Agenda - Council - 01/14/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

City Administrator Ulrich continued to review the City's legislative platform. Representative Scott stated that she is on the Ways and Means Committee, which met the previous day to discuss the surplus. She explained that even though there is a surplus there is additional discussion needed to determine the actual amount that would be surplus as funds were taken from the reserves to balance the budget. Representative Heinrich stated that it was shocking to him to find out that the Ways and Means Committee just discovered this information the previous day. Representative Scott noted that inflation is not figured into the budget formula, which also has an impact on the surplus. She stated that while she would like to give the surplus back to taxpayers, it will need to be determined how much is actually there. She noted that another preference would be to complete projects with that cash rather than bonding. She stated that this will be a bonding year and anticipates a robust bonding bill. She hoped that progress could be made on HHS. She highlighted some other topics that could be an issue including facial recognition technology. Representative Heinrich stated that he is looking forward to learning more about the issues with DHS. He stated that fraud in the CCAP program have also been an issue. He noted that a lot of people use the program legitimately. He stated that Highway 10 continues to be a big issue on his radar. He noted that he is a member of the Committee, which will tour Duluth the following day to learn about their transportation needs. He stated that he is attempting to schedule a tour of the Highway 10 Gateway area in January. He recognized that Highway 10 continues to be an important project for this area and noted that he will continue to focus on funding in the next session. Mayor LeTourneau appreciated the efforts of Representative Scott on the Ways and Means Committee. Councilmember Musgrove stated that Minnesota is one state that taxes social security and asked if there is a way to influence that. Representative Scott acknowledged that Minnesota is one of only 13 states that taxes social security. She noted that if those taxes are eliminated that would leave a hole in the budget. She was unsure that there was an appetite for that with the current mix of the legislature. Representative Heinrich commented that the issue continues to gain momentum. Councilmember Riley stated that one of the issues for Ramsey is reform of the Metropolitan Council and asked if that will be a topic at the legislature. Representative Scott commented that while she is a believer in that reform, she is unsure that the issue is on the radar at this time. Representative Heinrich agreed that it is not a priority for the leadership in the House currently. City Council Work Session / December 10, 2019 Page 2 of 8