ReNae Bowman for Crystal Mayor

Wow!  Today was a great day of campaigning.  Thank you to all the citizens who have taken time out of their day to speak with me.  So heartwarming to know so many citizens are engaged and involved with the city, they know what is going on, they are informed voters.  Thanks so much to everyone for your support. 

I was asked questions about my opponent’s newest campaign literature.  Here’s my response:

Crystal’s Property Taxes during the past 7 years were stable even though times were uncertain and unstable.   Have property taxes gone up, yes, but so has the price of gas and health care, both of which the City purchases. 

The Council spends about 7 months deconstructing and reconstructing the budget looking for ways to save money while providing expected services.  The Council’s goal is to maintain property taxes paid by citizens and look for cost savings.  Over time, we need to keep taxes stable and sustainable to preserve our neighborhoods and our property values. 

For example, the 2012 tax levy was cut by 2.07 percent, which was the good news.  The bad news happened when the state eliminated the Market Value Homestead Credit (MVHC).  The impact of this action was to increase our -2.07 percent budget-cut to zero and some of our home owners saw an increase of up to 4 percent.  This demonstrates that sometimes, regardless of what the Council does or does not do with the budget, we are financially impacted by outside entities. 

Regarding the General Bonded Debt referenced in my opponent’s literature:  If you read the 2012 Budget Report on page 138/209 (pdf version) you will find the following:

“The City of Crystal has been rated by Moody’s Investor Services each time it (the city) issued a bond.  The most recent rating was in 2011 and was an Aa2 rating.  The Aa2 rating reflects the City’s mature tax base located in the Twin Cities, healthy financial operations, and modest debt levels with rapid principal repayment.”

Moody’s Aa2 rating is the highest rating given to a city with our tax capacity. 

The City is at the top of the ratings and financially healthy.  However, there is no room for extravagances and we must ALWAYS find ways to do what we do for less.  I assure you Crystal’s finances are stable and sustainable and we (the Council and staff) plan to keep Crystal financially healthy.

I don’t have the space here to explain the financial details of the City of Crystal but I know where you can find the information, please go to the City of Crystal’s website www.ci.crystal.mn.us//  -  on the home page, and click on City Departments (located in the left side navigation bars).  Click on Finance Department and at the Finance Department’s page, under “Quick Links, click 2012 Budget Report, pages 1 - 6.  This section provides the details of the impact of the loss of the MVHC. 

One can find additional reports that I suggest you read the complete financial story about the financial health of your city, these include the 2011 Financial Report, 2012 Budget Report and the 2013 Budget FAQ.  I suggest you read these reports to see the numbers and the narritives within the context of the complete budget. 

I am proud of the work done by myself and the Crystal council.  Vote for me on November 6^th to maintain your city’s financial health.