4 October 2024
St. Paul, Mounds View and Roseville voters will weigh in on a range of ballot questions in November, deciding whether to subsidize child care and change future election calendars, switch to city-organized trash collection, and adopt a sales tax to pay for new city buildings.
St. Paul
In St. Paul, residents will be voting on two questions. The first question asks residents whether to increase property taxes annually for 10 years to fund municipal child care subsidies for low- and moderate-income families.
The question is backed by the “Yes for St. Paul Families” coalition — previously known as the St. Paul All Ready for Kindergarten campaign, or SPARK — which is chaired by Halla Henderson, a St. Paul school board member.
RELATED: Key child care advocacy group stays mum on St. Paul’s child care subsidy ballot question
Ballot question language: SHOULD THE CITY LEVY TAXES TO PROVIDE EARLY LEARNING SUBSIDIES?
In order to create a dedicated fund for children’s early care and education to be administered by a City department or office that provides subsidies to families and providers so that early care and education is no cost to low-income families and available on a sliding scale to other families, and so as to increase the number of child care slots and support the child care workforce, shall the City of Saint Paul be authorized to levy property taxes in the amount of $2,000,000 in the first year, to increase by the same amount each year following for the next nine years ($4,000,000 of property taxes levied in year two, $6,000,000 in year three, $8,000,000 in year four and so on until $20,000,000 of property taxes are levied in year ten)?
BY VOTING “YES” ON THIS BALLOT QUESTION, YOU ARE VOTING FOR A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.
Shifting election years
The second question asks residents to vote on whether city elections should take place in even years — making them coincide with presidential and gubernatorial elections — rather than the current model of odd years.
Peter Butler, a former city financial analyst, has tried before to put the question forward to St. Paul voters, but this is the first time it’s made it to the ballot.
Supporters cite lower voter turnout during odd-year elections. Opponents fear it would lead local races to be overshadowed by better-funded state and national ones.
RELATED: November ballot will feature question to St. Paul voters on even-year local elections
Ballot question language: Changing City Elections to Presidential Election years.
Shall Chapter 7 (Elections) of the City Charter be amended as follows: Sec. 7.01. – City elections. The election of city officers and such other officers as are required by law to be elected at a city election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd numbered presidential election years. Notwithstanding Section 2.02 of this Charter setting four-year terms, and to transition to presidential election years, councilmembers elected on November 7, 2023, shall serve a five-year term and a mayoral election shall occur on November 4, 2025, for a three-year term. Currently, city elections take place in odd years. A “yes” vote changes City elections to take place in presidential election years, which occur in even years. A “no” vote keeps City elections in odd years.
Mounds View
In Mounds View, voters will decide whether the city will have an organized residential solid waste collection system replace its current competitive market collection system. If approved, most residences will have trash, recycling, and other solid waste collected by a city-designated hauler in a city-designated collection district, according to the ballot question. The city now has five separate licensed haulers collecting trash and recycling.
The Mounds View city council adopted a seven-year contract in August with Lakeshore Recycling Systems, with services beginning under that contract in April if voters approve the change.
“This was a resident-driven petition to the charter,” said Mounds View city administrator Nyle Zikmund.
To learn more about this question, go to mvtrashservicesplan.org.
Ballot question language: Should the city adopt organized residential solid waste collection?
Should the City establish a system for organized residential solid waste collection in which most residential dwellings will have trash, recycling, and other solid waste collected by a City-designated hauler in a City-designated collection district? The organized collection system would replace the current competitive market collection system. A “Yes” vote is a vote to allow organized collection. A “No” vote is a vote against organized collection.
Roseville
Two questions will be on the ballot for Roseville residents, but they apply to the same project, according to City Manager Patrick Trudgeon. One question asks residents whether the city should impose a 0.5% sales and use tax for up to 20 years to collect $64.2 million to build a public works and parks operations facility.
The second question asks voters if the city should impose a 0.5% sales and use tax for up to 20 years to collect $12.7 million to build a license and passport center.
The city’s plans for a new operations facility would displace the current license and passport center, according to Roseville Mayor Dan Roe in a state of the city video address. The city’s public works and parks operation facility houses city vehicles used to maintain city and park infrastructure, but the city is looking to update the facility.
“We’ve run out of space to store and maintain the more than 300 city vehicles it takes to keep the city running, including snowplows, street sweepers, mowers, sewer equipment and park maintenance equipment,” Roe said.
If one or both questions are approved by voters, the tax increase will total 0.5%, not a full 1 percent. The tax would expire once the approved projects are fully funded.
With a sales tax, the city is able to share some of the costs for the facilities with non-residents, Trudgeon said. A study done with the city and the University of Minnesota Extension found that 64% of sales tax generated comes from non-residents, Trudgeon said.
To learn more about the proposed project, go to investinroseville.org.
Ballot questions language: Sales Tax for Public Works and Parks Operations Facility
Shall the City of Roseville impose a one-half of one percent (0.5%) sales and use tax for up to 20 years to collect $64,200,000, plus the costs of interest and of issuing the bonds, to build a public works and parks operations facility? By voting “yes” on this question, you are voting to increase the sales tax in Roseville. If one or both questions are approved by the voters, the City is only authorized to impose a single one-half of one percent (0.5%) sales and use tax for the lesser of 20 years or until enough sales tax revenue has been raised to pay for the costs of one or both of the proposed projects.
Sales Tax for License and Passport Center
Shall the City of Roseville impose a one-half of one percent (0.5%) sales and use tax for up to 20 years to collect $12,700,000, plus the costs of interest and of issuing the bonds, to build a license and passport center? By voting “yes” on this question, you are voting to increase the sales tax in Roseville. If one or both questions are approved by the voters, the City is only authorized to impose a single one-half of one percent (0.5%) sales and use tax for the lesser of 20 years or until enough sales tax revenue has been raised to pay for the costs of one or both of the proposed projects.
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