Lake St. Croix Beach officials recently informed residents that the city mistakenly gave everyone a property tax break over the past three years.

City Clerk/Administrator Dave Engstrom said the city’s former contract accountant did not account for the city’s fiscal-disparity tax benefit in the city’s certified tax levy starting in 2023. “The wrong information was submitted by the contract accountant,” he said.

The total shortfall over the three-year period was $178,197. In 2023, for example, the city should have submitted to the county a tax levy of $630,597 instead of $560,829, an almost $70,000 shortfall, he said. The 2024 shortfall was $51,215; the 2025 shortfall was $57,214.

Lake St. Croix Beach residents learned about the error in a post written by City Attorney Christina Benson in the city’s August newsletter. “Residents will find, if they look at their 2023 tax record, that there was a significant percentage drop compared to the previous year,” Benson wrote. “The result of the Fiscal Disparity Levy not being accounted for is that residents were undercharged for taxes dating back to 2023.”

The Lake St. Croix Beach City Council went into closed session during a special meeting on Aug. 18 to discuss “potential litigation against … the city’s former financial consultant, regarding claims the city has asserted for professional malpractice,” Mayor Tom McCarthy said prior to the session. Engstrom said Thursday that he could not comment on what happened during the closed session, citing possible pending litigation.

The shortfall “did not cause any disruption to the day-to-day running of the city,” McCarthy wrote in the August newsletter. “All projects were completed as scheduled drawing from reserves. The micro-surfacing projects throughout the city streets were not impacted and will keep the roads in good condition. Rest assured that the budget for 2026 will reflect the Fiscal Disparity Levy.”

Fiscal-disparity revenue is property tax money collected on new commercial and industrial tax base growth in the seven-county metro area, Engstrom said. The money is placed in a pool and redistributed to communities and taxing districts. The system shifts the property tax base from the wealthiest areas to those with less tax base.

“It is a way to spread the wealth from the Bloomingtons and Woodburys of the metro area to smaller cities and cities that have minimal commercial and industrial development,” Engstrom said.

The city’s 2025 budget is $992,000; the city has a population of 1,060. City officials may decide to increase the city’s levy for 2026 and beyond to help make up for the shortfall; Engstrom said the city has until Sept. 30 to submit a preliminary levy for 2026. After that, city officials can adjust it lower, but not higher, by the end of the year, he said.

Residents seek investigation

A group of Lake St. Croix Beach residents has obtained the necessary number of signatures – 20 percent of the city’s voters in the last presidential election – to ask the Office of the State Auditor to investigate, said Cindie Reiter, who served on Lake St. Croix Beach City Council for more than 10 years, most recently from 2021 to 2024.

“We are concerned about the repetitive errors that have been made,” Reiter said. “They didn’t let anyone know that there was a shortfall when it was confirmed in early 2024. We are worried about the lack of transparency.”

Once that petition is received, the Auditor’s Office will likely meet with residents and decide whether to examine the books, records, accounts and affairs of the city, Reiter said.

Engstrom said the city would be responsible for covering the cost of the audit, which he estimated would cost around $30,000.

“We would have to take that $30,000 out of something else, probably road repairs,” he said. “I don’t think it would prove anything that the city audit didn’t already show.”

Reiter said: “Cost of the state audit is unknown until OSA reviews our request. We don’t know what it will cost. It’s based on what they determine they will look into. We think it’s worth asking for the review. It’s up to them to decide what they will review.”

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Doug Williams, who has lived in Lake St. Croix Beach since 1985, said he can’t fathom how such an error could have recurred over the course of three consecutive years and not been caught.

“That is stunning to me,” he said. “I find it to be extremely unusual. If I had made a substantial mistake like that when I was working, my employer would have taken immediate, substantive, substantial corrective action.”

He and others hope the Auditor’s Office will decide to investigate.

“It would be good to have the state come in and look at everything and say, ‘This is good, this needs to be fixed,’” he said. “And then there could be a reasonable sit-down to figure out how to fix it, and it gets taken care of, and life goes on. There’s no need for confrontation, conflict in a community of this size. I would really like to see that as the outcome.”

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 2, the 245th day of 2025. There are 120 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II.

Also on this date:

In 1666, the Great Fire of London began, which would destroy more than 13,000 homes and hundreds of additional structures, including St Paul’s Cathedral, over the ensuing three days.

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In 1789, the United States Treasury Department was established.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s forces occupied Atlanta.

In 1935, a Category 5 hurricane slammed into the Florida Keys on Labor Day, claiming more than 400 lives.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Defense Education Act, which provided aid to public and private education to promote learning in such fields as math and science.

In 1963, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace prevented the integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers.

In 1969, in what some regard as the birth of the Internet, two connected computers at the University of California, Los Angeles, passed test data through a 15-foot cable.

In 1998, a Swissair MD-11 jetliner crashed off Nova Scotia, killing all 229 people aboard.

In 2005, a National Guard convoy packed with food, water and medicine rolled into New Orleans four days after Hurricane Katrina.

In 2013, on her fifth attempt, U.S. endurance swimmer Diana Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the help of a shark cage.

In 2018, a huge fire engulfed Brazil’s 200-year-old National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, as firefighters and museum workers raced to save historical relics.

In 2019, a fire swept a vessel carrying recreational scuba divers that was anchored near an island off the Southern California coast; the captain and four other crew members were able to escape the flames, but 34 people who were trapped below died.

Today’s Birthdays:

Former United States Olympic Committee Chairman and former Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth is 88.
Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw is 77.
Basketball Hall of Famer Nate Archibald is 77.
Actor Mark Harmon is 74.
Tennis Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors is 73.
Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson is 65.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is 63.
Actor Keanu Reeves is 61.
Boxing Hall of Famer Lennox Lewis is 60.
Actor Salma Hayek is 59.
R&B singer K-Ci is 56.
Electronic music DJ/producer Zedd is 36.

Napheesa Collier scored 25 points, Natisha Hiedeman added 20 points and a career-high 10 assists for her first double-double, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Dallas Wings 96-71 on Monday night at Target Center.

Courtney Williams added 15 points and nine assists for the Lynx (32-8), who already wrapped up the No. 1 overall seed for the playoffs. Bridget Carleton had 12 points.

Paige Bueckers scored 17 points for the last-place Wings (9-33). Maddy Siegrist, Amy Okonkwo and Diamond Miller each added 12.

Collier and Williams both shot 7 for 10 as the Lynx made 55% (36 for 65) but Collier was 4 for 4 from 3-point range. Hiedeman was 4 for 5 behind the arc and Carleton 4 for 8 as the Lynx went 14 for 24 (58%). They also had 29 assists.

Dallas was 3 for 15 from long range and shot 39% overall.

Minnesota rested Kayla McBride, and DiJonai Carrington stepped into the starting lineup but did not play in the second half with a shoulder issue.

Collier had 11 points in the first quarter when the Lynx scored the last two baskets to take a 25-21 lead.

Dallas tied the score at 32 on Bueckers’ jumper with four minutes left in the second quarter but Williams, Carleton and Hiedeman hit consecutive 3s for the Lynx. After Siegrist scored inside for the Wings, Collier hit a 3 for a 44-34 lead just inside the two minute mark. It was 48-41 at the break.

Hiedeman had 10 points in the third quarter with her late 3 making it 71-59 entering the fourth.
Minnesota dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Wings 25-12.

The Lynx start a three-game road trip at Las Vegas on Thursday when the Wings are at Golden State.

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Hundreds gathered at the state Capitol on Monday asking Gov. Tim Walz to call a special legislative session to ban assault weapons on the heels of a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School last week that killed two children and injured 18 children and adults.

“No one should be scared to go to school out of fear of being shot. Our schools should be where our dreams are shaped, not our nightmares,” said Timberlyn Mazeikis, a former Michigan State University student who survived a mass shooting on campus there in 2023 and now is a volunteer leader with the Students Demand Action group at the University of Minnesota.

“Minnesota lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, must act to pass a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” Mazeikis said. “That’s why we are at the Capitol today: to ask Gov. Walz to call a special session on public safety and demand our politicians prioritize our safety over the gun lobby’s interests.”

Walz announced last week that he was planning to call state lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session to do just that in response to Wednesday’s shooting in Minneapolis.

Walz and fellow Democratic-Farmer-Labor leaders, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, have advocated for policies including a ban on semiautomatic rifles and a magazine capacity limit.

Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are most frequently used in mass shootings and have greater destructive impact than standard handguns, said Minnesota Youth, the group that hosted Monday’s rally. “These weapons were designed for the battlefield, not our schools, churches or city streets.”

Investigators say the high-powered rifle used in the Minneapolis shootings was a semiautomatic. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters Thursday that the 5.56 mm rifle fired 116 rounds in less than four minutes.

Republicans generally oppose new gun control legislation, so passage of any bill will require bipartisan support.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, told the Pioneer Press last week that Walz’ call for a special session  was a “partisan stunt.”

“Republicans are committed to addressing the root causes of violence, supporting safe schools and increasing access to mental health resources,” Johnson said. “Calling for a special session without even consulting legislative leaders is not a serious way to begin.”

A coalition of gun prevention groups showed up at the Monday rally including the state chapter of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, Protect Minnesota, Brady Northland, Brady United’s state chapter and the state chapter of the Giffords gun owner caucus, organizers said.

“At least nine out of the 10 mass shooting incidents with the most casualties since 2015 involved at least one firearm equipped with a high-capacity magazine and the use of at least one assault weapon,” said a spokesperson for Minnesota Youth.  “When the U.S. had a federal assault weapons ban on the books, it worked. State-level assault weapon bans are associated with a lower likelihood of an active shooter event. Not only are laws prohibiting assault weapons constitutional, these policies are effective — and they save lives.”