Agenda - Council Work Session - 01/21/2014

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LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES ENDORSED BY THE CITY OF RAMSEY 2014 ANOKA COUNTY LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM (4) Fiscal Disparities* ISSUE Chief Authored by former Anoka State Legislator, Charles R. Weaver, the Twin Cities Area Fiscal Disparities program, enacted in 1971, was created for the purposes of: 1. Providing a way for local governments to share in the resources generated by the growth of the metropolitan area without removing existing resources; 2. Promoting orderly development of the region by reducing the impact of fiscal considerations on the location of business and infrastructure; 3. Establishing incentives for all parts of the area to work for the growth of the area as a whole; 4. Helping communities at various stages of development; and 5. Encouraging protection of the environment by reducing the impact of fiscal considerations to ensure protection of parks, open space, and wetlands. Fiscal Disparities affects cities, counties, special taxing districts, and school districts within the seven - county metro area. It has reduced tax base disparity throughout the seven - county metropolitan area to a level of 3- to-1 (instead of the previous 10- to -1). Any future legislation that would modify or impact the Fiscal Disparities program should only be considered within a framework of comprehensive reform efforts of the state's property tax, aids and credits system. Any proposed legislation that would modify or impact the Fiscal Disparities program must be evaluated utilizing the criteria of fairness, equity, stability, transparency and coherence in the treatment of cities and taxpayers across the metropolitan region, and must continue to serve the program's intended purposes. The Ramsey City Council is in support of the Fiscal Disparities program. The Ramsey City Council opposes future diversion from the Fiscal Disparities Program to fund specific programs or projects, as this would contradict the purposes of the program. RAMSEY CITY COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION: The City does not support efforts to exempt Ramsey from Rulemaking effort until the City has a better understanding of the impacts of the Rulemaking effort are fully understood through a revised set of draft rules and response from our residents. The City would consider joining an exemption effort when the impacts of revised rules are better understood. *Identical language as 2014 Anoka County Adopted Legislative Platform 2014 City of Ramsey Legislative Platform