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Tim Pugmire
St. Paul, Minn.

House GOP backs off property tax rate freeze

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House Republicans have backed off a proposal to require cities and counties to freeze local property taxes for two years.

Rep. Linda Runbeck, R-Circle Pines, told members of the House Property Tax Committee Wednesday that her proposal was too controversial to keep in the final division report. Runbeck said the mandate on local officials went further than it should.

"We did decide to trust our local officials and set some expectations and make sure they know that citizens are expecting people to live within their means, and that applies to local governments," Runbeck said. "We're going to make a real effort to communicate that, of course, across the state."

The bill would still phase out Local Government Aid for suburbs, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman told committee members the plan is misguided and would result in cuts to police and fire protection.