My reason for supporting Gingrich is simple: He has the ability to articulate a conservative vision for America far better than any other candidate in the race. I introduced former Congressman J.C. Watts at a Gingrich rally this morning, and he reminded us that Margaret Thatcher used to say, “Win the argument and you win the votes.” Newt can win the argument.

I don’t believe the strongest candidate in November 2012 is necessarily the one who polls the best in January 2012, but rather the one who can make the case most aggressively, passionately and convincingly in favor of the conservative principles of personal responsibility, free markets and American exceptionalism. Of the Republicans in the current field, Newt Gingrich creates the strongest and most compelling contrast with Obama, and when a vast majority of Americans feel the country is on the wrong track a compelling contrast is exactly what we need in our candidate.

I’m not in the Anyone But Romney camp, by the way. Should Mitt Romney be our nominee, I’ll be very happy to support him and work hard for his election. But today, for whatever it’s worth, I’m proud to throw my support to Newt Gingrich.

Despite the fact that the proposed budget does not include a tax increase, many county residents received their tax statement last week showing their property taxes increasing – some by double digits.  That could happen for several reasons: 1) Changes in your home value as compared to the average valuation change in the county; 2) A change to state law this year that shifts the property tax burden from lower-valued homes to higher-valued homes and commercial property; and/or 3) Possibly tax increases at other local levels of government such as your city or school district.

Yesterday’s meeting provided an opportunity for Commissioners to offer amendments to the budget before our final vote in two weeks. 

I offered an amendment to cut the general property tax levy by 2.56% (just under $17 million).  That amount is what our Budget/Finance Department told me would be necessary to hold the median-value home in Hennepin County harmless from a county tax increase.  My proposal failed on a vote of 1 – 6.

I found the $17 million in the proposed budget for this levy cut from the $23 million contingency budget for 2012.  Every year the county levies tax dollars to place into a contingency fund to cover unforseen or emergency expenses or unexpected cuts to revenue (such as a mid-year cut to county aid from the state).  We consistently set aside entirely too much for contingency, however, and then end up rolling what’s left over every year into our fund balance, part of which we use to fund projects the next year.

In 2011, for example, we levied for a $21.6 million contingency.  As of today, we have spent just over $400,000 of that (yes, that’s less than 2%).  That will leave us with over $21 million unspent in the contingency fund at the end of the year.  Last year, the unspent amount was $8.8 million.  The year before was $15.4 million.  In the past 8 years, we have over-levied for contingency by more than $90 million.

Obviously, we are not using our contingency fund for the purpose it is intended – emergency spending.  And we clearly will not need anything near the $23 million being proposed for contingency in 2012.  So, amazingly, we could cut the property tax levy in a way that would hold the ”average” homeowner harmless from a county tax increase without cutting a single program.

This would not, by the way, be “kicking the can down the road” as we have seen to a certain extent at both the state and federal levels of government lately.  If we cut the contingency budget by $17 million going forward and were disciplined enough to stay within the $6.2 million contingency budget that remained (which county history suggests would not be difficult), that would be an ongoing change to the budget that would be realized each year.  This would not use one-time money to fund a permanent tax cut.

After some discussion, my amendment failed on a vote of 1 – 6.

Just prior to my property tax amendment, the Board passed an amendment to extend the county’s “Trade Time Off for Fitness” program to include the seven county commissioners, the county sheriff and the county attorney (the nine elected officials in the county).  This amendment passed on a vote of 4 -3 (with Randy Johnson, Jan Callison and me voting no).

The Trade Time Off for Fitness program allows county employees to trade unused paid time off (PTO) to pay for health club dues or other fitness-related expenses (such as the purchase of bikes or home exercise equipment) in an amount up to $2000 per year.  When the program was first created, elected officials were apparently not included in it because we don’t use the PTO system (we self-monitor our time off) and therefore have nothing to “trade” for this $2000 benefit.

The 4 – 3 vote yesterday provided that benefit to each member of the county board (and the county attorney and sheriff), essentially increasing our potential compensation by $2000 (or just under 2%).

I didn’t support this change (and will not take advantage of it even though it passed) as I think it’s fair to say that the taxpayers of Hennepin County already compensate us as commissioners quite well.  Yes, some or all of us could probably make more in the private sector, but we each chose to seek this position knowing the compensation level.  At a time when taxpayers are seeing increased property tax bills and county employees are wrapping up their second year without a pay increase, this probably wasn’t the best move we could have made.

But hey, at least by this time next year the county board will have some really killer quads.

The County Board will hold its annual Truth in Taxation hearing on the proposed 2012 budget and property tax levy at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 29, at the Hennepin County Government Center.

The Board is scheduled to vote on the proposed budget at our regularly scheduled board meeting on December 12.  That budget contains a small decrease in actual spending (as was the case each of the past two years) and no increase in the property tax levy amount.

Despite this, many county taxpayers noted that the property tax notices they received last week indicated property tax increases for Hennepin County and other local taxing authorities.  For example, the taxable market value for my home dropped just under 1%, but my property taxes are estimated to increase 6.8%.  Specifically, my county tax will increase 7%, the City of Plymouth portion will increase 5.9%, the Wayzata School District amount will increase 7%, the Met Council tax will increase 6% and “other special taxing districts”  will increase 8.6%.

I am hearing about similar increases from many of my constituents.

There are several reasons one’s county property tax amount can increase even if the actual total tax amount collected by the county remains the same.  If, for example, my valuation drops less than the average valuation drops, I will likely see a tax increase while some of my neighbors whose valuation dropped at a greater rate might see a smaller increase or a decrease in taxes.  The state legislature and the Governor can also agree to changes in state law that might lead to a property tax increase for some, as we are likely to see next year when some owners of higher-valued homes and commercial real estate pay extra to make up for changes to the market value homestead credit to benefit owners of some lower-valued homes.

Regardless of the reasons or whose “fault” it is, however, many property owners in Hennepin County are likely to see property tax increases based on the proposed budget that will be discussed at the Truth in Taxation hearing this week.  My intent again this year is to offer an amendment to our budget to cut the property tax levy by an amount that would hold the “average” homeowner in Hennepin County harmless from a county tax increase.  While we have not determined the exact amount of that cut yet, it is likely somewhere between a 2% and 3% levy reduction.

The hearing will be held in the County Board Room on the 24th Floor of the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 S. Sixth St., Minneapolis.

Free parking is provided for residents testifying at this hearing who park in the Government Center’s underground ramp after 4:30 p.m. The ramp entrance is on 3rd Avenue between 5th and 6th streets.

Occupy Minnesota Costing Hennepin County $152,295: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

Today, the County Board received a report from administration that the OccupyMN protests cost Hennepin County taxpayers over $150,000 for just the first 10 days (through this past Sunday), most of it in overtime costs.  In addition, Minneapolis police said overtime has cost the city about $56,000.  The costs will continue at a pace of thousands per day as long as protestors continue to camp out on the Hennepin County Government Center plaza at night.

During the Open Forum portion of our meeting today, we heard from 24 different protestors, most of them asking that the county allow them to pitch tents on the plaza so they can continue to camp out into the winter. Although we did not vote on the tent issue, Commissioners Opat, Stenglein and Callison all expressed opposition to allowing tents for various reasons.  I explained that, while I admire anyone who stands up for their beliefs (even those beliefs with which I profoundly disagree), I was opposed to anything that would string this protest out any further (including tents) as it is costing my constituents a great deal of money.

And, a majority of the constituents I am hearing from have lost their patience with this protest after watching people trying to get arrested, blocking traffic and attempting to disrupt businesses downtown for the past week.

It’s time to go home.

I had a chance on a couple of occasions to speak to the Midwest Leadership Conference this weekend – a tremendous gathering in Bloomington of about 800 Republican activists from all over the Midwest.  On one of those occasions, I referred to the Occupy Minnesota protests being held at the Hennepin County Government Center – my workplace – and made the following unscripted remark (as hastily reported by both the Star Tribune and MPR):

“Because of you, I don’t have to spend my Friday afternoon with 1,000 or so clueless, obnoxious and frankly, very messy anarchists, socialists, flower children … or whatever they call themselves. Instead, I get to spend my Friday with 1,000 or so patriots.”

Some might argue it was not my best moment (and I would have to agree).

I made the comment off-the-cuff in a joking way to a group of conservative activists. And while it was not meant for public consumption, when I read it in print later it certainly came off as rather mean and obnoxious (to use my own term).

I try to teach my two boys not to live their lives in different “boxes” where they act one way in one setting and completely differently in another – maybe saying something to friends or on Facebook that they wouldn’t think of saying at home or in church. Obviously, I wasn’t practicing what I preach as I wouldn’t have used terms like that, even in jest, in any other public setting.

Now, let me say, I have read what are purported to be some of the “demands” of the Occupy Wall Street crowd – which is the genesis of the Occupy Minnesota crowd – and I couldn’t more vehemently disagree with many of them (universal government healthcare, free college education for all, completely open borders, trillions in new spending, elimination of secret ballot votes in union organizing campaigns, etc).  And I frankly get very annoyed at the propensity of some to blame our greatest problems on the free market or successful businessmen and women rather than on government policies and the politicians who have gotten us into this massive mess.

Nonetheless, going for a little cheap applause by calling people names isn’t the way to respond.

I’m never afraid to take on anyone’s argument when I disagree – and that will never change – but I have always tried to keep political disagreements from turning personal and have worked hard to listen to and work with those whose views might be quite different from mine.  I probably didn’t represent that philosophy very well on this one.

I haven’t received much response from the media coverage – just a handful of emails.  Some have been thoughtful and reasonable, others have been rather vulgar and profane.  I intend to spend a little time on the Government Center plaza on Monday if the protestors are still around (as I had intended to do all along).  I’m truly curious to find out what it is these folks want ?  Based on the interviews I’ve seen from New York and D.C., I’m pretty sure we’ll have fundamental disagreements about what is right for America. In fact, it’s quite possible I will talk with some protestors I would deem to be socialists … or anarchists … or flower children.

But I’ll keep that assessment to myself this time.

Yesterday, at a meeting of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District board (one of the best uses of taxpayer money you will ever find, BTW), we discussed the maximum levies set by metro counties this month.  State law requires that every county set its maximum levy amount in early September.  When the county passes its final budget in December each year, it can levy at the maximum amount or lower, but not higher.

Below is a list of the 7 metro counties’ maximum 2012 general property tax levy in relation to their 2011 levy:

Anoka: 7.4% decrease

Carver: 2.2% decrease

Dakota: 0%

Washington: 0%

Scott: 1% increase

Hennepin: 1% increase

Ramsey: 1.7% increase

Last week, the County Board set our “maximum levy” amounts for 2012.  State law requires every local government unit to set the maximum amount it will levy for the upcoming year in early September.  Once the maximum levy amount is set, the local government can still choose to levy less when it sets its final budget (usually in December), but it cannot choose to levy more.

Hennepin County has three separate levies – the general levy, the railroad authority levy and the housing authority levy.  In 2011, the general levy was set at just under $650 million.  The railroad levy was $18 million.  The housing levy was just over $5.6 million.

Last week, the Board voted 5 – 1 (Gail Dorfman was absent and I voted no) to set the maximum general levy at an amount representing a 1% increase.  I moved to set the max at the same level as last year, but was voted down 2 – 4 (with Randy Johnson joining me in voting “yes”).  Keep in mind that the 1% increase (approximately an extra $6.5 million in tax revenue) is the maximum and the Board could decide to hold the levy flat – or even cut it – when we set our final budget.

The original proposal from the County Administrator was to set the maximum 2012 railroad levy at $21 million – just over a 17% increase from 2011.  Commissioner Jan Callison successfully moved to cut that increase in half.  I then moved to hold the maximum levy at $18 million (a 0% increase).  That motion also passed on a vote of 4 – 2 (with Randy Johnson, Mike Opat and Mark Stenglein joining me).

The Board unanimously set the maximum housing levy at a 0% increase as proposed by the county administrator.

My goal in our final budget discussions will be to cut the levies by an amount that would hold the “average” Hennepin County homeowner harmless from a higher county property tax bill.