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By making preemptive contact with targeted <br />patient groups in their homes, firefighter <br />Community EMTs can drastically reduce <br />their need to access the EMS system in an <br />emergency call. <br />Response: In 2011, Minnesota became a <br />pioneer in community medicine when the <br />Legislature authorized the creation of <br />Community Paramedics. This legislation <br />should be expanded with the creation of a <br />Community EMT standard which will <br />allow fire departments around the state to <br />partner with health care systems to <br />become incorporated into the patient's <br />treatment plan via home visits in order to <br />ensure the patient is following their <br />doctor's orders and has their required <br />medication, obtain vital signs, and even <br />conduct home safety audits for elderly <br />patients. <br />SD-14. Fees for Service <br />Issue: While general services —such as <br />permitting, inspections or enforcement —are <br />typically funded out of a city's general fund, <br />cities often impose fees to cover the cost of <br />providing certain services, permits, and <br />licenses. <br />The Legislature and interest groups often <br />seek to mandate or preserve fee limitations <br />for city services. Over the last several years, <br />the Legislature has enacted a number of new <br />laws designed to rigorously control local <br />fee -setting authority. Examples of such <br />mandates include placing limits on coin - <br />operated amusement machine license fees, <br />on -sale and off -sale liquor license fees, <br />license fees for retailers selling fireworks, <br />deputy registrar fees and planning and <br />zoning fees. The state also requires cities <br />that collect more than $5,000 in <br />development -related fees each year to <br />annually report all construction and <br />development fees to the Department of <br />Labor and Industry. <br />Response: While the state has a role in <br />providing a general, statewide funding <br />policy, the state should not interfere in the <br />decision -making functions performed by <br />cities when setting city budgets to provide <br />city services. The League of Minnesota <br />Cities seeks authority for cities to charge <br />fees that are reasonably related to the cost <br />of providing the service, permit or license. <br />The League opposes legislation that <br />would require specific methods to pay for <br />city services or would place caps on city <br />fees. <br />SD-15. Improving and Increasing <br />Citizen Access to Information <br />Issue: State law requires that cities publish <br />certain types of information in a "qualified" <br />newspaper designated by the city. While the <br />requirements vary based on city population <br />size, most cities must publish: ordinances <br />before they can take effect; advertisements <br />for bids; various financial reports; meeting <br />and hearing notices; notices of elections; <br />dates for filing affidavits of candidacy; and <br />sample ballots. Collectively, these items are <br />referred to as "official notices," legal <br />notices" and "public notices" in state statute. <br />There are several requirements in statute for <br />a newspaper to be a "qualified" or "official" <br />newspaper for the city. For instance, there <br />can only be one newspaper chosen for the <br />city; it must be printed in English in a <br />newspaper format; if it is a daily newspaper, <br />it must be distributed at least five days each <br />week; if not a daily paper, it may be <br />distributed twice a month with respect to the <br />publishing of government public notices; it <br />must be circulated in the city which it <br />purports to serve, and either have at least <br />400 copies regularly delivered to paying <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2015 City Policies Page 9 <br />