Alice Pickering
Linwood Area Reporter

Mike Parker is the new Linwood Supervisor, defeating Mike Budde.

Parker received 370 votes, Budde received 206. Vicki Erickson ran unopposed for Township Treasurer, receiving 375 votes. There were two write-in votes for the supervisorís seat and 26 for the treasurer. A total of 579 ballots were cast. There are about 3025 registered voters in the township.

Levy

Linwood residents approved $1.1 million for the 2006 levy. This is a 33 percent decrease from the 2005 levy of $1,648,000.
Supervisors had recommended a levy of $1,352,000 (18 percent less than 2005). Supervisors will need to make cuts to the budget as a result of the decision.

The capacity of the Linwood Senior Center is 315 and that was the number of chairs set up for the Linwood Annual Meeting March 8. All but about 20 were full and people stood at the back of the hall. This was a well-attended meeting, compared to meetings in the past which have averaged about 40 residents.

After Rich Gabrick was elected moderator for the meeting, Auditor David Stene gave his report on the financial status of the township. The audit for the past year went well, revealing that some departments are ahead on their budgets. He said the township has some ìpretty good financial reserves.î

Stene explained the township should have about half the annual budget as a cash reserve, to provide working capital for the six months until the semi-annual draw comes from the county. He believed the ì2006 budget is pretty reasonable,î and was only about one percent increase over 2005.

Each supervisor was to explain one part of the budget and answer questions about expenditures. This was to point out line items that increased or planned expenditures, and was to be completed before the vote on the levy.

Some residents wanted to vote right away without any discussion. Later because of the questions about some proposed expenditures and to explain past ones, the review was necessary. Decision-making came with some struggles.

Howard Holm proposed the levy be approved at $1,352,000, as recommended by the board. This proposal was 18 percent less than the 2005 levy. However, he requested an amendment before the vote; to reduce the levy to $1,241,000. His thinking was this would represent a ten percent levy increase in the overall budget, but still include the cost of the contract police protection and maintain the township SRO. The amendment was defeated.

The motion to pass the original amount proposed $1,352,000 was also defeated. Most of the votes were audible, but the margins were clear.

A third motion to set the levy at $881,897, the same as in 2004, was soundly defeated. Most recognizing that if the only goal is to keep taxes down, a very low levy one year results in a higher one to catch up the next year, wildly fluctuating taxes as a result. This proposal was too low to pay for township services.

There was a better understanding this year of the difference between the budget (best estimate of costs to provided services for the year) and the levy (tax impact on residents to raise money to pay for the services).

There were several camps, those championing the new contract police protection and school resource officer program instituted this January. SRO continued in the fall covered by grant money.

Cindy Gruett, Judy Marleau, and Alan Hurtley spoke about faster response time to emergency calls. Eric Marleau said response time is down from between 20 and 45 minutes to about five minutes when a call is made now. He added the cost to residents runs a little more than five dollars a month for the contract protection. Some in the audience did not believe or continue to believe that contract police protection is not necessary for the township.

Dennis Erickson spoke in support of the police contract. While it takes time to learn the community, the first steps are ìrecognizing places and faces.î The drug task force in the county can be contacted when there is suspicion of illegal activities. The deputy and the SRO can also contact authorities. They constitute visible authority in the school. There is a faster response to vandalism and other crimes.

Erickson referred to the sheriffís deputies as a ìmajor resourceî in what is now the north end of the metro area. He cautioned against a drastically reduced levy now, for it is ìtoo low now, it means big change in another year.î Some residents are still opposed to the contract police protection believing it is not necessary.

Joe Dolphy spoke in favor of keeping the levy relatively steady, suggesting smaller increases. Some came with reasonable questions and had reasoned responses, others wanted explanation about the increase in property taxes, and finally, those who seemed to view supervisors as adversaries, instead of officials elected to work in the best interest of the township.

Sharon and Bruce Pearson spoke to residents demonstrating good judgment and trying to come to an agreement about the levy. She indicated a lot of people trying to become informed. She also wondered about thinking from a group that was ìexpecting the levy not to go up when gas prices have increased so much,î referring to some increases in some departments. She also wondered if the township was holding the county accountable for its portion of police protection.

Chairman Dave Tryon explained that most of the expenses in the Road and Bridge budget are related to maintenance of existing township roads. For those alarmed by some of the costs, he explained that some of the work has been postponed for several years and if not completed, will result in much higher costs later.

Fire department expenses for 2005 that seemed high were related to new breathing apparatus for the department, 13 units at a cost of $3,000 apiece. Parts for repair of the other older units were harder to obtain. A change in the type of unit required a new compressor, one that could handle higher pressure.

Final action, a vote to place on the March 2006 ballot a question of holding township elections with the general elections.

If this is approved in March 2006, there would be adjustments in terms of supervisors in office during the transition, but the bigger change would be in the length of the term. Supervisorsí terms would change from three years to four years.

Pam Trudeau and Will Kichler presented the annual report for the Youth Service Bureau, thanking the township for past support, and requesting continuing support.

Bob Fedderly, a board member for Family Pathways, told the meeting, part of the programs allow 274 seniors to remain in their homes, provide respite care for about 75 families with special needs children, 4000 families from the five food pantries. The organization which serves parts of Chisago County also has plenty of volunteer opportunities. Fedderly requested $250 contribution for the organization.

Mediation services requested continued support, but did not send a representative to the meeting.

Bonnie McDonald, Executive Director of the Anoka County Historical Society, said a main goal of the society is to preserve county history. There are 21 townships and cities in the county. The group is also in the process of documenting some of the countyís agricultural history. She also requested a donation from the township in the amount of $250.

Other business

In other business, residents

ï Learned from County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah that road repairs are planned this year for a section of CR-22 between CR-74 and CR-75.

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