What is the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation and who’s running in the election?

“There’s an old principle, and you can find it throughout the Judeo Christian ethic, which is to those to whom much is given, much is expected,” Brandt said. “The evidence would show that generally, the lower you are on the income scale, the more regressive the property tax system uses a percentage of your household income, and so those are the people I’m trying to give relief to.”

Fine was the Park Board’s appointment to the BET throughout his time as a park commissioner about 20 years ago, and he has concerns about the idea of a city income tax. He doesn’t think the state would authorize it, and fears it would discourage wealthy people from moving to the city.

“If the demand isn’t up there for buying expensive homes and expensive property, and doing business in the city, the city will ultimately lose some of that revenue,” Fine said.

He says there are better ways to find more money. Asking the Legislature to increase Minneapolis’ share of local government aid, for one. And exploring having Hennepin County take over the work that the city currently does to value properties, which Ramsey County does for St. Paul.

Fine is running to reinforce what he views as the BET’s auditor role of taking a magnifying class to each city department, looking for cuts and challenging the city to justify the tax levy that residents are asked to muster. The city and Park Board tightened their belts during the Great Recession, and he wants them to do it again to pay for the rising cost of union labor.

“What should be happening is the Board of Estimates should be getting back to the city and saying: We think you need to look at this, this, this, and this, and maybe you can make changes in what you’re doing to have less demand on your tax revenue, and then you can make up for your losses because of downtown,” Fine said.