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To the editor:
In the Oct. 28th edition there was a letter to the editor from George Falcone. In the first part of his letter he stated that "Marshall has a $100 million, or so debt already."
An Editor's note was at the bottom of that letter that stated Marshall's debt was actually $54,228,890 according to the city website.
After reading this letter I decided to check the numbers for myself. I contacted the Lyon County Auditor and asked her to send me the Dec. 31, 2022 document that has to be sent into the state showing all outstanding debt for all communities and school districts in Lyon County. Interesting that at the end of 2022 the total debt for all of Marshall is as follows:
• City of Marshall: $63,413,890
• ISD #413(Marshall Schools) $43,983,000
Total at end of year as reported to the State of Minnesota was $107,396,890. So, George's statement of "Marshall has a $100 million, or so debt already was a true statement.
There will be those that say some of our outstanding debt is obligated with property taxes and assessments. Others will be for revenue bonds which are paid by fees and not property taxes. And still other debt that is paid by the taxpayers, residential and business property owners that live in Marshall with fees. Example: wastewater fees, water fees through your monthly utility bill. And some of the debt is paid for by liquor store profits.
So, yes the total Marshall debt of over $107 million is not borne entirely by the taxpayers.
The proposed aquatic center will be financed by bonds, which could be over $35 million when interest is added. (Add the $35 million to the above number from Dec. 31, 2022, and Marshall's overall debt will be in excess of $142 million.) Yes, a good share, (65-68% of the $35 million) will be paid for by the extension of the sales tax until 2046/2048. But who picks up the remaining share, including pool operational costs, which can't be paid by sales tax dollars? People that live out of town will not. People coming into town for an event will not. No, the residential and business owners will pick up the balance through property taxes and increases to the levy. By the way the City of Marshall is proposing a 9.9% tax levy increase for 2024. Lyon County is around 2% and I'm not sure what the School District has proposed.
Russ Labat
Marshall