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VOL. 45 NO. 08 www.shoreviewpress.com $1.00
RECYCLING: Shoreview service expands PAGE 3
BY ELIZABETH CALLEN STAFF WRITER
Most Shoreview residents can expect to pay more in property taxes next year if the city’s proposed tax levy is approved later this month. Finance Director Mark Espe presented the 2020 city budget and tax levy prior to the public hearing at the Dec. 2 council meeting. The proposed tax levy will increase by 5.4%, from $12.1 million in 2019 to $12.8 million in 2020. Most of that increase will go to the city’s general fund — $640,000 of the approximately $663,000 increase. Adjustments to staff wages and benefits are responsible for the majority of the general fund levy increase, followed by public safety and computer maintenance costs, Espe said. The market value of most Shoreview homes will increase in 2020, as well. Per the Ramsey County assessor, 92% of homes in Shoreview will see a value increase for next year’s taxes; 6% will see a value decrease, and 2% will see no change in value. Next year, the owner of a home valued at the city median of $326,300 can expect to pay about $1,040 in city taxes, approximately $70 more than this year. Of Shoreview’s approximately 9,600 homes, the total property tax on 35% will decrease or stay the same next year. 41% of homeowners will see an increase of up to $200; 19%, between $201 and $500, and 7%, $400 or more. City taxes make up approximately 25% of a Shoreview resident’s total property tax bill. Throughout 2020, the owner of a median-value home will pay approximately $4,200 in property taxes. The majority of that amount will go to Ramsey County, followed by Mounds View Public Schools. Shoreview’s share of the tax bill ranks fourth-lowest among other metro area cities and is about 25% lower than the average of $1,296. West Saint Paul ranks highest at $2,134, and White Bear Lake ranks lowest at $593. The council will adopt the fi nal levy at its Dec. 16 meeting.
SHOREVIEW
Polar explorer witness to melting ice BY SARA MARIE MOORE EDITOR
When polar explorer Will Steger heard the news, he couldn’t believe it, but knew it was real: The 1,250-square-mile ice shelf he had crossed in Antarctica by dog sled had collapsed into the sea. “It caught me by surprise,” Steger told an audience gathered at the Shoreview Community Foundation’s annual dinner last month. Steger also spoke at an environmental awareness event Nov. 21 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi. Steger had been standing on the ice shelf a decade before. It was the moment when Steger knew it was time to focus his energies on education, not just exploration. “That was my wake-up call,” he said. A portion of the Larsen B Ice Shelf — about the size of Rhode Island — broke up over a month’s time in 2002, during Antarctica’s summer. The ice shelf had been stable for an estimated 10,000 years. Steger believes the collapse is due to climate change caused by increased carbon dioxide levels. The monthly average carbon dioxide concentration has risen from about 310 parts per million (ppm) in 1960 to almost 400 ppm in 2015, according to Mauna Loa Observatory data from Hawaii. PAUL DOLS PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Polar Explorer Will Steger speaks at an environmental awareness event held at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi last month.
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The monthly average carbon dioxide concentration has risen from about 310 parts per million (ppm) in 1960 to almost 400 ppm in 2015, according to Mauna Loa Observatory data from Hawaii. At right, Polar expedition members use kayaks to cross open water.
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Shoreview tax levy proposed at $12.8 million