Lilydale Sets Stable Preliminary 2012 Tax Levy

Lilydale City Council approved a preliminary levy Monday evening that would gather the same amount of property taxes from residents in 2012 as it is expected to collect in 2011.

The preliminary levy sets a maximum for how much the city may tax property owners, in this case, $476,300. The levy cannot be increased moving forward in the budget process, but can be lowered.

The preliminary budget estimates total city income of $584,000, which includes a dramatic increase in building permit income due to the construction of a senior living building on the site of the former .

City Administrator Teish Stafne said that should the project and its building fees fall through, the city’s costs would decrease as well.

The city also receives income from liquor licenses and permits, fines, interest, rental of the city hall property and franchise fees from Northern Dakota County Cable Communications Commission and gambling taxes.

Total general fund expenditures are slated to increase from $522,900 to $584,000, with $35,000 of that largely attributed to facilitating the development project.

The budget also sets aside $25,000 as a cash reserve for the city.

Increased spending in public safety, election costs, administration costs and a line item of $2,500 for next year’s are  included in the budget.

The council also is leaning toward paying planning commission members $25 a meeting. The chair of the planning commission will continue to receive the same payment as city council members, $250 a month.*

A final budget and levy is usually set in December.

*The original version of this story reported the net monthly salary of commission and council members, rather than the gross. Patch regrets the error.