Chamber Applauds City's 0% Levy Efforts

A recent letter of support of a 0% levy was shared with City Officials. OACCT President Jennifer Libby stated, “We applaud the fiscally conservative suggestion that you have taken in looking at this,” Libby said. “As the voice of over 580 members, we understand the rigor it takes to come forward with this kind of recommendation and the decisions that have to be made to be effective going forward without compromising the infrastructure, but we want to make sure that you hear our support.”

August 16, 2013

Dear City Council Member:

As an active participant of the City budget process over the last several years, the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism (OACCT), representing more than 580 businesses, is pleased that the City target levy amount is set to remain at 0% increase from 2013 to 2014.  We applaud your fiscally conservative choice with tax payer contributions as you realize a 3.4% increase in LGA funding in 2014.  We value your partnership in representing a fiscally aware and conscious perspective to our community.

The OACCT would also like to commend your results in reducing personnel costs from 72% of the budget in 2008 to the projected 68% in 2014.  The business community can appreciate the actions that have been put in place that yield budget reductions results like these such as attention to detail, careful planning, living with the budget’s means and creating efficiencies.    We will be informing our membership of these disciplined choices.

The goal of the Chamber has been and continues to be an engaged voice in the budgeting process of the City.  We believe that transparency, efficiency and broad vision are key components of the budget process and the business community needs to share that responsibility for improving Owatonna. We encourage your utilization of the “central garage” concept, continuing to streamline processes and budgeting with less dependency on the volatility of government dollars like LGA.

If our organization can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.