SAINT PAUL – State Auditor Rebecca Otto has been endorsed
by AFSCME Minnesota Council 5, which represents 43,000 employees at
state, county, and municipal levels. “AFSCME shares Rebecca Otto’s
commitment to efficient, high-quality public services,” said Union
director Eliot Seide in announcing the endorsement. “Now, more than
ever, we need a State Auditor who is vigilant about good government and
honest budgeting.”
Readers write for Monday, March 8
StarTribune Pat Anderson pooh-poohs property tax increases under Gov. Tim
Pawlenty as "slightly higher'' ("The result of less state aid:
Efficiency,'' March 5). I was shocked...
Rebecca Otto: State’s mess pushes up property
taxes
StarTribune Commentary
Last update: February 17, 2010 - 9:15 AM Under Gov. Tim
Pawlenty's leadership over the last seven years, Minnesotans have
experienced a fundamental shift in taxes. The governor drew a line
in the sand early on in his first term with his no-new-tax pledge.
But the pledge has not cured our fiscal problems; it has simply
shifted the state's fiscal mess onto local property taxes.
State Auditor Candidates Correct Math
Errors Republican hopefuls file amended reports February 8, 2010
News Release SAINT PAUL – Two Republican candidates for the state’s top numbers job
have submitted amended campaign finance filings after their DFL
opponent, State Auditor Rebecca Otto,
pointed out basic math errors in their
reports
Otto hits her GOP opponents on math
By Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
February 4, 2010
State Auditor Rebecca Otto, a Democrat,
is criticizing two of her GOP opponents over something pretty important
to the job - math.
Rebecca Otto Tops State Auditor Race Otto out-fundraises Pat
Anderson’s gubernatorial campaign
February 2, 2010
SAINT PAUL –
State Auditor Rebecca Otto has raised more than twice as much money as
all her republican opponents combined, her campaign said today, and has
more than ten times the cash on hand.
Otto even out fundraised former State Auditor Pat Anderson’s
gubernatorial campaign...
February 2, 2010 SAINT PAUL – The Minnesota AFL-CIO has endorsed Rebecca Otto for
reelection.
State Auditor Rebecca Otto Warns of
Troubling Trends in MN Finances
State's shift of its fiscal mess onto property taxes continues
January 14, 2010
News Report ST. PAUL – Minnesota cities'
revenues from property taxes have risen 102 percent since 1998, State
Auditor Rebecca Otto said today as she released a report on Minnesota
City Finances.
Cities relying more on property taxes
for revenue, state auditor reports
State auditor reports
102 percent increase over 10 years
By Bill Salisbury, Pioneer Press
Updated: 01/14/2010
11:04:01 PM CST
In what State Auditor Rebecca Otto termed a "troubling trend,"
Minnesota cities over the past decade became more dependent on
property taxes as funds from the state and federal governments
provided a smaller share of their revenue.
State Auditor Rebecca Otto's
reelection announcement
January 11, 2010
Minnesota cities raise property taxes 102% over 10-year period by Betsy Sundquist, Politics in Minnesota
Published: January 14,2010 Minnesota’s cities are being forced to rely on increased property
taxes to keep operating as revenue from government sources continues
to shrink, according to a report on 2008 city finances released
today by State Auditor Rebecca Otto.
Otto welcomes Anderson to the race
News Release
January 12, 2010 SAINT PAUL – Responding to reports that former State
Auditor Pat Anderson was ending her failed campaign for governor and now
running for State Auditor, current State Auditor Rebecca Otto said she
“welcomes” Anderson to the race. “I think it will be an important race,” Otto said.
“Minnesota families can’t afford another four years of the hundreds of
millions of dollars in financial errors made by Ms. Anderson when she
was State Auditor, and the political grandstanding that drove up our
property taxes...
MAPE endorses State Auditor Rebecca Otto by: Kendal Killian, MN
Progressive Project
Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 13:32:04 PM CST This morning, State Auditor
Rebecca Otto kicked off her campaign for reelection at a Capitol news
conference. The event was attended by scores of supporters (including
Franni Franken), legislators and union leaders. In response to the
announcement, Minnesota GOP Chairman Tony Sutton released a weak
critique...
State Auditor Otto announces run for
re-election by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public
Radio
January 11, 2010 St. Paul, Minn. — State Auditor Rebecca Otto says she's running for
re-election. Otto, a DFLer, announced her plans Monday at the State
Capitol, surrounded by supporters and family members.
Unions endorse Otto for reelection Last update: January 11, 2010 - 2:06 PM
By Baird Helgeson, StarTribune State Auditor Rebecca Otto racked up a couple union endorsements
Monday in her reelection bid. Here's what the International Union
of Operating Engineers Local 49 had to say in a release:
SAINT PAUL – State Auditor Rebecca
Otto today announced her run for re-election in 2010. Citing
Minnesota’s budget crisis, Otto said she wants to continue to improve government efficiency,
accountability, and transparency. “Tight times require government
innovation,” Otto said.
State Auditor Rebecca Otto on Innovation, Energy and
Efficiency Rebecca speaks with TV Host Alan Miller
August 5, 2009
By CJ, Star Tribune It appears that a kitty has adopted State Auditor Rebecca Otto rather
than the other way around.
Otto, husband Shawn and dog Lucy were taking their morning walk last
week when "a little kitten jumped out of the woods and started running
after us, which was kind of strange because I have a big dog."
There are a lot of ways local government can save money by using less
energy, and the Minnesota State Auditor’s office has now won an award
for its detailed report on how to do just that.
State Auditor report contains “some
of the most innovative thinking” in U.S.
June 16, 2009
News Release
WASHINGTON - The National State Auditors
Association (NSAA) has awarded the Best Practices Review: Reducing
Energy Costs in Local Government issued by State Auditor Rebecca Otto its prestigious 2009 NSAA Excellence in Accountability
Award for a special project. “NSAA is privileged to recognize some of the most innovative thinking in
the current state auditing environment,” said Tom McTavish, Michigan’s
Auditor General and Chair of the NSAA Excellence in Accountability
Awards Committee.
Minnesota Auditor Rebecca Otto, and her husband, Shawn, operate a
12-kilowatt wind turbine at their home in Marine on St. Croix. The
turbine provides 80 percent of power they use
When it comes to wind power, small is
beautiful.
The same credit crunch that’s depressed real estate has also made banks
skittish about lending huge sums for utility scale wind farms, but the
downturn is having no effect whatsoever on small wind-turbine
manufacturers.
Austin leery of using reserves
City officials disagree with governor on using reserve
funds to replace portions of LGA Published Friday, June 12, 2009
By
Mike Rose | Austin Daily Herald
They’re often called rainy day funds. Other
times they’re called reserves. No matter the title, Gov. Tim Pawlenty is
calling on cities to dip into them given almost certain Local Government
Aid cuts — an idea that’s not being well received in Austin.
Brooklyn Center is Exhibit A in aid cuts
debate
Brooklyn Center illustrates the
complex debate over state aid -- and how much a city can cut before it
hurts. By MIKE KASZUBA, Star
Tribune
June 10, 2009
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has not singled
out Brooklyn Center when he wonders aloud whether cities are doing
enough to cut spending. But in some ways, the first-ring Minneapolis suburb could serve as a
prime exhibit of what the Republican governor said is a major problem as
he considers another round of cuts in aid to cities to help balance the
state budget through his controversial use of the "unallotment" process.
March is National Women’s History
Month, and this year Minnesota State Auditor Rebecca Otto of May
Township will be a 2009 honoree of the National Women’s History Project.
She is being recognized for her work as a “Woman Taking the Lead to Save
Our Planet,” the theme of the 2009
National Women’s
History Month.
Cities lean heavily on property taxes to keep functioning As state and federal assistance dries
up, Minnesota's 855 cities are relying more on property taxes for their
revenue, a new report finds. And that spells trouble. By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star
Tribune
January 15, 2009
It will come as no surprise to Minnesota
homeowners that their cities have increasingly relied on property taxes
to operate in recent years.
But a new report from the state auditor's office quantifies just how
dramatically that reliance has grown -- and has sobering implications at
a time when the state faces a massive budget shortfall and home prices
statewide are cratering.
Local governments resort to raising property taxes by Charley Shaw, FINANCE AND COMMERCE
April 29, 2008 Minnesota’s townships have been
feeling a financial pinch in the last five years, according to a new
report from the State Auditor’s office.
The report, released last week, reported five- and 10-year trends in
which state financial support for towns has declined and local property
taxes have been increased.
State Auditor Rebecca Otto today
unveiled
a new web site.
The main goals of this new and improved web site are to be user-friendly
for all audiences, to allow visitors to be just two clicks away from the
information they are seeking, and to be secure.
Thursday, 25 October 2007
by T.W. Budig, ECM capitol reporter A whirling intermediary translates the sky
over State Auditor Rebecca Otto’s home. Otto and her husband
screenwriter Shawn Lawrence Otto...
As Minnesota's state auditor, I feel it's
my responsibility to weigh in on the debate about whether or not to
include inflation in the state budget forecast, which the governor cited
as the cause of his veto of the tax bill.
"As
an employee of a small city (pop. < 3K) the difference between
Auditor Anderson and Auditor Otto has been amazing. Anderson used
every chance she could to embarrass local officials when they made
what were nearly always honest mistakes. You had city clerks afraid
to call the auditor's office to ask questions for fear they would be
put under a microscope. With Auditor Otto, the staff works with
local governments to ensure they are conducting themselves in
accordance with state statutes. They try to stop problems before
they arise, not wait in ambush in order to issue a press
release later."
Pat Anderson pooh-poohs property tax increases under Gov. Tim
Pawlenty as "slightly higher'' ("The result of less state aid:
Efficiency,'' March 5). I was shocked. If Anderson considers a 43
percent increase slight, then she's out of touch with average
Minnesotans and just plain poor at math. She shouldn't be trusted
with the job of minding the state's finances.
DIANE WATSON, MOUND
March 8, 2010 StarTribune
Rebecca Otto for Auditor on Facebook
& radio
Leaders, former State Auditors and finance
commissioners of bothmajor parties
support Rebecca's policies!
