Melrose Council Certifies $1.59 Million Preliminary Levy for 2023

MELROSE — September 15, 2022 — Melrose City Council certified a $1,590,000 preliminary 2023 tax levy and tabled an $18,751 network infrastructure relocation amid cost questions. The council, meeting September 15, approved Resolution 2022-55 setting a general fund levy of $1.5 million and a $90,000 debt levy, with staff projecting an estimated tax rate representing roughly an 8.5 percent increase over 2022 — though the final December levy is expected to come in lower. A council member with a networking background questioned whether improved ventilation could solve the city's overheating network closet for far less than the full relocation cost, and the council agreed to table the item for a personal assessment before October. The council also approved a $350,000 LCCMR grant agreement for Sauk River Park improvements and assumed ownership of a Melrose Arts Council welcome sign, with lighting costs to be covered through the Arts Council's own grant application. A lobbyist for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities told the council that Melrose's Local Government Aid will remain at approximately $962,000 for fiscal year 2023 after the Minnesota Legislature adjourned without a tax bill despite a record state surplus exceeding $9 billion.