by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Will local-government aid to Sartell increase this year?
According to a bulletin from the League of Greater Minnesota Cities, there is a proposal to try to increase local-government aid. However, there is nothing certain yet, according to Mary Degiovanni, city administrator and financial director for Sartell.
Degiovanni addressed that topic at a previous city-council meeting after council member David Peterson asked if an increase will be forthcoming.
Last year, Degiovanni noted, Sartell received $140,000 in aid from the State of Minnesota. That’s a far cry from the peak level in 2002, when the city received $600,000. Levels of aid to all cities fell precipitously in the past 15 years.
Degiovanni told the council the city will know by mid-May if the legislature will authorize an increase and maybe sooner than that, if they agree to pass a bill to that effect.