ATV/golf cart ordinances move forward
News | Published on October 31, 2022 at 12:40pm CDT
By Tim Douglass
Glenwood City Commissioners formally introduced two new ordinances that will allow ATVs and golf carts to be operated on city streets. The vehicles will need to get permits from the city once the ordinances are finalized.
City Administrator Dave Iverson said with the ordinances now introduced, they will be published and undergo a “reading” process before they are finalized. He estimated that the new ordinances would be in place before the end of the year.
Iverson also said the commission should begin thinking about the amount of the fees the city would charge to permit ATVs and golf carts. The commission will likely decide the fees in late December, the same time it sets the schedule of all city fees for the upcoming year. The commission has not yet determined if the fees would vary by vehicle, meaning there could be a fee for a golf cart and a different fee for an ATV.
Tax capacity up, city tax rate drops
The commission was told that the Pope County Auditor-Treasurer’s Office provided the 2023 preliminary tax capacity for the City of Glenwood. The tax capacity, which is used to produce the Truth-in-Taxation statements be mailed to city property owners in November, often decreases by the time it is certified in early 2023. According to City Finance Director Brenda Sargent, the increase in city taxes is not as high as expected. The reason is that the taxable tax capacity, according to figures provided by Pope County, increased by $1.09 million dollars. She said that creates a city tax rate of 54.78%, the lowest it has been since 2011.
“Keep in mind that the reason the total capacity increased so much is because individual properties saw an increase in valuations ranging from 40% to 65%,” Sargent said in a memo to the commission. “A better scenario would take place if the increase in taxable tax capacity came from new properties added to the city, as opposed to increasing the valuations of properties that are already here.”
She said that if a property did not see any valuation increase, the city tax on that property would actually decrease. “The chances of that happening this year are slim,” Sargent added.
Although the city set the preliminary budget and levy at a 9% increase over 2022, the city’s 2023 budget and levy will not be finalized until the December 13 city meeting.
In other business, the commission:
• Heard a report from Elizabeth Wefel, representing the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. She told the commission that the last legislative session was “disappointing” and nothing was accomplished in areas that would have been a benefit to Glenwood. She said if the new formula for Local Government Aid (LGA) the Coalition was lobbing for would have passed, “it would have greatly benefited the City of Glenwood.” She said it was nearly passed, but fell with other measures when the legislature could come to a final agreement at the end of the session.
She said CGMC pushed for a special session, but that too fell by the wayside during the election year.
• Chose not to waive the Statutory Tort Liability Limits.
•Directed city staff to pursue ordinances that would address parking and storage of recreational vehicles within the city; prohibit the construction of wells within the city; regulate commercial storage containers and food trucks.
