REPARING FOR THE FINAL 2007 BUDGET
VICTORIA'S TAX LEVY TO INCREASE BY 19.6%
Councilmembers held a special work-shop on November 9^th to review the 2007 budget for the City of Victoria.  The city's preliminary '07 budget was certified to the county in September.  The final '07 budget and levy must be approved in De-cember. 
Final numbers can be decreased, but they cannot be increased.  At the Novem-ber workshop, councilmembers decided to not decrease numbers because proposed cuts would hurt the city. 
It was also pointed out that even when cities hold the line, the county con-tinually sees fit to increase property valu-ations - which increases property taxes.   Said Councilmember Terry Bishop, "If we continue to see 8% to 10% increas-es in market valuation, people aren't go-ing to stand for it.  When people's houses are sitting for 12 to 18 months without selling, while the county continues to raise valuations ... The county has to hear these things."
Victoria City Administrator Dave Urbia presented various options that would have decreased the city's bottom line, but councilmembers accepted his recommendation to maintain the tax rate at the same level as last year.  City taxes paid by Victoria property owners in 2007 will increase, despite maintaining the tax rate, because the county is raising property valuations by 8%.
Councilmembers had looked at cut-ting $266,000 from the budget in order to keep the city portion of property taxes from rising, even with the county's increase in valuations.  They looked, in particular, at the $50,000 the city has ear-marked toward a Highway 5 traffic study, the hiring of a Public Works Director, and costs associated with a transition period for City Administrator Steve Sarvi return-ing home this spring from military leave.
Other increases in expenditures:  the hiring of a Community Service Officer, increasing the hourly rate for fire calls and training in the Victoria Fire Department, grounds maintenance and landscaping, increase in employee wages and benefits, increase of transfer to the Field House.
Said Councilmember Kim Roden, "Most of these things are justifiable, but I wish it were a 5% increase instead of 11%."  Total expenditures budgeted for 2006 amounted to $3,297,454.  Total ex-penditures budgeted for 2007 amount to $3,667,6334.  It is a 11.23% increase.
The levy is increasing by 19.6%, from $3,107,083 in 2006 to $3,716,515 in 2007.  [A more detailed review of the 2007 budget appears in the September 2006 edition of the Victoria Gazette, archived at www.VictoriaGazette.com.]
Said Councilmember Mary Thun about expenditures for the hiring of a Public Works Director and traffic conges-tion of the state highway through Victoria, "The water treatment plant is a $10 mil-lion facility.  We need additional exper-tise.   And it would be shortsighted to not study Highway 5."
Agreed Councilmember Bishop, "All we hear is traffic, traffic, traffic.  This $50,000 is a response to that.  And we need the water treatment plant to operate properly."
Mayor Jerry Bohn pointed out that some of these things are one-time expend-itures.  He also recognized that the 2007 budget anticipates revenue from only 79 new home-constructs.  "We are being conservative," he said.
City staff was directed to prepare the final budget with all the numbers left in-tact.  The Truth in Taxation hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Decem-ber 4^th, with a continuation to Thursday, December 14^th, at which time the final budget and levy for 2007 will be ap-proved.
As explained by City Finance Direc-tor Jylan Johnson, "The tax levy is based on the Carver County Assessor's estimat-ed overall market value appreciation of 18.9%."
The city's taxable market value in-creased from $789,642,000 for pay 2006 to an estimated taxable market value of $938,955,900 for pay 2007.  This repre-sents an increase of 11% due to market value appreciation and 9% due to new de-velopment.  The increase allowed the city to increase its tax levy by $609,432 and keep within the targeted tax capacity rate of 37.5%.

CONSIDERING WATER RATES IN VICTORIA
SOME PAY TOO MUCH, SOME NOT ENOUGH
Responding to a request from Mayor Jerry Bohn, City Engineer Cara Geheren reported on her findings regarding com-mercial versus residential water rates paid in the City of Victoria. 
Mayor Bohn had questioned why the new Waterbrooke Fellowship Church on County Road 43 is required to pay $700 per quarter, but the church doesn't use even the amount of water a home uses.  A single family residential home pays $25 per quarter.
City Engineer Cara Geheren reported on November 9^th that there are basically two things driving water rates - usage and demand.  She said when a building requires a sprinkler system, larger pipes are required to meet the demand of a sprinkler system.  The construction of water towers are particularly related to meeting the demand of commercial build-ings.  Commercial buildings require the installation of larger, more expensive, watermains.
Stated Mayor Bohn, "We sized and got that pipe laid down County Road 43 before we knew a church was going to be there.  It isn't going to take any more water than the fire hydrant down the street.  My proposition is that we don't nick people for the size of their water-mains but for their water usage."

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