Laserfiche WebLink
FF-2. Economic Contributions by <br />Cities <br />Issue: Cities provide and maintain the <br />physical infrastructure as well as the social <br />and economic infrastructure necessary to <br />support a large share of the state's economic <br />activity. In addition, cities play a major role <br />in statewide economic development <br />activities that assist businesses with <br />expansion and job creation. The importance <br />of cities to the overall vitality of the state's <br />economy is frequently overlooked in state <br />policy discussions. <br />Response: To provide lawmakers with <br />information on the economic activity <br />occurring within cities, the Department of <br />Revenue should annually collect and <br />compile information on major state tax <br />collections within each city, in addition to <br />county and regional reports. <br />FF-3. State Budget Stability <br />Issue: In recent years, the Legislature has <br />faced repeated budget deficits. Legislative <br />actions to address these deficits have <br />included changes in the state budget, <br />including permanent reductions in funding <br />to local units of government for programs <br />such as local government aid as well as the <br />full elimination of programs such as the <br />market value homestead credit. However, <br />the state has frequently relied on short-term <br />solutions that have only shifted a large share <br />of the deficit problem into the next <br />biennium. <br />As required under state law, recent state <br />budget surpluses have been dedicated to the <br />repayment of many of these short-term <br />budget shifts. In 2014, with these <br />repayments completed, the legislature <br />increased the state budget reserve by $150 <br />million and established a process to further <br />expand the state's budget reserves with a <br />portion of future surpluses. <br />Response: To increase the stability of the <br />state budget and avoid or reduce the <br />impact of future state budget deficits, the <br />Legislature: <br />a) Must consider all options, including <br />revenue increases, with a particular <br />focus on changes that increase state <br />revenues and improve the stability of <br />the state's revenue stream; <br />b) Must not further reduce funding for <br />property tax relief programs to cities; <br />c) Must not accelerate the remittance of <br />sales tax collections by retailers <br />including municipal liquor operations, <br />and should make steps to reverse past <br />accelerations; <br />d) Must consider the aggregate impact <br />on Minnesota taxpayers of previous <br />budget cuts and tax increases ; <br />e) Must reinstate estimates of <br />inflationary increases to expenditure <br />estimates; <br />f) Should continue to build at a <br />minimum, a five -percent budget <br />reserve and should establish state <br />budget stability as a state priority. <br />This includes prioritizing stability <br />ahead of sending back tax rebate <br />checks as was done in 2000; <br />Should modify the unallotment statute <br />to place a reasonable statutory limit <br />on the percentage and timing of the <br />state's budget that can be unallotted <br />during a biennium without legislative <br />approval; and <br />h) Must emphasize long-term budget <br />solutions and budget stability and the <br />continuation of state government <br />operations. <br />g) <br />The League of Minnesota Cities supports <br />the principle of representative democracy <br />and opposes limiting the Legislature's <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2015 City Policies Page 95 <br />