It’s Legislative Season. Cities have interests at the State Legislature, just like many other public and private parties in the state. Cities sometimes confuse themselves into thinking that they are partners in governing with the State Government, but I can assure you that that’s not the way it works. I’m not saying that to be sarcastic. That’s just not the way it works.
The City of Eden Prairie belongs to several organizations that advocate for legislation at the State Capitol. We belong to the National League of Cities (NLC). The NLC advocates for city issues in Washington DC. We belong to the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC). The LMC advocates for general city issues in St. Paul. We belong to the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities (AMM). The AMM advocates for legislation that specifically impacts cities with the seven county Twin Cities metro area. Finally, we belong to the Municipal Legislative Commission (MLC). The MLC advocates for the interests of eleven metropolitan cities that share two common characteristics: they receive very little or no state financial assistance and they are net contributors to the state’s Fiscal Disparities Pool. In addition to Eden Prairie, the cities that comprise the MLC are Maple Grove, Plymouth, Minnetonka, Edina, Bloomington, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Eagan, Woodbury, Maplewood, and Shoreview.
There are other groups that advocate for city issues that Eden Prairie is not a member of. For example, the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, the Minnesota Association of Small Cities, and the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools. These groups advocate for different policies than we advocate for. In fact, it’s not uncommon for these groups to advocate for issues that we are opposed to, and vice-versa.
Recently, groups that advocate for city issues at the State Capitol have been participating in a task force called the Financing Local Government Task Force (FLGTF). The task force was organized under the leadership of the League of Minnesota Cities in an effort to find common legislative ground among city advocacy organizations. The task force was established in an attempt to try and minimize the number of issues where cities were working against each other in the hope that reducing this number would create more success for all cities legislatively.
As you might guess, the task force had a difficult row to hoe, but the task force reached agreement on the following set of five recommendations:
1. The State should support greater flexibility in cities’ ability to raise revenue. Cities need a wider variety of tools to choose from to ease pressure on property taxes. The State should recognize the diversity of circumstances among cities and allow them greater flexibility in implementing the revenue sources that make sense for their communities. Examples include local sales taxes, street utility fees, and impact fees;
2. Barriers to effectiveness, efficiency, and innovation should be removed. The State should eliminate unnecessary mandates and preemptions, and allow for efficiencies common in the private sector. These include greater use of design/build contracts for construction projects and use of city websites and other options for posting notices;
3. The State should make policy changes to increase the year-to-year stability of its own revenues. The certainty of state aids and credits is clearly related to the certainty of state revenues. A blue-ribbon task force of state and local officials, business leaders, and experts in tax policy should be convened to examine the stability of Minnesota’s tax structure and explore policy options; and
4. Excessive property tax burdens should be mitigated by fully funding Local Government Aid (LGA). Through state and local taxes and revenue sharing, public investment has supported, not hindered, Minnesota’s success. If state lawmakers truly see public safety, economic development, good roads, and strong neighborhoods as priorities, state revenue sharing with local governments must be a priority as well.
5. Additionally, the Task Force calls for establishment of an Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations that brings together the administration, the state legislature, cities, counties, townships, and school districts to begin a fresh dialogue about the quality of life Minnesotans want, as well as the role that government plays in maintaining and enhancing quality of life. A complete copy of the Task Force report, with details on each recommendation, can be found at www.lmnc.org.
These five recommendations are being presented to the Governor and State Legislature. It’s a good start. It’s good timing. It’s Legislative Season.
