Star Tribune Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:54:37 GMT
Brooklyn Park's savings account is a novel way to plan
Brooklyn Park is transferring money to savings and making some tax increases permanent to build funds for projects down the road. In 25 to 30 years, when the community center in Brooklyn Park needs a major repair, city officials won't have to borrow millions of dollars or beg residents to vote for more taxes. Instead, they will make a withdrawal from the city's savings account. The idea is unique in the state -- creating an endowment that over 50 years will pay for $300 million of projects. While many cities do plan for the next 10 to 15 years, national experts are seeing local government officials pick up on the idea of planning city budgets like they manage their own retirement funds. Over the past 10 years, Brooklyn Park has been socking away money a little at a time by making annual transfers from its general fund and making some tax increases permanent.
[[keywords: Officials;PropertyTax;Metro;]]
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