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Municipal Revenue & Taxation <br />many cities in the provision of public services and increased reliance on the property tax. <br />Metro Cities supports greater access to other tax and revenue sources and the ability of cities to <br />impose a local option sales tax for public improvements without the need for special legislation. <br />Metro Cities supports current laws that provide for municipal franchise fee authority, <br />and opposes statutory changes such as reverse referendum requirements or other <br />constraints that would reduce local authority and flexibility for establishing, amending, <br />or renewing franchise fees and interfere with local public processes and goals for <br />establishing such fees. <br />Metro Cities supports increasing statutory investment alternatives for cities. Such <br />alternatives should balance the safeguarding of investment assets with a city's demonstrated <br />financial record. <br />Metro Cities supports having local sales tax referendums conducted at a general or <br />special election. The Legislature should recognize the equity considerations involved with <br />local sales taxes, and continue to provide aids to cities that have high needs, overburdens <br />and/or low fiscal capacity. <br />1-C Restrictions on Local Government Budgets <br />Metro Cities strongly opposes levy limits and other restrictions on local government <br />budgeting processes. Levy limits undermine local budgeting processes, planned <br />growth, and the relationship between locally elected officials and their residents by <br />allowing the state to decide the appropriate level of local taxation and services, <br />despite varying local conditions and circumstances. <br />Metro Cities also opposes the imposition of artificial mechanisms such as valuation <br />freezes, payroll freezes, reverse referenda, super majority requirements for levy, or <br />other limitations to the local government budget and taxing process. <br />1-D Budget and Financial Reporting Requirements <br />State laws require cities to prepare and submit or publish numerous budget and financial <br />reports. These requirements often add significant costs to cities, and many requirements often <br />result in duplication. Any additional reporting requirements should have a clearly defined <br />statement of public purpose and need not covered under existing reporting requirements <br />and balance the need for additional information with the costs of compiling and <br />submitting this information. <br />In light of numerous existing reporting requirements, Metro Cities supports reducing <br />the number of mandated requirements. Metro Cities supports efforts to consolidate <br />municipal government financial reporting requirements in the Office of the State <br />Auditor, including an electronic submission alternative to any remaining paper filing <br />requirements, and to authorize the use of web publication where newspaper publication <br />2018 Legislative Policies <br />2 <br />