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ST. PAUL MAYOR CHRIS COLEMAN GETS EARFUL AT TRUTH-IN-TAXATION MEETING
By Michael B. Brodkorb | December 11, 2007
Several dedicated readers of Minnesota Democrats Exposed have contacted me about the City of St. Paul Truth-in-Taxation Public Hearing, which was held tonight at Arlington High School. Apparently, Mayor Chris Coleman was receiving harsh criticism from most of the crowd. Stay tuned for an update shortly.
UPDATE: I was provided this information from people who attended the meeting:
From the start, it appeared that Mayor Chris Coleman wanted to make sure the City Council was using his talking points.
The first elected official to speak was City Council President Kathy Lantry. Lantry's remarks were taken (almost verbatim) from this MinnPost article written by St. Paul Finance Director, Matt Smith (though Lantry didn't credit Smith).
Mayor Coleman read from his talking points about cuts from the state causing the property tax hikes, blaming previous administrations' mismanagement of the City budget. The fun began once St. Paul residents were allowed to speak.
One reader estimates fifty people spoke and only three or four spoke positively of the Coleman administration and the new tax increases. Residents from all backgrounds explained that they were unable to handle the tax burden in St. Paul: a young woman who recently started a business, a Hmong resident on disability, seniors on fixed incomes, single parents, union members, and professionals.
Many residents complained that their property taxes have DOUBLED since 2002. Next year there will likely be an increase of 15% — this is after an increase of approximately 10% last year.
Coleman seems to be damaging his aspirations for statewide office with little public support for his tax increases.
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22 Responses to “ST. PAUL MAYOR CHRIS COLEMAN GETS EARFUL AT TRUTH-IN-TAXATION MEETING”
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December 11th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
One of my friends called me on the way home from this meeting and said St Paulites pounded on Coleman about the tax increases.
I’m sure it won’t make any difference — Coleman is turning St. Paul into one of the least business-friendly cities in Minnesota.
December 11th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
more taxes in St. Paul? Surprise, surprise.
I moved out of St. Paul after Coleman got elected b/c I knew he’d keep raising taxes. Let’s see how the voters respond next time he’s up for election.
December 11th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
MDE, did you talk to Coleman about the property taxes when you got your picture with him last week?
You two looked nice together in that photo.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
who is going to challenge Coleman? Is there any chance a Republican could win — or will it need to be a lesser of two evils, moderate Dem?
December 11th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Tavaris J: I didn’t ask Mayor Coleman about property tax increases.
December 12th, 2007 at 9:05 am
The liberal power base in St. Paul (as well as Mpls) are finding out that the suburbs are not going to support them any longer and they may actually have to pay for all the services they seem to think they need. The great multi-million library, the rooftop gardens, the MANY social plans for residents and such are going to take their toll and before long, many of the residents who supported liberals in the past may start to look to conservatives to save their cities.
Funny, my suburb can support itself yet the inner cities cannot keep in budget no matter how much money they get.
Liberals will never learn their policies have never had any success in the real world.
December 12th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Where are our liberal defenders to tell us how great Coleman is??
Maybe still getting their talking points from Kos.
December 12th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Big Kahuna-
As long as there is LGA, the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul will do nothing to set their financial house straight.
Worse yet, I don’t see the inner cities ever turning to a conservative (or standard Republican) to set their ship straight. They’ll keep electing the likes of RT Rybak and Chris Coleman – over and over again.
Rather than accept responsibility for their own budgets, it’s an easy out for them to blame (a) Pres Bush and/or (b) Gov Pawlenty and (c) anyone else for their shortcomings.
December 12th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
MplsSteve:
Amen!!!
Whenever either mayor is pressed on the issue of taxes, he always points fingers at Pawlenty or the legislature. That’s why neither mayor is a true leader.
In Minneapolis, if they have money for a trolley study, a cultural center in the Phillips neighborhood, and arts initiatives, they certainly have money for more cops!
BTW, ever notice how the city of Minneapolis plows the pedestrian/bike paths before they finish clearing the streets?
Misplaced priorities, plain and simple.
December 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Funny thing is that St. Paul residents (and big city residents in general) always vote democrat. Even though the democrats have had power for 50+ years in most cases and things have never gotten any better.
What’s the alternative? Duh…
But for some reason they just can’t bring themselves to vote for someone a little more conservative.
Dopes. You get what you vote for. I don’t feel sorry for those slugs….
December 12th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
I was in attendance last night and let me tell you people were so angry I was almost expecting a riot to break out. One citizen after another took the Mic and just unloaded on the city leaders, the crowd roared in approval as each speaker made his or her point. I also was in line to meet with appraisers and I was agitating my fellow citizens waiting with me. As I inquired about how much their own property taxes were increasing I informed them about all the wasteful projects the city was involved in. $2.8 million on astro-turf at McMurray field to $1.0 in electrical cooled outdoor ice rinks and $16,500 per child in student funding just to name a few. These people who were all ready upset only became more furious as these watseful projects were brought to their attention. It was great fun to stir the pot and inform these people about all the wasteful spending. I then implored them to talk with neighbors, friends and family to become involved and vote, that together we can take back this city. I reminded them that everytime the city raises our prop taxes they lower the value of our homes because they become affordable to less and less potential buyers. I also explained to them that their is no greater assault on our civil liberties then the government forcefully confiscating more and more of our income.
I am not sure we will ever take our city back but it was great to see I am not the only person fed up with the doubling of my property taxes in just 5 short years. I was struck that most people talked about moving out of St. Paul which happens to be my number one goal in life.
One of the best exchanges was with a burly guy that came out, after meeting with an appraiser and was shanking his head. I stood back so everyone else could see his reaction as I asked him how it went. He said he just found out he was an idiot because he was just told that his 200% business property tax increase was because of the Governor. A woman in the back of the line yelled out “passing the buck again” and all in line seemed to affirm. You have to hand it to the Dems they have been great at deflecting the blame but the citizens in line with me seemed to understand that, that excuse, is pure B.S.
I was surprised to run into many people I knew from childhood, mostly blue collar workers. An union ironworker, union carpenter, union bricklayer and an auto mechanic. Not exactly hard core Republicans. It’s exactly the middle class whom are most hurt by these huge tax increases. The poor get a refund and the rich could careless about $100 bucks extra per month. It’s the hard working middle classes that don’t qualify for refunds that are really getting hammered and I witnessed them rise up last night. That, I don’t believe, bodes well for commandant Coleman and his band of Socailist rubber stampers.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Titan, good for you!!! Nice to have an eyewitness account. Keep the heat on if you can.
I gave up a while ago as I just could not see it turn around anytime soon so I took the hit and got out of St. Paul.
You may be right in the fact that you may never get the city back from the liberals but you can do what I did and leave for the suburbs. I can no longer think of even ONE reason why I would ever bring my family to a liberal cesspool of a big city again.
More and more people are running from the cities as well as business that have been doing the same for years now. It is starting to have an effect and the democRats can only deflect this for so long as they really have no one to point to anymore. Folks are starting to figure out why our two biggest cities are in constant needs of more funds from the rest of the state. It is nothing but pure waste and their attempts at socialism in the cities.
I love to listen to my liberal relatives now complain about what they are going to pay in taxes to live in their liberal experimants of Mpls & st. Paul. They have had people like me help pay for their services for so long they actually believe LGA is a right!
December 12th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
An union ironworker, union carpenter, union bricklayer and an auto mechanic. Not exactly hard core Republicans.
Today they complain, tomorrow they’ll vote like the robot DFL’ers they are. When their union buddies come calling they’ll walk with arms like like robots, “I hear and obey…” and continue to elect these tax hogs.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Hey Chet:
Not all union people walk around, “I hear and obey …” Mind you the leadership supports the Democrats. I think more and more membership will begin to see the light.
Just curious? How many cops can you get for every million dollars. Eight, nine, ten, eleven?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
December 12th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
And at the end of the meeting, Coleman and his DFL contingent at the city council said: “fuck them.”
December 14th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
I love to hear the wishful thinking implicit in the above. “Oh, if others would only start to hate their neighbors and worship money like I do, how good I could have it!”
Greed, selfishness, and hatred are ugly traits at all times of year, but during Christmas season these personality flaws are all the more glaring.
We have, for many years, pulled together to keep the elderly from begging for food and starving at home. We have agreed to shoulder the common burden of roads and bridges. We understand that it is so much better, morally and fiscally, to spend $1 on a child’s education than $100 on a teenager’s incarceration.
But there will always be the greedy, grasping haters among us.
Merry Christmas, Scrooges of MDE.
December 15th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
[...] UPDATE #3: Ben Golnik, former executive director of the Republican Party, was a guest starting at 4:40 p.m. to talk about property taxes in St. Paul. Golnik attended the St. Paul's Truth-in-Taxation Public Hearing held earlier this week. [...]
December 15th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Scooter:
Here’s the problem. Genorsity in your eyes is making Walter and everybody open their wallets and give money that is wasted on bad programs instead of worthy programs such as police, firefighting. Keep in mind we’re talking about the city of Saint Paul’s truth in taxation hearing.
The Saint Paul schools should be discussed on the comments about the Saint Paul School Board. the federal government does most of the programs you’re talking about.
So Scooter what program is Saint Paul cutting that you think that the tax payers have to pay for.
The problem Scooter is that the city comes after us, the school board comes after us, the county comes after us, the state comes after us, and the federal government comes after us. After we pay what they want they still come back for more. No wonder why we don’t have money left for things like we want to spend like a nicer car or save money for a trip. Or pay for Christmas presents. If you feel so generous will you pay for a worth charity of Christmas present I’m expected to give?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
December 16th, 2007 at 10:55 am
These people that were complaining must have been plants from the Bush administration, or Blackwater security, or maybe Haliburton.
While we may not be able to know exactly where the plants came from we know that they were not real Saint Paulites. We know that because real St. Paulites *love* paying taxes.
That’s why they elect people that promise to tax till it hurts..heck, they put signs on their lawns proudly proclaiming how happy they are to pay!
Yup, Republican plants for sure.
You St. Paulites go ahead and enjoy your shiny new tax rate…you’ve earned it.
December 16th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Walter, living in America costs money. Money for the common good. For things like roads, bridges, schools, and armies.
Republicans like you cry and whine about paying your fair share. You play numbers games to shift taxes from the rich to the poor, you cut tax rates and decry the need for any taxes at all.
In the end, we still need the bridges. We still need to plow the roads. We still need schools to make sure our kids can get jobs.
It is Republicans arguing against federal taxation and state LGA that have caused all the local property tax pain. Let the federal and state governments fund more things, and you will have lower local taxes. Cut off the federal funding, and you will have higher local taxes.
Its as simple as that.
December 16th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Scooter:
Why do you keep Fibby to yourself.
LGA cuts were maybe a few million in the state bugdet. The reason why the large tax increases are needed is because the cities like Minneapolis and Saint Paul don’t want to cut back on nonessential spending. Insted they cut the police and fire first to show they have to increase taxes.
We already pay taxes for roads and bridges. The trouble is that they are getting to mass transit projects. One of the reasons why the 35W bridge is going to cost more (and state money only) is that this bridge has to have a mass transit rail line on it. Perfect example of the diversion of funds Scooter.
Last time I looked Republicans weren’t proposing to raise the gas tax (which will hurt the poor and middle class more than the rich) cigarette taxes (which will hurt the poor and middle class more than the rich). That’s the Democrats.
What I whine about Scooter is that government should spend money on it’s real functions. Not feel good programs which is give Jane Doe money for a kid which she gave birth to because she wanted to go and have sex while I don’t make a woman pregant I get to pay for. That’s not fair Scooter.
We’ll have lower taxes once all levels of government starts spending money only on the projects that government is suppose to fund.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
December 17th, 2007 at 7:55 am
Living in America costs money. Living in America with leftists costs boatloads of money.Money for moonbat projects and pandering. For things like free college for illegal aliens, free abortion on demand, bike paths, “green” rooftops and universal sensativity training four times a year.
Republicans prefer to pay for genuine services and infrastructure. The left plays numbers games to shift taxes from what they were collected for to pie-in-the-sky waste, then they raise tax rates and castigate anyone with the gumption to ask where the last pile went to.
In the end, we still need the bridges. We still need to plow the roads. We still need schools to make sure our kids can get jobs.
It is Democrat party that shifts the arguement, pointing to federal taxation and state LGA when the truth is that local Democrat “leaders” couldn’t manage their way out of a wet paper bag.
Instead of actually managing a budget and delivering the services that we have paid for, your local Democrat will tell you to let the federal and state governments fund more things, and you will have lower local taxes.
Leftists will not be satisfied until our paychecks are sent directly to some government bureaucrat to just take whatever they want…then they will send us what they decide we need.
Its as simple as that.