Endorsements

As you may have noticed, the CCETR has dropped fliers about town endorsing
Laura Powers for Mayor ~Resident 16 Years
Link Here
Tom Fairbrother for City Council ~Resident 12 Years
Link Here
Neal Rawlings for City Council ~Resident 18 Years
Link Here
With so many terrific people on the ballot, it was a difficult decision!
These are the candidates we believe will best represent the will of the people. They did not only talk the talk but they did walk the walk. Each of the above candidates did sign the State Audit Petition, kept their campaigns positive and has been respectful of the voice of the people. They understand the importance of a simple little thing called common courtesy.
We LOVE Stephanie Blomseth and look forward to hearing a lot more about her but unfortunately we can only choose only three of the ten candidates. Hopefully she will give the incumbents a run for their money in 2010!

Good Luck Centerville!
The time for change is upon us... It's up to you who is elected to represent Centerville this day and we promise to be here watching no matter who is left standing!
Thank you to everyone that has worked so hard giving support of this blog, our group and our City!
HAPPY ELECTION DAY!

Reality Check 2

We have been getting comments and phone calls from the press asking the blog representatives about the idea of the consolidation between Lino Lakes and Centerville. We are not involved with this idea or are participating in any such discussion.

Kindest Regards,

Centerville Citizens for Ethitical Taxation

DEAR CITY OFFICIALS,
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WASTE TAXPAYERS MONEY ON FIVE DIFFERENT COLORS OF CONCRETE WHEN YOU KNEW IT WOULD BE STRIPED (PAINTED) FOR CROSSWALKS?

Update! Council Meeting Minutes!

It took long enough but the City has finally updated the council session minutes for September 10th, 17th, 24th and October 8th today!
They are currently only one meeting behind! Good to see they are actually doing their jobs!

Selective Ordinance Enforcement Part Five

Is the City using the selective ordinance enforcement to impact the election?
City ordinance is quite clear, there shall be no more than one political
sign per candidate per residential property. Why have some residents received letters from the City asking to remove signs in opposition of Mary Capra and Jeff Paar while their signs are left standing? What makes this issue particularly disturbing is the fact that Tom Lee is currently in violation and as a sitting council member, he should know better. Does the current council think they are above the ordinance laws?


The City has been removing signs they consider to be in violation of the ordinance and is dropping them behind the Public Works building, near the dumpster. If you are missing any, this might be a good place to look first.

UPDATE! Council Member Tom Lee is in compliance with the sign ordinance as of this evening. (10/27/2008)

Propaganda Machine?

The City officials have claimed to be transparent but have failed to update the City council minutes since August. They have however been diligent in attacking the people behind the State Audit petition and are doing so on the home page!
Is the City website really for the people or just another tool for free (and possibly illegal) campaigning?! When will the Council minutes be updated? We suspect it will be conveniently sometime after the election... As will be your tax increase letter, when it is too late.

Is This What Centerville Has In Store?

One developer in Circle Pines has requested rezoning on this commercial property five years after development.
Link Here
More to come about our neighbors in Circle Pines, Lino Lakes and Hugo soon...

Uppal Enterprises
33 Village Parkway
Circle Pines, MN 55014
(763) 795-8855

Tricks Of The Trade And Your Tax Rate

Many units of government employ various “methods” to hide tax increases and large spending increases. Awareness of these methods can help you ask the right questions to determine if your local government is guilty.

It’s Not Our Fault
Many local units of government simply blame someone else for the property tax increases they approve. They cite a list of mandates, lost aid, cost increases and other situations that they claim are out of their control.
Counter Argument: Local units of government are independently elected and locally accountable. They have been given the power to tax and spend. They are ultimately responsible for their taxing and spending decisions.

The “No Increase in the Tax Rate” Argument.
The tax rate is the percentage of property value that is taxed. Some governments take advantage of rising property values by keeping the tax rate flat but drawing more tax dollars from the property due to an increased assessed value. They then claim a victory on behalf of the taxpayer by proclaiming that tax rates weren’t raised.
Counter Argument: Ask elected officials what the tax levy rate would have been to keep spending flat. Ask why that lower rate wasn’t adopted.

Debt Service “Bait and Switch”.
In this scenario, a local unit of government issues bonds to pay for a particular project. Taxes are sometimes raised to cover the cost of paying off the debt. Much like a home mortgage, the debt is paid off over time. However, once the debt is paid, the local government diverts the debt payments into other accounts instead of eliminating the tax increase that was used to pay off the debt.
Counter Argument: Ask your elected officials what debt is outstanding or recently retired. Ask these officials to explain the debt service plan. If debt has been recently paid off, ask how that debt was financed.

Does this sound familiar? For more information link HERE
From The Anoka County Watchdog.
8/8/2008
"Over the past three years, the Watchdog has been proud to inspire other blogs and web sites dedicated to fiscal accountability and good government. We’re happy to give props to other web sites and blogs out there in Anoka County that are working hard to protect taxpayers. If you know of one, send it our way.
In the meantime, check out these folks in Centerville."
http://centervillemn.blogspot.com/

Decision Delayed On Project Monitoring Request

The Citizen
10/01/2008
Centerville City Council members have delayed their decision on a request by the city engineer for a more that 50 percent increase to his bill to oversee work on CSAH 14.
Engineer Mark Statz explained at the city's September 24 meeting that his company's initial cost estimate of $55,428 to oversee Anoka County's work on CSAH 14 through Centerville had fallen short by some way as the 20 weeks of work budgeted in the 2007 and 2008 was insufficient to see the project through completion. "The reality of the situation is that the time has proved to be significantly less than what we really needed so we are asking at this point to increase our bill on this project by $35,000 to continue our efforts through to the end of the project," said Statz.

“We also thought at the time [of the initial bill] that Paul [Palzer, city public works director] and his staff would be able to spend a lot of time on the job; however, due to the resignation earlier this year and also there has been a hail storm … we have had to fill in the gaps there where we had planned to count on city staff to fill in and keep the costs down.” City council members expressed disappointment that they had only received news of the request the night of the meeting. “That’s a huge increase in the budget; that’s nearly 100 percent of the initial estimate,” said Council Member Tom Lee. Statz added that engineering staff had been spending on average 20 hours a week observing and reviewing the work of the Anoka County contractor on CSAH 14. “Our staff was so short this summer it was not able to do it,” added City Administrator Dallas Larson. “There were things that went wrong right away and we did need to have eyes and ears on the project, so there was some justification for having the time on the project.” City council members tabled the decision until their next meeting.
If approved, the oversight will cost the Citizens of Centerville a total of $90,428. Is this how Centerville should be spending our tax dollars in today's economy?

Contact us privately with City information, news and personal stories. All contact information will be kept private and not posted on the blog unless requested.
Email Centervilleblog@yahoo.com

The Numbers Are Not Adding Up

During the 9/24/2008 meeting, Council addressed trail grant money. Included in the Handout
The trail needs were identified during the 1997 City's comprehensive planning process. The City received a grant of approximately $700,000 to construct trail connections. The local match of $300,000-$350,000 will be paid from fees paid by developers in lieu of land for parks. These fees can only be used for park projects-capital construction. City property taxes are not planned to be used for the trail construction project.
"Currently, it appears that an assessment will not be needed to correct the grade and install a trail (Mill Rd), part of the reason I favor doing it now. It is still being investigated to be certain."
Email sent by council member Tom Lee 9/7/2008

Quad Press 8/18/2008
Discussed trail grant priorities on which council members voted earlier. The cost of the 26 trails is expected to be more than 1.7 million, much of which will be covered by the transportation enhancement grant.
The numbers don't add up. Who is going to pay the additional $700,000? Why does a City of our size need 26 additional trails? Why can't the Citizens get a straight answer?

Contact us privately with City information, news and personal stories. All contact information will be kept private and not posted on the blog unless requested.
Email Centervilleblog@yahoo.com

Long Term Debt Discrepancies - Citizens Question

We here at Centerville Citizens For Ethical Taxation and Representation (CCFETR) have been fielding questions on what is the correct number for the long term debt of the City of Centerville. These questions have been originating from concerned citizens and media reporters.

Indeed, there HAS been THREE different numbers stated in the reporting on this blog, handouts, and the Pioneer Press article. It is not our job at CCFETR to try to make sense of these discrepancy but to bring it to the community's attention. We also want the community to know that if you have felt as though the city has you chasing your tail, you are not alone.

Here is a break down with dates to highlight the discrepancies.

Email from Finance Director John Meyer on August 13:
$8,055,896
This number was used on the blog in August.

Annual Financial Report dated Dec 31, 2007
$9,175,675
This number was used on the handout that was passed out at the neighborhood meeting and also passed out from door to door. We also included 2005 and 2006 long term debt figures out of the annual financial reports in the corresponding years.

The Pioneer Press reported in last Sunday's newspaper
"Debt. at the end of 2008, the city will have more than $7.8 million."


Contact us privately with City information, news and personal stories. All contact information will be kept private and not posted on the blog unless requested.
Email Centervilleblog@yahoo.com

Centerville Has a Dedicated Road Maintenance Fund?

City Council passed the preliminary 2009 road budget during the September 10th meeting.
A whopping $25,000 will be set aside for street reconstruction and reserve. We know that the City needs $60,000 just to cover the seal coating projects scheduled for next year. This still leaves us short $35,000 but hey, it's a start.
Thank you to all the citizens that have been so involved. Together, we might be able to get the fund increased to the $100,000 Council Member Broussard-Vickers stated we need.

How about slashing part of the $84,000 budgeted funds the City spends on Park Programs and Maintenance for the SIX parks we have in a 2.2 square mile radius?

Contact us privately with City information, news and personal stories. All contact information will be kept private and not posted on the blog unless requested.
Email Centervilleblog@yahoo.com