Where Kathy Stands on the Issues
Fiscal Responsibility
The management of the city budget remains one of the most important duties of the Saint Paul City Council—and one of the most difficult. During my years of service on the city council, I have worked hard to keep property taxes reasonable while ensuring that the residents and businesses of Saint Paul have the quality public services they expect and deserve.
This has not been an easy task as the State of Minnesota has continued to shift the burden for providing these services away from Local Government Aid (LGA) and on to the backs of local property tax payers. Since 2003, the amount of LGA the City of Saint Paul has received from the State of Minnesota has declined by 40%, a loss of an expected $156 million. In 2003, LGA made up 43% of our general fund budget, today it is only 27%. These cuts have come at a time while the costs of running of the city have increased.
While the city has been experiencing this large financial strain, I recognize that many families are struggling with the same kinds of issues at home—less money coming in and higher bills for food, housing, gas and health care. I know that the city has to spend its money wisely, on quality services that the community really needs, because we can’t tax people out of their homes and businesses.
I, along with the Mayor and my colleagues on the city council, have worked hard to find creative solutions to the pressing needs the city faces. We have not replaced the LGA cuts with property taxes one for one, but instead have looked for places to cut spending, combine activities, or deliver services in new, more efficient ways.
I am committed to looking for new ways to streamline the work that the city does, while still providing the exceptional public safety, solid infrastructure, and outstanding quality of life Saint Paul residents and businesses deserve.
Preserving Quality Housing
Housing continues to be one of our greatest assets and also one of our greatest challenges in St. Paul.
Ward 7 is blessed with a unique housing stock that continues to attract new residents to our neighborhoods. Finding a late 1800’s era Victorian in a surrounding community can be difficult, but in Dayton’s Bluff, we can boast the largest concentration in the United States! There are many quality houses in Ward 7 that are solidly constructed, yet remain affordable for the average family.
Unfortunately, Saint Paul has not been immune to the national foreclosure crisis. The number of foreclosures has increased steadily over the past five years—threatening the fabric of our neighborhoods and leaving the city to deal with an unprecedented number of vacant properties.
As your City Council Member and a Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Commissioner, I have worked hard with my colleagues on the Council and the HRA to mitigate the fallout from this problem.
Initially, the HRA sold bonds to develop a program to target resources to the most seriously impacted neighborhoods in the city. Our Invest Saint Paul initiative dedicated $17 million to address the neighborhood issues that were a direct result of the mortgage foreclosure crisis.
Since the early days of the crisis, the City has also competed for and received federal housing funds that we have used in highly impacted areas of the city. These funds are targeted at the costs associated with property acquisition, strategic removal, enforcement and rehabilitation of vacant homes.
I also worked with my colleagues to make changes to city ordinance to ensure that vacant houses that do get re-occupied are up to code and inspected. Because of the age of our housing stock, getting this reinvestment into these properties are critical if they are to remain assets in the neighborhood for decades to come.
I have also continued to concentrate on making sure our rental properties remain stable properties in our neighborhood. It is important to have a wide range of options for residents to choose from, including rental property. We need to ensure these properties are well managed and well maintained to protect property values for all of us.
The city certainly cannot do all of the work alone, but by investing in our housing stock, and we are sending an important message to private developers that St. Paul is a strong investment for the future.
Responsiveness
The St. Paul City Council is considered a part time job. However, since I was first elected, I made a commitment to devote my full attention to Ward 7, and this commitment has not waned.
The city is a complex bureaucracy with many issues affecting residents and businesses. Sometimes this bureaucracy can be overwhelming. I have continued to put the needs of Ward 7 as a priority in finding solutions to problems that occur in our neighborhoods.
My goal is to assist in whatever way I can and to advocate for my constituents. It is important to be able to speak with your elected representative and I do my best to answer your inquiries in a timely manner. I continue to attend the district council meetings in Ward 7 and find this communication is vital to identifying issues and problems early on. Developing a working relationship with our district councils has helped me do my job and has facilitated good outcomes for residents.
I am committed to continuing this level of service to all of my constituents in Ward 7 and I look forward to working with you for another 4 years.
