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• AGENDA ITEM 4C <br />• <br />• <br />STAFF ORIGINATOR: <br />MEETING DATE: <br />TOPIC: <br />VOTE REQUIRED: <br />Linda Waite Smith, City Administrator <br />April 14, 2003 <br />Consider Adopting Resolution No. 03 -51 Calling on <br />the Minnesota Legislature to Preserve Local <br />Government Control <br />3/5 <br />BACKGROUND: <br />The Minnesota Legislature and the Governor are proposing to deal with a budget deficit <br />that exceeds four billion dollars. Many of the remedies under consideration would <br />impose on local governments limitations related to taxing authority, debt issuance and <br />employee salaries. At the same time, the State continues to require local governments to <br />comply with mandates that consume local resources. <br />The people elected by Lino Lakes to oversee local government are accountable to those <br />people. If they have the responsibility to make decisions for the city, they should have the <br />authority to carry out those decisions. Removing or restricting that authority invalidates <br />the democratic process. <br />Some recent business decisions of the Lino Lakes City Council will have to be reversed if <br />these restrictions are imposed. A prime example is the transition for funding capital <br />equipment purchases through a revolving fund rather than with debt. At the end of the <br />transition, the City would save $70,000 per year in interest payments. Proposals being <br />considered by the Legislature will require us to abandon that transition and will cost local <br />taxpayers more in the long run. <br />Resolution No. 03 -51 urges legislators and the governor to respect and maintain local <br />government control over decisions that most directly impact taxpayers at the local level. <br />OPTIONS: <br />1. Approve Resolution No. 03 -51. <br />2. Decline to approve Resolution No. 03 -51. <br />3. Return to staff for further review and/or action. <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />1. Option #1 <br />