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If the JPA terminates on January 1, 2015, Anoka County will take over the responsibilities <br />of the WMO and act as the WMO for the watershed or petition the Board of Soil and Water <br />Resources ("BWSR") for creation of a watershed district. In such a case, the County or a <br />watershed district would take on all responsibilities of the WMO for surface water <br />management within the watershed area. <br />The County or a watershed district may do an excellent job with surface water management. <br />However, two things should be taken into consideration by the member cities. The first is <br />that the County or a watershed district could fund capital projects in any one of a number of <br />ways within the watershed. However, these will all generally result in the taxpayers in the <br />largest cities or the cities having the highest tax value paying the largest share of capital <br />projects. The second is that, although the voting power of each of the members of the <br />LRRWMO is limited, no city would have any vote in a decision by the County or a <br />watershed district to undertake a project if it took over as the WMO. <br />3. USE OF MINNESOTA STATUTES, SECTION 103B.251 TO FUND CAPITAL <br />PROJECTS <br />434997v1 LW105 -1 <br />The authority to fund capital projects under Minn. Stat. § 103B.251 has not been used by the <br />LRRWMO. However, it is referred to in the JPA and in some of the changes proposed by <br />the city of Ramsey. Therefore, it may be helpful to explain how this process works. <br />Three of the JPA WMOs that I represent (Bassett Creek, Shingle Creek and West <br />Mississippi) use the authority of Section 103B.251 to provide funds for capital projects. I <br />do not know whether this authority has been used anywhere in Anoka County. <br />All or any part of the costs of a capital project can be paid for under Section 103B.251 if: <br />a) The project is identified in the WMO's capital improvement plan ( "CIP "); <br />b) The CIP identifies Section 103B.251 as the means of funding the project; and <br />c) The County Board approves (or does not disapprove) inclusion of the project in the <br />CIP during the statutory review process of a watershed plan, or an amendment to the <br />plan, under procedures set forth in state law. <br />The procedure for collecting the funds is a simple one once the project is included in the <br />CIP. It requires that the WMO give notice and hold a hearing on the proposed improvement <br />and, following the hearing, make findings that the proposed improvement "will be <br />conducive to public health and promote the general welfare and is in compliance with <br />Sections 103B.205 to 103B.255 and the plan adopted pursuant to Section 103B.251 ". Once <br />this is done, the WMO simply has to certify the cost of the improvement to the county <br />before October 1 In a nutshell, the WMO sends a bill to the county. <br />The statute does not specify the source of funds that the county is to use for payment of <br />these costs. In Hennepin County, the County has established taxing districts using the <br />boundaries of each WMO that uses Section 103B.251 and levies ad valorem property taxes <br />within that area. However, the County could use its general funds, or a county -wide levy, or <br />any other source of funds available to pay the bill for the project. <br />Page 2 <br />