Agenda - Council Work Session - 02/27/2018

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General Government clustering, and supports enforcement of these rules by the appropriate county agencies. 2-1 Annexation Attempts have been made in recent years to reduce tensions between cities and townships around annexations. A Municipal Boundary Adjustment Task Force, whose work was published in 2009, worked to develop recommendations regarding best practices annexation training for city and township officials to better communicate and jointly plan potential annexations. While the task force could define the differences between cities and townships on the issue of annexation, no significant advancements were made in creating best practices. Metro Cities supports continued legislative efforts to develop recommendations regarding best practices annexation training for city and township officials to better communicate and jointly plan potential annexations. Further, Metro Cities supports substantive changes to the state's annexation laws that will lead to better land use planning, energy conservation, greater environmental protection, fairer tax bases, clarification of fee reimbursement and fewer conflicts between townships and cities. Metro Cities also supports technical annexation changes that have been agreed to by cities and townships. 2-J Statewide Funding Sources for Local Issues with Regional Impact Many issues including, but not limited to, the implementation of a metropolitan area groundwater monitoring network, emerald ash borer management and the cleanup of storm - water retention ponds, come with significant local costs, and have impacts that reach beyond municipal boundaries. Metro Cities supports the availability of statewide funding sources to address local issues that have regional or statewide significance or are caused by state or regional actions. Metro Cities opposes the requirement of enacting ordinances more restrictive than state law in exchange for access to these funds. 2-K Urban Forest Management Funding Urban forests are an essential part of city infrastructure. Dutch elm disease, oak wilt disease, drought, storms, and emerald ash borer threaten public investments in trees. The costs for controlling these issues can be greatly consequential for city budgets. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, through its Urban and Community Forestry program, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, through its Shade Tree and Invasive Species program, currently have regulatory authority to direct tree sanitation and control programs. Although these programs allow for addressing some tree disease, pest, and other problems, funding levels have been inadequate to meet the need of cities to build capacity for urban tree programs and respond to catastrophic problems. 2018 Legislative Policies 14