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NEWS OPINION SPORTS
Thisweek Farmington-Lakeville SEPTEMBER 9, 2011 VOLUME 32, NO. 28
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A decade later, memories of 9/11 remain fresh for local officials Some Dakota County clergy, firefighters provided relief at Ground Zero by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
After the second plane exploded into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, then-Dakota County Commissioner Mike Turner grimaced and said it was the start of World War III. County commissioners, staff and others had gathered around a television outside an Apple Valley conference room where they were meeting, staring somberly in disbelief as America was attacked on her own soil. National news anchors changed initial reports that a plane may have accidentally crashed into the North Trade Center Tower, the first struck, and began reporting America was under attack. Shattering glass, explosions, flames, screams, panic, sirens, bodies, horror and collapse all played out for the world to witness. “My blood ran cold,�
rsaid Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows, who at ty the time was chief deputy nand driving to work, listening to radio news reports. ut “I was thinking about he the number of people in the he World Trade Center and the ho thousands of people who would be killed,� Bellowss said. “You can’t print what I was thinking,� said Davee y Gisch, Dakota County emergency preparedness coordinator and a Vietnam War veteran, gs who described his feelings of anger, frustration and revenge. “I know it doesn’t sound right, but if you hit me, I’m going to hit you back,� Gisch said. Later that day, thenPresident George W. Bush said: “Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward. And freedom will be defended.� Like so many Americans, several Dakota County
leaders said they wound up watching their television sets for most of the day, looking on in horror as eventually two more crashes would happen that day, one at the Pentagon and another in a barren Pennsylvania field after brave passengers stormed the cockpit and foiled hijackers’ plans to fly the plane into the White
And they’re off‌
File photos
People throughout Dakota County responded to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in a variety of ways – (clockwise from top, left) a sign outside Eagan Fire Station No. 4, Burnsville firefighters wore black bands on their badges, people paused to watch news coverage at Best Buy in Burnsville and a blood drive in Rosemount. House or the Capitol. Apple Valley Fire Chief Nealon Thompson was a sergeant in Kuwait on that day, Sept. 11, 2001. He and fellow soldiers
watched the destruction on a big-screen television in the mess hall. “We went from routine daily business on an air base to a heightened level of se-
curity‌ into high-threat level with high security,â€? Thompson said. “Postattacks, the U.S. military around the world took proSee 9/11, 8A
Cuts in Lakeville aside, preliminary tax levy calls for slight increase Reduction in general fund spending offset by changes in state law by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Photo by Rick Orndorf
Akin Road Elementary School counselor Jackie Brand greets students coming off the bus on the second day of school Sept. 7 in Farmington. For more photos, go online to ThisweekLive.com
Welcome back
Lakeville’s preliminary tax levy for 2012 calls for an increase somewhere just below one percent. The city has budgeted for a $118,000 decrease in general fund spending, as well as a $185,000 reduction in debt related to fire station number four and a $325,000 drop in equipment certificates. But a change in state law during this year’s legislative session is going to cause some confusion. Previously, a tax-reducing device called the Market Value Homestead Credit (MVHC) was used to give homeowners exactly what it sounds like: a credit on property taxes paid to the
city government. The state would then, in theory, pay the difference to the city. However, in practice, Lakeville had not seen any money from the state for the credit shortfall in the past several years and so it levied for that difference. This amounted to about $789,000 last year. The legislature, in a bid to cut spending, replaced the MVHC with a credit that reduces the value of a property directly. What it means for Lakeville, said City Administrator Steve Mielke, is that the city does not have to levy for that $789,000 this year. This adds to the other reductions in the levy to come out to about $660,000 in overall
reduction of the levy (when increases in street improvment bonds are taken into Mielke account). The problem is that the end result is that some people will see property tax increases. This is because the city’s levy to cover that MVHC was spread across the board, but the credits from the state are not. Some homeowners could see credits of varying degrees and some could see none. So despite more than a half-million dollars in the reduction of the overall See Lakeville, 13A
Farmington preliminary levy passes on 3-2 vote; tax concerns cited Council members’ debate stems from plan that raises taxes by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Photo by Rick Orndorf
Oak Hills first-grader Carter Schluessler makes his lunch choice during the first day of school on Sept. 6 in Lakeville. For more photos, go online to www.ThisweekLive.com.
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the city hopes to avoid adding to the city’s debt, which now totals about $38 million. Council members Jason Bartholomay, Christy Jo Fogarty and Mayor Todd Larson agreed they don’t like raising taxes, but support the plan because the city needs to tackle its debt problem before it becomes worse. Bartholomay said he heard at a League of Minnesota Cities event that many cities could be facing bankruptcy by 2016 if they don’t take action. Fogarty said it’s never See Farmington, 14A �
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Farmington property taxes are going up in 2012. That much is certain, but the exact increase amount is open to change. The Farmington City Council voted 3-2 to set the 2012 preliminary levy at $9.5 million during its Sept. 6 meeting. However, even council members who voted for the $10.4 million preliminary general fund budget were calling for more discussion and possible budget changes. As passed, property taxes on the average value
$190,200 homestead property will increase by $84 in 2012. Farmington businesses and rental properties will have bigger tax increases because of a formulation change in the state’s Market Value Homestead Credit. Under those changes and with the city’s preliminary levy, taxes on non-homestead properties valued at $190,200 will rise by $288 next year. The increase is partially driven by the city’s plan to fund major projects, like road work, in cash instead of issuing bonds. By paying costs up-front,
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