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<br />DRAFT LETTER TO EDITOR <br />FOR CITIES UNDER 2~500 GAINING LGA IN 2002 <br /> <br />Dear Editor: <br /> <br />The 2001 tax bill passed last spring dramatically changed how many government services <br />are funded. Under the new law, much ofthe cost for K-12 education will now be paid <br />directly by the state rather than from local property taxes. That means that your school <br />property taxes likely will go down. To help pay for this new education responsibility, the <br />state reduced or eliminated the amount of money it historically gave many cities to share <br />in the cost of providing public services like police, fire, street maintenance, parks and <br />recreation programs. <br /> <br />While some cities lost state aid, some cities, like ours, received an increase in state aid. <br />This helps us further reduce the property taxes of our citizens and businesses. However, it <br />also means the city budget is more vulnerable to downturns in the state's economy. Right <br />now, the state appears to be facing a budget shortfall. Given that our city budget is more <br />reliant on state aids, a cut in these aid programs to balance the state budget could mean <br />difficult decisions about community priorities in coming years. <br /> <br />While we might have temporarily come out ahead, city officials realize that we must be <br />conservative in how we budget for future years, not relying on this increase in aid for <br />long-term planning. <br /> <br />, Mayor <br /> <br />City of <br />