Minutes - Council Work Session - 01/26/2021

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children back to school and to make sure that assessment tests are done to determine the learning loss that has occurred and create a plan to address that. She stated that she is also the lead for the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee which covers the financing of the judiciary branch and any civil law or data practice issue. She affirmed that her top priority will be getting children back to school for both educational and psychological reasons. She commented that she also believes that reforms to Chapter 12 are needed to ensure that the legislature can share in the decision making related to pandemics and other emergency situations. She stated that she has signed in support of the third lane for Highway 10 from Hanson to Round Lake. Senator Abeler commented that will be quite a session as the Governor proposed $1,900,000,000 in tax increases. He stated that he is the Chairman of the Human Services Reform and Finance Policy Committee along with the Licensing Committee and Aging Committee. He stated that it is tough to predict how the legislative session will go as communication with the Governor continues to be difficult. He stated that everyone is interested in working on the priorities of Ramsey and the communities they represent, providing an example of the sales tax exemption the City previously requested. He commented that it is his job to represent the communities that elected him and welcomed continued input. Councilmember Musgrove thanked everyone for attending. She asked if there was information available with the priorities of the City, as she did not notice those in the case. City Administrator Ulrich stated that would be included in the next packet when the formal legislative platform is reviewed as that would be based upon discussion tonight. Councilmember Musgrove commented that it is very important that the Governor’s powers be returned to the legislative body that represent the communities. She stated that residents and businesses continue to ask for that as people are struggling not just from COVID but from loss of business. She stated that Highway 10 funding continues to be a priority of Ramsey as well. Representative Scott thanked Councilmember Musgrove for reinforcing that message. She stated that the Statute never considered a pandemic such as this and was meant to address emergencies such as fire or tornado. She stated that something of this length was never considered and what has happened runs contrary to the intent of the government. She commented that about the second month of COVID, the powers should have been shifted from emergency based to management based and the legislative body should have been allowed to contribute to the decision making. She commented that section of the Statute needs to change but recognized that this Governor will be reluctant to make that change. She agreed that one person should not be making all the decisions. She commented that it has been a frustration for citizens, parents of school children, and business owners. She stated that the justification for the decisions made do not always seem to align with the data. Senator Abeler stated that the three representatives present tonight agree. He stated that he attempted to reach out to the Governor 13 times since July and only recently received a response. He encouraged the Governor to share the load as that is a lot of responsibility. He stated that the focus should be on nursing homes, hospitals and prisons and the remainder of organizations are well suited to make their own decisions such as schools. He noted that the County Boards could City Council Work Session / January 26, 2021 Page 2 of 9