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20 or more years ago. Often, staff and <br />record -keeping procedures have changed, <br />and TIF authorities find it difficult to <br />reconstruct the past in order to identify and <br />remedy these situations. Similarly, the OSA <br />claims the authority, based on the state's <br />records retention schedule, to audit TIF <br />districts for up to 10 years after <br />decertification, which requires cities to <br />expend staff resources to maintain files and <br />a working knowledge of old districts for an <br />unreasonable period of time. <br />Response: A reasonable timeframe within <br />which alleged violations are identified <br />should be established. The Legislature <br />should reasonably restrict the OSA's <br />ability to issue noncompliance notices to <br />the six -year period prior to the notice's <br />issuance date. The Legislature should also <br />require the OSA to conduct any audits on <br />decertified districts within one year of <br />decertification. <br />LE-30. 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 />and appropriated $4 million to the <br />Depaitment of Employment and Economic <br />Development (DEED) to administer the <br />program. Once grant awards from DEED <br />were made, prevailing wage requirements, <br />construction costs, and land prices have <br />shown to lessen the effectiveness of creating <br />more workforce housing units. It is <br />important to ensure the appropriate <br />resources and process exist for the <br />Depaitment of Labor and Industry (DLI) to <br />determine representative and accurate <br />prevailing wage amounts in different areas <br />across the state. <br />The 2017 Legislature approved funding for <br />the Workforce Housing Grant Program at $2 <br />million each year. The program was moved <br />from DEED to be administered by MN <br />Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) in Minn. <br />Stat. 469A.39 with a change in <br />qualifications that gives preference to cities <br />under 30,000 population (rather than 18,000 <br />previously). <br />The 2017 Legislature also approved a new <br />use of TIF authority for workforce housing <br />(Minn. Stat. § 469.174-176). In addition to <br />requirements under Minn. State. 469.175, <br />subd. 3, county and school boards must <br />approve the TIF plan before it is enacted and <br />the authority sunsets in 2027. These <br />additional requirements specific to <br />workforce housing TIF districts put <br />additional barriers on workforce housing <br />development and does not fully recognize <br />the role of cities as the typical lead <br />government entity on housing projects. <br />Minn. Stat. § 469.175, subd. 2, currently <br />requires cities to provide the county auditor <br />and clerk of the school board with the <br />proposed TIF plan and an estimate of the <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2018 City Policies Page 71 <br />