Agenda - Council - 05/27/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1. Voting equipment ttome rule charter cities should retain the option of setting their own election date. A municipal primary election should be optional as it is presently. All direct costs of state-mandated changes and additions to present city election duties should be paid by the state. PUBLIC HEALTH Fire personnel standards Fire s~Jp,?ression has tradJ~ior~ally.been a unique- ly local function in Minnesota. Not only are fire- fighting problems vastly different from one com- munity to another, but well over ninety percent of Minnesota communities rely primarily on volun- teer firefighters for fire suppression. Because local governing bodies are best equipped to determine the nature of local fire risks, the level of local fire prevention efforts and the practical availability of firefighting personnel, and because power to conduct training on a multi-municipal basis, under the joint powers act, exists and is being used, the League believes that the following principles should govern any state or federal efforts to im- prove firefighting capabilities. No governmentally established mandatory or suggested physical, physiological, educa- tional, or compensation standards for re- ' cruitment or continued employment for firefighters should be created except at the level of the entity actually employing fire- fighting personnel. If any state or federal attempts are made to upgrade the quality, skills and ability of firefighting personnel in Minnesota, they should be effectuated by increased finan- cial assistance to provide improved pro- grams, or by direct employment of special- ized personnel at the state or federal level with such personnel made available to as- sist local units of government. Issues in law enforcement personnel The state government has been involved in police training for a number of years during which a strategy has emerged directed at homogenizing law enforcement in the state without regard to the markedly different circumstances and social The League supports present law which allows a city the option of selecting which state-appro- ved equipment it determines will best suit its needs, based on local factors, and opposes any state-mandated system of voting equipment. The League also supports amending state law to allow use of punched cards for absentee ballots. AND SAFETY environments which exist in Minnesota. At the 1978 legislative session this trend culminated in a uniform state, licensing requqrernent which was unprecedented within the United States, which mandated minimum standards for recruitment, training and conduct, and which significantly impinged on the prerogatives of local government. Some steps were taken at the 1979 session to ame- liorate the impact of state licensing by permitting employment of a lesser trained class of police employees in certain cities. Even with the 1979 improvements, however, all cities face substantial increased costs for recruitment of law enforce- ment personnel from a substantially diminished pool of potential applicants, and many small cities are faced with total absence of any continuous law enforcement presence. A major effort should be made by cities, the legislature and other concerned parties to develop a rational response to a complex situtation, with the League initiating action wherever appropriate. In developing legislation, the following guidelines are recommended: Since cities increasingly employ specialized law enforcement personnel, including part- time officers, reserv]sts and paraprofes- sionals, they should clearly have the auth- ority to establish their own standards for such personnel who are not authorized to carry firearms except' in emergencies. There should be consideration of the fin- ancial impact of any state rules and regula- tions on the cost of law enforcement to cities. For example, uniform minimum recruitment standards may lead to mini- mum wages. Mandatory citizen complaint processing procedures on police officer conduct and behavior may dictate extra cost to produce manuals and train per- sonnel in their use. The state should subsi- dize any such extra costs. -17-