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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-049 CITY OF LAKEVILLE i RESOLUTION NO. 06-49 RESOLUTION GRANTING APPROVAL FOR STATE MANDATES RELIEF SUGGESTIONS. TO THE. STATE AUDITOR WHEREAS, the Lakeville City Council has adopted a legislative priority which states, "The City opposes any legislation that erodes local control or creates mandates without a corresponding State appropriation or funding mechanism," and WHEREAS, Minnesota Statute 6.79 creates a new venue at the Office of State Auditor for mandate reform ideas for cities and other local units of government, and WHEREAS, those submitted proposals on .mandate relief and reform will be listed on the State Auditor's website, thereby giving local governments another communication tool for expressing their concerns on any given mandate, and WHEREAS, the Lakeville City Council does not oppose the intent of all mandates listed, but does object when the mandate erodes local control or impacts local government due to the mandate being unfunded or under funded; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Lakeville City Council does hereby request that the following mandates be considered for reform, and/or be accompanied with a corresponding state appropriation or funding mechanism: 1. Development fee report (M.S. 462.) -This reporting requirement has added a level of complexity to the calculation of local development fees. The law also requires cities to establish procedures to account for the use for the fee. 2. State sales and MVET on City purchases (M.S. 297A and 297B) -Cities are required to raise, through property taxes or fees, adequate revenue to pay the 6.5 percent sales tax on most city purchases of goods and services. In addition, they must pay the motor vehicle excise tax (MVET). on vehicles such as road maintenance vehicles, plows, dump trucks, etc. 3. Fine Distribution (M.S. 357.021) -State law defines the distribution of fine revenues collected from violators of state laws. Although local law enforcement costs have risen in recent years, the portion of fine revenues distributed to cities has not been adjusted. In addition, steep increases in state-imposed traffic surcharges have resulted in more court challenges to citations and thus, increased local prosecution costs. 4. Surface waters (M.S. 103D) -Watershed districts have been authorized by the State to draft and make rules regulating surface waters. These rules put an unfunded mandate on cities with no legislative review or oversight. Once counties are done creating rules and regulations, they will pass the responsibilities down to the cities to administer, which will be very time consuming and costly. 5. 9-1-1 requirements -Cities that operate PSAPs face the potential loss of guaranteed and stable state revenues due to the actions of the 2005 State Legislature that discontinue assurance that the dedication of the existing surcharge on monthly phone bills will be available after 2007 to cover local costs of providing for 911 service. Current surcharge revenues of 20 cents/month paid to city-operated PSAPs cover only a small share of local 911 costs. As a result, cities must increasingly rely on local property tax revenues to cover a large share of the cost of maintenance as well as the technical and operational improvements and system upgrades required to receive and identify the call-back number and location of persons calling for help. 6. 800 MHz requirements -Despite increased reliance on 911 surcharge revenues to finance the cost of state bonds to be sold to continue the build- out of ARMER, the statewide public safety radio communications backbone, only a small portion of that financing is available to aid cities to build subsystems for local public safety communications that will provide interoperable communications with other jurisdictions. To date, the Legislature has not addressed how cities and counties will be able to afford to obtain the means necessary (communications infrastructure improvements and portable and mobile radio equipment) to obtain such coverage. 7. Minnesota Dept. of Public Safety Rule (M.S. 7560.0375) -Authorized by Gov. Pawlenty in 2005, this rule requires city utilities (water & sewer) to be "located" starting with new utilities installed after 1/1/06. For municipalities, this means a purchase in equipment and personnel. Personnel costs are yet to be determined but estimated at $80,000 in equipment alone. 8. DNR imposed excess water surcharge (M.S. 03G.271 Subd. 6 Paragraph q) - Department of Natural Resources established a $20 per million gallon surcharge to city water supplies on gallons used in the months of June, July and August that exceed the January use of the same year. Lakeville water use in 2005 payable in 2006 was approximately $10,000, which was then used by the State to balance the budget. ~ ~ r ~ 1 h Ma DATED this 5t day of y 2006. CITY OF LAKEVILLE v~/' (p , Robert D. Joh on, Mayor ATTEST: Charlene Friedges, Cit lerk • . . May 12, 2006 Item No. RESOLUTION GRANTING APPROVAL FOR STATE MANDATE REFORM Proposed Action Staff recommends adoption of the following motion: Move to approve the Resolution Granting Approval for State Mandate Reform. Overview Over the past few months, the State Auditor's Office has been collecting resolutions from local governments dealing with mandate reform. The program was launched this fall and continues in 2006 on the OSA's website at www.auditor.state.mn.us. Local governments have been encouraged to submit those mandates they believe are in particular need of reform to the State Auditor's office for posting on the website. The State Auditor's office has indicated that the mandates can be very broad and expansive and are basically suggestions to the legislature on mandate reform made via "government-to- government" communication. The mandates are to be used as a tool to help legislators identify those mandates that are of particular concern to local units of government across the state. Many mandates have an important purpose or good intent. The proposed resolution indicates that the City does not oppose the intent of all of the mandates listed, but rather objects when the mandate erodes local control or impacts local government due to the mandate being unfunded. or under funded. Avery serious concern for Lakeville in past years has been the cost associated with new unfunded mandates while the City's Local Government Aid and Market Value Homestead Credit has been eliminated and levy limits were temporarily imposed. The City has had to make difficult decisions about service levels in order to comply with new mandates, which erodes local control and decision-making. Primary Issues to Consider • How many other cities are approving and submitting similar resolutions? Staff knows of several cities that have approved and submitted similar resolutions. Supporting Information • Proposed Resolution Granting Approval for State Mandate Reform. Steve C. Mielke City Administrator . Financial Impact: $ 0.00 Budgeted: Y/N Source: Related Documents (CIP, ERP, etc.): Notes: