Greater Minnesota mayors are at the Capitol lobbying lawmakers to increase state aid to cities as end-of-session budget negotiations loom. House Tax Committee Chairman Greg Davids from Preston responds upping state aid doesn’t necessarily reduce property taxes. Davids says, “What happens is, we’ll increase LGA, that money will go to other projects and they try to keep the levy at about the same rate but it generally doesn’t get reduced.” Granite Falls Mayor David Smiglewski responds his city “has not increased its General Fund levy at all. We been flat for five years.” Officials at the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities say since the last state aid increase several years ago, half the 85 cities they represent either held property tax levies flat or reduced them.