In Part 1 we looked at the New Brighton mayoral race from a liberal/conservative perspective. In these complicated times, however, many voters are looking to make their decision based on broader criteria than just general political philosophy. Some major issues the city faces are finances and the associated burden on taxpayers, salvaging the largely failed Northwest Quadrant (now officially called the New Brighton Exchange) redevelopment project, and the size and administration of city government at a time of a very poor national economy.
This race has a unique dynamic that, to me, makes the decision very clear: the accomplishments of Dave Jacobsen in his first term as mayor are largely attributable to how he is cleaning up the mess Bob Benke is largely responsible for in his over quarter century tenure as a council member, mayor, commission member, and professional lobbyist.
As a council member and mayor, Bob Benke built a consistent record of growing government and increasing spending to pay for it. The modus operandi of the Benke era city council was to propose an unrealistically high levy increase late in the year that taxpayers would not stand for and then go through the motions of cutting it significantly and claiming victory in standing up for the taxpayers. The resulting levies were still high enough to cover the excessive spending of the council but were passed off as a bargain for the taxpayer only due to the ridiculously high-ball initial proposal.
In contrast, under Dave Jacobsen's tenure as mayor the budgeting process has started early in the year with department heads required to prioritize and justify their budget requests. Council work sessions and meetings held throughout the year integrate input from the citizens with the assessments of city staff to come up with a responsible budget. In each year of Mayor Jacobsen's term the levy has been held to a zero or lower increase. During this same time the city has not cut any essential services and has implemented long term financial planning to assure that future needs are covered without gouging the taxpayers.
During Benke's tenure as a council member and mayor we saw the construction of the Family Service Center against the will of the voters. Over the years the maintenance and operation this building has been a financial drain on the city and has had problems attracting and retaining paying tenants. Finally, in an effort championed by Mayor Jacobsen and the current city council, an agreement was reached to re-locate the Arden Hills branch of the Ramsey County library into the building in a win-win situation for both New Brighton and Ramsey County.
Also under Bob Benke's watch as mayor the city began an aggressive abuse of eminent domain. Over time, the growth of this ill-advised and unethical policy (which was continued by Benke's politically allied successor with the support of Benke from his appointed positions on city commissions) tarnished the reputation of New Brighton as "second only to the City of Richfield as the worst abuser of eminent domain in Minnesota", according the the Castle Coalition. Tax-paying businesses and home owners were forced out of their businesses and off of their property using the full power and resources of city government. After payments for the properties and legal expenses, New Brighton taxpayers ended up paying premium price for largely contaminated land that private sector experts (and anyone with common sense) deemed undesirable for the proposed type of development. The Benke era "vision" of the project was obviously highly flawed as can be confirmed by comparing the grandiose depiction in the linked document to the largely undeveloped dirt fields that cover most of the area. It should also be pointed out that failure of the project occurred during a period of a relative boom in the real estate and re-development market. Benke is currently trying to re-write history and blame the failure of the project on the current depressed economy, but his pathetic efforts to deflect the blame from himself and his political cronies will not stand up to honest scrutiny.
Benke's failed redevelopment effort resulted in an erosion of the city’s commercial tax base. This, along with the establishment of a ridiculous number (relative to other cities of similar size) of tax increment finance (TIF) districts coupled with the big spending city councils of the Benke era led to significant annual increases in property taxes that provided little, if any, increased benefit to New Brighton residents.
In his two years as mayor, Dave Jacobsen and his allies on the city council have made significant progress in reversing much of the damage initiated by Bob Benke and his political allies in their quarter century plus of government-centric practices and policies.
More in Part 3...
