By Kris Goracke

News@pctribune.com

The Truth and Taxation meeting for the City of Starbuck was attended by concerned citizens expressing their alarm not only for the increase in property taxes, but also questioning the city’s fiscal responsibility.  A few addressed the council, each in turn asking the city about its spending. 

 Starbuck resident David Schwendemann spoke first, “What are you spending the money on?  It (the taxes) is just too much.  People cannot afford to live here.”  Schwendemann also asked if all property was assessed the same to which Mayor Gary Swenson replied, “No, there are different categories.  To best understand this process, you should speak to the county assessor.”

Barry Lankow addressed the council next.  “In the seven and one-half years we have lived in Starbuck our taxes have continued to go up.  At this pace, we will not be able to afford to retire in this community.”  Swenson said property taxes are a matter for the county assessor, not the city.  “I understand property taxes,” said Lankow, “I am addressing my portion of what I pay to the city.  My city taxes are the majority of my taxes.  Are you saying the city’s expenses go up just because the property values do?”  Council member Steve Gorder addressed this question, “We have to base our budget on the costs.  Things happen, like the new road, and we need to balance our budget.”

Next to speak was Richard Anderson who questioned the levy increase.  “My question to the council is although the levy is an increase of 8 percent, the money collected is more due to the increased value of the homes.  Has the city really considered the amount of money they will be taking in?  Does the city need that much revenue?  The taxes just continue to go up – where is the bottom line for the city’s budget?”

Last to speak was Larry Larson about the city’s spending.  “My question is are you looking at what you are spending or just keeping the checkbook open?  Looking at the general numbers of the budget, I would like more information on the spending.  For example, do we really have four squad cars?  Is that necessary?” asked Larson.  Starbuck Chief of Police Mitch Johnsrud addressed this question, “We have a lot of wear and tear of the squads.  We are running two 24/7 and when we have one or two go down we are left without a squad.”  Larson asked, “Don’t we have the Pope County Sheriff’s office as a backup?”  “No,” said Johnsrud, “they will only come over if it is a felony.”   Larson continued, “But I pay county taxes, why would I not be covered by the sheriff’s department in an emergency?”

Continuing on, Larson asked if the council had considered alternatives to a full police force.  “Morris has recently disbanded their city police and have contracted with the county.  Is this a possibility? Can you (the council) go through some of the expenditures?  For example, do we really need four squad cars?”  Swenson addressed Larson’s concern of the four squads, “Larry, if you had an emergency would you want to wait for the sheriff department to arrive?” To which, Larson responded, “Well, the people who live in the townships seem to be okay.  Reducing our police force would greatly cut back on the city’s expenditures.”  The total budget for the Starbuck Police Department will increase by 37% for 2023.  The police department budget for 2022 was $509,943; it increases to $598,669 for 2023.  The total proposed city budget for 2023 is 1.6 million compared to 1.458 million in 2022.

Larson continued questioning certain aspects of the city’s spending.  “I think the citizens need more information as to what you are spending the money on.  The purpose of this meeting is to explain the budget.”  “If we had to explain the budget, we’d be here until midnight,” said Gorder. “But if something stands out in the budget, we should have an explanation.  It isn’t the property taxes, it is a matter of the city being too easy with handing out money. Why is the city spending so much?” asked Larson. “I appreciate what you are all doing, but I want you each to consider the value of what you are spending,” concluded Larson.

After a few more comments from Rose Henricks and Amy Lankow both echoing the same sentiments as the others concerning the city spending and taxes being too high, the meeting closed.

Later in the meeting, the council approved the final 2023 budget with an 8% increase in the levy over 2022.