Ramsey County presents 2025 supplemental budget with 4.75 percent levy increase

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Ramsey County Manager Johanna Berg and incoming County Manager Ling Becker presented a revised supplemental budget for 2025 on Tuesday with a local levy increase of 4.75 percent in keeping with the 2024-2025 biennial budget approved in December.

The revised budget totals $848.5 million – a five percent increase from the 2024 budget of $808.49 million. The original proposed 2025 supplemental budget of $835 million was a 3.3 percent budget increase from the 2024 supplemental budget.

The revised budget includes more than $13 million in additional spending, but that spending is covered by grants, so no changes were made to the levy increase that the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved in December as part of the biennial budget, according to Berg and Becker.

About 45.8 percent of the county’s budget is funded through property taxes. The rest comes from intergovernmental revenues, charges for services and other sources.

The estimated impact on the county’s portion of 2025 property taxes for a median value single-family home in St. Paul will be a 4.2 percent increase, according to county officials. The total impact, including city, school district and other levies, is estimated at a 5.1 percent increase, or $196. The median home value in St. Paul is $275,300.

Market values are up in residential property classes compared to St. Paul commercial, industrial and apartment property classes, causing more of the tax burden to shift this year to residential properties, officials said.

The budget includes more than $13 million in additional spending covered by grants that will not impact the local levy.

Of that, $9.3 million comes from a 2023 legislation grant to Ramsey County to provide treatment homes for youth in the justice system and support and resources for families as part of violence prevention programming.

An additional $2.58 million will go to embedding Basic Sliding Fee Child Care, which helps income-eligible families pay for child care, within Ramsey County Financial Assistance Services.

Budget hearings will be conducted by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners in September to hear updates on performance measures from county service teams. Community members will be able to provide feedback during public hearings in September and early December on the 2025 supplemental budget before its expected approval Dec. 17.

For more information on those hearings, visit ramseycounty.us/content/public-hearings-2025-supplemental-budget.

To learn more about property tax relief, visit revenue.state.mn.us/property-tax-refund.

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Opinion: NYPD Political Harassment Breaks The Law

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“All of those tasked with upholding the rule of law have suddenly ignored the law as soon as it’s broken by those in power and close to the mayor.”

Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

NYPD Chief of Patrol Services John Chell at a press briefing in 2023.

CityViews are readers’ opinions, not those of City Limits. Add your voice today!

Political spin from police is nothing new, but recent NYPD social media tactics are so brazen they actually break the law. Political rants. Call-outs. False claims. In recent months, the department’s top officials have begun using their official social media accounts to attack political rivals and defame members of the public. And in recent days, the pattern reached an all-time low with a blatant attack on prominent police reporter Rocco Parascandola.

The Department’s chief offender is NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell. He’s repeatedly used his official X (formerly Twitter) account to attack protesters, politicians, and even the press.  He absurdly attacked veteran muckraker Harry Siegel for his Daily News column, accusing him of having “disdain for the NYPD.” He also falsely accused a judge of “set[ting] free a predator back into the community” for a case she never actually presided over.  Seeing a leader of the country’s largest, most heavily armed police department misuse city resources this way is chilling, but when Chell attacked elected officials, that’s when the tweets actually became criminal.

Earlier this year, Chell twice attacked City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán in lengthy rants on X. In March, he responded to Cabán’s critique of Mayor Adams’ threat to bring back discredited and discriminatory stop and frisk tactics. Chell posted an attack on Cabán’s policies with the closing line: “If you want change, vote the change you seek.” 

In May, Chell responded to Cabán’s condemnation of NYPD violence against protesters. Chell not only called Cabán’s statement “garbage,” but ended the post by writing: “Remember everyone, if you want change, seek the change you want by getting involved. Then you know what to do…”  

This isn’t some obscure figure within the department, or some low-level beat cop, but one of the NYPD’s highest uniformed officers speaking to an audience of more than 45,000 followers from an official New York City social media account. And Chell could not have been clearer: he used that massive city-owned bullhorn to urge New Yorkers to vote against Cabán in the next election.

And as one of New York City’s top cops, Chell should have been one of the first to know he was likely breaking the law. Chell has complete freedom to use private accounts in a personal capacity however he sees fit, but official city platforms are a different matter.

New York law comes down hard on city employees who misuse their office to influence elections. New York Election Law states that police officers who use their official authority to influence the vote can be punished with up to a year in jail. Chell’s statement, including his claim that Cabán “hates our city and certainly does not represent the great people of NYC,” fits that description.

It also violates New York City’s Charter when city employees engage in any political activity using city time or resources. Those convicted not only face potential jail time, but forfeit their city job. City employees with less political connections than Chell have been held culpable for using city email accounts to send an endorsement to coworkers. Chell didn’t just email a few colleagues, he posted publicly to tens of thousands of followers, and his comments were picked up in news stories seen by millions more.

So why hasn’t one of New York’s most prominent cops faced any consequences for committing a crime in broad daylight? New York’s district attorneys and attorney general stood by silently; our Conflicts Of Interest Board is uninterested in taking actions. All of those tasked with upholding the rule of law have suddenly ignored the law as soon as it’s broken by those in power and close to the mayor.

That’s not just a chilling sign for our city, but an alarming indicator about the state of our democracy. When the police sworn to uphold the law can openly violate it, that doesn’t just bend the rules, it breaks our democracy.

Cahn (@FoxCahn) is the founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based civil rights and privacy group. Lynn is a legal intern at the S.T.O.P. and a rising 2L at Berkeley Law, where she is a co-leader of the Digital Rights Project.

Twins getting Royce Lewis’ feet wet at second base

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A few hours before Tuesday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves, Twins third baseman Royce Lewis was out taking ground balls in the infield — a regular occurrence. But this time, he was stationed on the other side of the infield.

Lewis has begun to take groundballs at second base, something he said he has done just a handful of times. He may see game action there. He may not.

“I would never close a door by saying no, it’s not going to happen,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “But it’s also far from a guarantee that we’ll see him in any games at second base this season. I think it’s a possibility. I would say that.”

Lewis has minimal experience at the position. He has worked primarily at shortstop and third base since he was drafted by the Twins in 2017. He also has gotten a taste of the outfield.

He has just one game of minor league experience at second that came in 2019, plus four games there in the Arizona Fall League the same year. So, the experience is pretty new to him.

“(It’s) totally different,” Lewis said. “It’s like if I were to bat righty and then one pitch later, go bat lefty.”

Lewis said learning to turn double plays would be the toughest part of the position, while noting that the shorter throws were a slightly easier element of second base.

Right now, he said, he’s just trying to get comfortable, put in the work and see what happens over there.

“If you take a baby out of its crib where it’s safe, it’s going to feel a little bit scared,” Lewis said. “That’s kind of where I’m at right now.”

But with more reps, he expects to feel more comfortable there. And even if the Twins, who are currently without injured infielders Carlos Correa and Brooks Lee, don’t play him there in a game, they think there’s a benefit to him getting his feet wet at second base.

“Truthfully, I think getting him some work over there can also help him mix up some of his throwing angles and different types of throws he has to make,” Baldelli said. “I think changing your eye line and sight line can sometimes help you with the position that you are playing. I think some of the work he’s putting in, it’s good for him to go over there and get those reps at second base. But also I think it can help him with his work at third, too.”

Ryan out for regular season

Joe Ryan has yet to start throwing a baseball since suffering a Grade 2 teres major strain on Aug. 7.

While the Twins did not say the starter wouldn’t pitch again in the regular season, they did transfer him to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot, which rules him out for a potential return late in the regular season.

Ryan said Tuesday his shoulder feels really good and that he has been “crushing the legs” and “getting good cardio in” so that if he were able to return in the postseason, the rest of his body would be ready.

“I don’t want there to be other things that are wrong or have to take more time to get back into the groove,” Ryan said. “Trying to mentally stay locked in and, yeah, we’ll see where it takes us.”

The good news, Ryan said, is that he has talked to others who have had a similar injury and they’ve suffered no longer-term effects. He received a second opinion on his shoulder, which confirmed the first one. This injury aside, everything else in his shoulder, he was told, looked great.

“I think in the long term, it’s … not really going to be an issue,” he said. “I’m confident in what we’re going to do here.”

Briefly

The Twins claimed reliever Michael Tonkin off of waivers for the second time this season. He is expected to be added to the active roster on Wednesday. … The Twins also selected the contract of Caleb Boushley and designated for assignment reliever Trevor Richards, their only trade deadline acquisition this season. Richards walked 11 batters and threw seven wild pitches in 13 innings after being acquired. “He still can do a lot of good things with the baseball, but he struggled with his command here,” Baldelli said. “It would not be honest to just ignore that point. It’s true. But I think you just sometimes have to make a challenging call.”  … Starting pitchers Simeon Woods Richardson and Spencer Schwellenbach made a unique bit of history on Tuesday. Statistics website Baseball Reference posted on X (formerly Twitter) said the pair formed the longest last name starting pitching matchup in its database.

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City of Yes for Housing: See How Your Community Board & Borough President Voted

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As the mayor’s citywide zoning reform plan undergoes public review, City Limits is keeping tabs on responses. So far, more than half of the city’s community boards have voted unfavorably, though four out of five borough presidents have come out (largely) in favor.

Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

City Planning Director Dan Garodnick and Mayor Eric Adams at a rally in support of the housing plan in April.

Mayor Eric Adams’ citywide zoning reform plan, the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, continues to weave its way through the public review process before heading to a final vote in the City Council later this year.

The proposal is a key part of the Adams administration’s plans to address the city’s housing crisis by “making it possible to build a little more housing in every neighborhood,” through eight main changes outlined in the Department of City Planning graphic below.

Department of City Planning

So far, more than half of the city’s 59 community boards voted unfavorably on the plan, either outright or “with conditions”—meaning they might get on board if certain changes are made. Meanwhile, four out of the five borough presidents have come out in favor of the proposal (but with conditions they’d like to see met).

The latest came from Queens BP Donovan, who shared his recommendations with the Queens Daily Eagle on Monday. While he’s generally in favor of the proposal, Donovan called for various city agencies to examine the impact of new residential development on the borough’s infrastructure, “such as school enrollment and classroom capacity, hospital bed availability, municipal service delivery and more.” He also pushed for the plan to maintain parking mandates for new buildings in areas with fewer public transit options, like eastern and southeastern Queens.

The city’s community boards have issued a mix of recommendations on the mayor’s plan, with many neighborhoods in or closer to Manhattan coming out in favor, and opposition concentrated in lower density, outer borough districts.

“We believe implementing COY will make New York City environmentally sound, economically equitable, and more affordable,” Brooklyn Community Board 6, which includes Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Red Hook, wrote in a letter accompanying its “favorable” recommendation.

Boards opposed to the proposal have cited a bevvy of reasons: concerns about retaining current neighborhood character, the potential impact on existing infrastructure, allowing more as-of-right development without the need for community review, and calls for deeper affordability requirements among them.

Queens Community Board 3, which spans East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and North Corona, wrote in its unfavorable resolution that it is “not against the development of affordable housing.”

“We acknowledge the need for more affordable housing particularly within our district,” Chairman Frank Taylor wrote, lamenting that most new construction in the area so far has been unaffordable. “While the proposal claims the development of new affordable housing there is no guarantee.”

Under the city’s land use review process, community board and borough president recommendations are only advisory—after they weigh in, the plan will go before the City Planning Commission and then the City Council, whose votes are binding.

Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick, who spearheaded the proposal, previously told City Limits that he and the agency “take community feedback seriously.”

In his bid for the plan, Mayor Adams has urged the public to consider the city’s record-high homeless shelter population—which sat at more than 146,000 people in June, the most recent month for which complete data is available—and last year’s 1.41 percent rental vacancy rate, a historic low.

“Just about every place we go to talk about building housing like this, people give us a reason not to,” Adams said during a press briefing Tuesday, when asked about opposition to another proposal to build affordable homes for seniors on city-owned land that’s currently a community garden.

“I don’t know how to get clearer to New Yorkers. People are homeless,” the mayor said. “My responsibility is to place as many people as possible inside a home, because it feeds additional problems.”

To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

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