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abatement authority should be <br />strengthened. The Legislature should: <br />a) Expand the abatement authority to <br />allow abatement revenues to be used <br />for economic development activities <br />such as workforce readiness and <br />assistance programs, and technology <br />infrastructure improvements; <br />b) Develop a state fund to facilitate state <br />participation in abatement projects; <br />c) Increase funding caps and duration <br />limits; and <br />d) Amend Minn. Stat. § 469.1813, subd. 5 <br />to create a streamlined notice and <br />hearing requirement for multi - <br />jurisdictional tax abatement projects. <br />LE -31. Workforce Housing <br />Issue: Job creation is one of the <br />fundamental goals of economic <br />development. When employers create new <br />jobs through expansion or relocation there <br />must be sufficient housing in the host <br />community for the new workers and their <br />families to live. In rural communities, a lack <br />of housing stock for new workers can <br />prevent a planned expansion or relocation, <br />hampering job growth and economic <br />development. The economics of building a <br />housing development in greater Minnesota <br />communities makes private development <br />difficult, and workers with higher paying <br />jobs do not qualify for traditional affordable <br />housing. This housing gap can bring <br />development and job growth in a community <br />to a halt. <br />In 2014, at the urging of cities through <br />Minnesota, the Legislature created a <br />workforce housing pilot program for three <br />cities in Roseau and Pennington Counties. In <br />2015 the Legislature passed League - <br />sponsored legislation that created the <br />workforce housing development program <br />(Minn. Stat. § 116J.549), and appropriated <br />$4 million to the Department of <br />Employment and Economic Development <br />(DEED) to administer the program. The <br />House and Senate omnibus tax bills both <br />contained a provision creating a workforce <br />housing TIF district, and the Senate omnibus <br />tax bill contained a workforce housing tax <br />credit provision. Neither provision became <br />law because the Legislature did not pass an <br />omnibus tax bill. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports additional tools for local <br />communities to develop workforce <br />housing: <br />a) The Legislature should create a <br />Workforce Housing TIF District that <br />is not constrained by traditional <br />income limits to be used by cities that <br />have low vacancy rates, anticipated or <br />current job growth, or a significant <br />portion of area employees who are <br />forced to commute a significant <br />distance to work; <br />b) DEED should solicit input from local <br />communities to ensure that the goals <br />of the Workforce Housing Grant <br />program are met, and DEED should <br />award funds to eligible projects as <br />quickly and efficiently as possible; <br />c) The Legislature should continue to <br />fund the Housing and Job Growth <br />Initiative to aid housing in support of <br />job growth, and amend Minn. Stat. § <br />462A.33 to eliminate or increase the <br />maximum income levels for <br />participation in the program; and <br />d) The Minnesota Housing Finance <br />Agency should make administrative <br />changes to the Housing Challenge <br />Grant program to streamline the <br />application process, reduce the per- <br />unit cost of constructing affordable <br />housing, and increase the construction <br />of affordable rental units at 80% of <br />median income and owner -occupied <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2016 City Policies Page 66 <br />