Officials in St. Cloud are considering whether to raise the city’s tax rate next year to fill what its mayor says are funding gaps for maintenance and reserves.

Jake Anderson, who took office in January, presented his first proposed budget to the city council last month. He called for a shift in budgeting philosophy from his predecessor, longtime St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis.

During Kleis’ nearly 20-year tenure, the city operated under a strategy of relying on economic growth to grow revenue and avoid tax increases, Anderson said. But the city hasn't kept up with repairing buildings and replacing equipment and technology, he said.

"If we don't begin to act now, this gap will become, in my opinion, completely unsustainable and even more difficult to fix,” he said.

Almost two-thirds of the

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