The Senate Committee on Taxes released its omnibus tax bill on Tuesday, May 6, which includes a 3.1% cut to Duluth’s local government aid.

Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert believes these cuts would be detrimental to city services.

Mayor Reinert released the following statement in response:

“These proposed cuts would take $1.1 million dollars out of the city general fund budgets. LGA is our single largest source of revenue and comprises nearly one third of our total income. Any cuts to LGA will translate directly to a reduction in the delivery of City of Duluth services. This proposed cut also highlights a concern I have raised repeatedly: the City’s heavy reliance on LGA. It has proven to be an unpredictable source of state aid over the years. We must continue to make it a priority to grow our own tax base in order to be more financially self-sustaining.”

The Mayor has canceled his schedule for Thursday, May 8 and will now be traveling to the State Capitol to address the proposed cuts.

In an interview with WDIO, the Mayor explained that as he speaks to lawmakers, he’ll be arguing that any cuts made to Duluth would impact the region more broadly, using emergency services as an example.

“We have the most highly trained, specialized police and fire in the entire region. And so we are happy to loan those folks out when there’s something that exceeds the ability of our smaller neighbors. Well, we’re able to do that because of LGA. That allows us to make up for that. If we had to do it on our own, we would have to say no. Or we’d have to charge to get reimbursed for those services.”

Mayor Reinert explained that police and fire are just some of the some of the departments that could be scaled back.

“What’s concerning about proposed cuts to LGA is they’re going to directly translate to cuts in city services. A reminder to folks: that’s streets, it’s utilities, it’s cops, it’s firefighters, it’s the library, it’s parks and recreation. Add in a little economic development, and that is what local government does.”