Agenda - Council Work Session - 02/27/2018

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sufficiently increased in recent years. In many instances, cities participate in the funding of these programs and with the statutory limit on the amount school districts can levy, the increased cost of these programs is increasingly falling on cities and their property taxpayers. In areas where the school district is significantly larger than the city, the burden of funding these programs is falling disproportionately on city taxpayers while the programs benefit the entire school district. Response: The League of Minnesota Cities supports a statutory increase in the community education revenue authorization for school districts. Increasing the amount of the community service revenue available to school districts would provide a steady source of revenue, which would be assessed against all properties in the school district, not just against properties in the city. FF-34. Street Reconstruction Bond Approval Issue: Under Minnesota law, financing the maintenance of streets can be a challenge for city councils. Minn. Stat. § 475.58 subd. 3b, authorizes a city council, by two-thirds vote, to approve the issuance of bonds to finance street reconstruction or bituminous overlays without voter approval. The two-thirds council approval requirement is further subject to a reverse referendum process whereby a number equal to five percent of those voting in the last municipal general election can petition for a referendum to approve the issuance of the bonds. Response: Street maintenance is one of the essential functions of cities in Minnesota. The laws governing issuance of bonds to maintain streets should be amended to allow the approval of the bonds by a simple majority of the council. The existing reverse referendum process assures that taxpayers could trigger a referendum on the issuance of bonds if they can meet the five percent petition threshold. League of Minnesota Cities 2018 City Policies Page 122