Mayor’s Minutes: Brooklyn Park’s Hollies Winston
Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston reflected on his first year as mayor and looked ahead to the new year for the fast-growing city as he talked with CCX Media’s Dave Kiser in late December.
As for the recently-completed city budget process, Winston noted the council did a lot of work for its first budget cycle together.
Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston in December 2023.
“We realized we really had to focus on the public safety portion (of the budget),” Winston told Kiser. “That includes fire and police. It takes 55 percent of our budget, which is high. We we are also realizing we have to expand that tax base diversity.”
Winston said that he wants the city to continue to pursue commercial and retail development to offset the tax burden on homeowners. He also said that he wants the city to continue to seek state help when it comes to helping pay for improvements for the fire department, the city’s youth center, and more money for intersection improvements at Highway 169 and 109th Avenue.
“How can we partner (with the state) so we can relieve our property owners and people who are paying the majority of these taxes?” he said.
