are also performing worse today than they were in 2018 in all three core areas of math, reading, and science.

This is not a facilities problem. However, the school district, nonetheless, is asking taxpayers to open their wallets, once again, to hand them an additional $91.5M to upgrade facilities. Their last successful facilities bond referendum was for $22M in 2016.

In order to figure out how much taxpayers were willing to fork over for different kinds of “facility improvements” the school district conducted two, separate, community surveys within the past year. The latest was completed in May of 2023. Both surveys were very similar, focusing on voter perceptions of school performance, capacity, funding, etc. Although the questions were similar on both, the number of people surveyed and the amount of the proposed referendums were significantly different.

The first survey, completed in September 2022 asked 400 participants about their views on a proposed $65M bond referendum. The second, subsequent survey, asked 625 participants about a $93M bond referendum. The earlier September survey was discovered by this author only after a data practices request showed the school district had paid Morris Leatherman $16,000 for the first survey and then paid them an additional $9,000 for the second one.

Readers might wonder why the school district only publicized the results of the latter, second survey. The following could be why:

First Survey (400 participants/$65M referendum):

“lack of funding” was indicated by only 16% as a serious issue.
“facility needs” was indicated by only 3% as a serious issue.
40% indicated they were “unsure” or “nothing” was a serious issue with the school district.
Job performance rating of teachers far exceeded ratings for school board members and administrator (question was dropped from 2^nd survey)
44% said property taxes were high
59% said school is adequately funded
84% said school facilities were Excellent or Good
38% opposed “HS Stadium” referendum spending
Only 21% didn’t agree with the statement “Westonka School District currently provides for sufficient learning spaces”
Only 38% didn’t agree with the statement “Westonka has enough school space to accommodate enrollment”
Survey showed a large majority, 57%, were labeled “persuadables,” (i.e., not totally supportive) of a $65M referendum.

Some additional reasons could be:

Survey #2 showed a smaller percentage of “persuadables” at 47% regarding a $93M referendum (total opposition went up from 22% to 26% with increased amount).
Both surveys showed that 40% of residents are unwilling to support any property tax increase over $8/mo, and the proposed $91.5M referendum is estimated to cost a $500K homeowner $244 per year for 25 years ($6,100 total). That’s on top of the $132 per year ($2,000 total) that homeowner is already paying for the last $22M facilities referendum in 2016.
The referendum amount of $65M on the first survey showed a smaller percentage thinking the proposal was a “bad idea” (21%) vs 29% thinking the $93M referendum was a “bad idea” on survey #2.
When asked if the referendum amount was a “Fair Price,” answers went from 35% saying “No” to the $65M referendum, to $40% saying “No” to the $93M referendum.

For those who would like to ask questions of the Westonka school board or examine the surveys and presentations regarding the proposed referendum, you can find all the information on the school’s website.

Minnetrista votes themselves a raise

In the midst of extreme financial burdens in our community caused by “these challenging times” (a euphemism for tyrannical rule) where our neighbors have lost their businesses, lost their jobs and can’t pay their mortgages, our Mayor last night voted herself a 25% raise and the council a 33% increase in annual compensation.

It shouldn’t matter that surrounding cities like Orono, Medina and Wayzata all have compensation for their councils at, or lower than, Minnetrista’s level of $4,800 for mayor and $3,600 for council. A council member in Orono got wind of the proposed increase in Minnetrista and had this to say about it:

Orono Council meeting 12/7/2020

As with all increases in Minnetrista, whether they are fees, taxes, assessments, etc., we heard Mayor Whalen minimize it, as we always do, taking the increase and dividing it by either the number of people, parcels, households or whatever suits the desired outcome to portray the increase as inconsequential. I think someone needs to inform her about basic math and when you add a bunch of small numbers together the sum is always bigger than the parts.

When I consider the last four years of service on the city council, the amount I made probably works out to less than what I made on my first job babysitting. But serving on the council is just that. It is serving. It’s not a salaried job to supplement one’s income or to expect an equal exchange between what is given vs. gotten.

I guarantee my remarks last night will not make it into the council minutes so I will leave them here:

“I realize there is never a good time to increase our own council salaries but I also am sensitive to the very real financial difficulties people in our community are facing. I don’t think any of us do this for the money. It is a community service from my perspective and I trust it is for others. I can’t, in good conscience, increase council and the mayor’s compensation when I know my neighbors can’t pay their mortgage, have been laid off, or have had to close their businesses. I just can’t do that.”

As the last council meeting I attended I’m glad to have had the opportunity to vote No on this irresponsible and ill-timed proposal. The resolution to raise the compensation passed, however, 4-1.

Two firsts in Minnetrista last night

Last night’s council meeting was notable in that two “firsts” occurred. One, it was the first time since elected in 2016 that I voted to approve the city’s preliminary tax levy and the reason I did was it would actually result in a net decrease in most resident’s property taxes. Two, it was the first time Mayor Whalen voted for a preliminary tax levy that would result in a tax decrease since she was elected Mayor. I’d like to think it was because she knew it was in the best interests of Minnetrista property owners but something tells me this dichotomy with her past voting record won’t happen again for another four years if she’s re-elected.

I predicted here that this election year would prompt a political change of heart for a mayor facing a challenger in a community less than happy with the steady tax increases she’s supported every year.

One of the budgeting games played by administrative bureaucracies, since they’re always seeking to increase resources, is to under-estimate projected revenue and over-estimate projected expenditures in the budget. Doing so always ends up with a tax increase being the only way to “make ends meet.” We saw that in the council’s budget work sessions where, seeing that permit fee revenue was underestimated, I was successful in getting the city’s 2021 projections for permit fees increased to more accurately reflect a higher number based on past and anticipated growth. As a result we were able to add those dollars to the road budget without increasing anyone’s property taxes.

That’s a win-win. We don’t always need to increase taxes to pay for what we need.

http://www.ShannonBruceForMayor.com

Minnetrista prediction – wagers anyone?

It’s an election year and strange things happen in election years. Mayor Whalen has voted every year since she was elected to increase the city’s tax levy to the point of increasing your property taxes. Every. Single. Year. But this is an election year and even Whalen understands voters don’t like seeing their taxes go up year after year after year.

I predict this will be the first year Whalen votes in support of a tax levy that doesn’t increase your city property tax. But remember, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Rest assured that will hold true for the next four years.

Past city levy increases have far exceeded Minnetrista’s growth rate. Since elected I have voted against each and every one. The growth we are experiencing, and are told will continue, should generate more than enough revenue to support city services without increasing anyone’s city property taxes. The city also has several “special funds” not reflected in the general fund (where levied revenues and expenditures appear) with hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting idle. Some of these funds should be re-allocated to roads instead of using roads as an excuse to raise taxes every year.

Our council meeting Tuesday night will likely include a vote on the 2021 preliminary tax levy. Anyone willing to wager it will be the lowest since Whalen took office?

http://www.ShannonBruceForMayor.com

Trick or Trees?

If you want to adopt a policy in Minnetrista that creates future city liabilities and know there won’t be money available for those future liabilities what do you do? You do what Mayor Whalen suggested Monday night and that is, when the money runs out you just change the policy and declare the city won’t be responsible anymore.

We are talking about the city’s tree fund that has a current balance of over $416,000, dollars contributed by developers that took out more trees than allowed and had to pay into the fund. That money has been sitting idle, not being used (Minnetrista has no shortage of trees) and the balance continues to grow, but once the city is developed the deposits to that fund will stop.

Knowing this tree fund has been sitting unused for years I’ve suggested we should look at using part of it for road maintenance since that seems to be the most challenging aspect of our finances and is the primary reason given each year for increasing the tax levy. There are other “special” funds with balances of hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been sitting relatively idle for years as well (see highlighted chart).

Interestingly, after these many years, staff recently decided it was time to discuss establishing a “tree replacement policy” to use these funds to replace trees planted in right-of-way areas on private property.

I have no issues with replacing diseased trees along rights-of-ways because our housing development HOAs and other property owners do not cause tree disease. That is a legitimate use of these funds to beautify our boulevards. But private property owners (or HOAs) are responsible for the care and maintenance of all trees and landscaping on private property, not the city. If the city assumes liability for replacing trees caused by neglect or any cause other than disease it is taking on more liability than it should, in my humble opinion.

The council work session discussion ended with staff being given direction to replace all dead trees in rights-of-way areas regardless of the cause. Votes are not taken at work sessions but had there been mine would have been a “No.” It was stated during our work session that we currently are not aware of any diseased trees at this time. I guess you never know when a tree pandemic will hit that requires using up the entire fund. Meanwhile residents are demanding better roads and being told their taxes will need to go up to get them. www.ShannonBruceForMayor.com

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Mayor Whalen’s blog on increasing your taxes

I think some clarification is in order here.

Mayor Whalen states on her new blog “When determining our levy one of the things we look at is growth. The County Assessor estimated that we saw a 2.0% – 2.5% overall new home growth. If you subtract that from the final levy increase (over 2019) of 5.66% it leaves an increase of approximately 3.2%-3.7%”

That’s assuming, incorrectly, that for every percent in growth the city needs a 1:1 ratio increasing the tax levy. That’s simply not true. First, the 2-2.5% referenced here is the increase in the city’s total market valuation from new homes, not the number of new homes built. That could be a very small number of expensive homes or a lot of inexpensive homes. There is no correlation between market valuation increases and a need for higher taxes.

The tax levy should only be increased because of increased costs (plus inflation) due to growth, not simply because of market valuation increases. Theoretically you could have one home built that accounts for the entire 2% growth…which wouldn’t justify any tax levy increase at all. I’m not implying that is the case, just using an example that makes the point.

First levy increase since 2012?! I don’t think so

I blogged about the misuse of statistics back in October and how omitting information, leaving out something significant that, if known, would lead the reader/listener to a different conclusion from what was presented, could manipulate residents. Well, today our favorite local newspaper, The Laker, has been manipulated. But don’t blame the reporter. She was only reporting what she had read on the city’s slide presented at the December 2 public hearing on the 2020 levy increase which said:

“General Fund levy has not been increased since 2012 and had decreased from 2010 before that”

Somehow the reporter got the idea, from the statement above, that the tax levy in Minnetrista hadn’t gone up in eight years. Hmm, I wonder if residents in Minnetrista think the same thing. Anyone familiar with Minnetrista’s tax levy history knows there has been a tax levy increase almost every year since 2012 and we got another whopper 5.66% increase this year.

The byline in the December 21 story on page 18 states “Final levy close to that submitted in September, first increase since 2012” (Emphasis added). Oops, someone actually printed what they were told, and in a very public way. It’s always been okay to mislead people as long as it was done quietly, but headlines advertising the deception are another matter. The reporter was quickly contacted by the city and told to correct the online story and reminded that she should have run the story by the city.

How would a regular citizen interpret this slide?

Note also how the slide says “Staff is proposing an option reducing the net preliminary tax levy increase….” instead of the reality of staff proposing a 5.66% increase, which, by the way, was adopted on a 4-1 vote (Bruce dissenting).

So what was missing from this slide and why did the reporter need to correct the story? First, there are several funds, other than the “general fund,” included in the tax levy. There is a debt fund, a road maintenance fund, and a CIP levy that, in addition to the general fund levy, comprise the taxable levy. Most people don’t know that and the only reason this statement was on this slide is to take advantage of the fact that most people don’t know that.

Bottom line is the city of Minnetrista wants more of your money but they want you to hand it over without complaining. To do that requires manipulation of the facts and they are very good at that.

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