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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1970 0727 Council Resolutionr JUNE L. EMERTON 'Revised — March, 1967) i,, RESOLUTION ENDORSING AMENDMENT NO. 1 ON TAX EXEMPT PROPERTY WHEREAS, the Village of Lino Lakes is by law almost totally dependent on the pro- perty tax to finance municipal services; and WHEREAS, the Village Council is acutely aware of the burden which property taxes impose on property owners, particularly those individuals living on fixed incomes; and WHEREAS, the Village Council is con- cerned about the steady growth in tax- exempt property which serves to increase the burden of taxpaying property owners; and WHEREAS, the Village Council is not unmindful of the valuable services per- formed by many tax-exempt organizations, particularly religious and educational in- stitutions; and WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature has thoroughly. , this problem and expressed its..concern through the passage of Laws 1969c..92S^,! which proposes to amend Aricle -9, Section 1 of the Minne- sota Constitution to permit the Legislature to define orliinit the classes of exempt property, except churches, houses of wor- ship and property d solely for educa- tional purposes, 'but:,eluding businesses in direct competition with private busi- ness; and WHEREAS, the Vil : Council believes the proposed ante ent to be in the best interests o3 Village of Lino Lakes and the.;: as a whole, and represents a e means of meet- ing the need to more- ' uitably spread the burden of financing local government ser- vices while at the same time avoiding imposing undue financial hardship on edu- cational and religioustinstitutions; NOW THEREFOR it Bl T.. RESOLVED that the Village Council of i`„io Lakes endorses the principles of equitable tax policy and reform exemplified in Amendment No. 1 relating to tax-exempt property and urges its rattfteation Adopteti 5 d of July , 1970. /s/ Ralph M. L'Allier, Mayor STATE OF MINNESOTA County of Washington Duane A. Rasmussen, being duly sworn, on oath says: That he is, and during all the times herein stated has been, the publisher of the newspaper known as the Forest Lake Times, and has full knowledge of the facts hereinafter stated; that for two years prior to the publication therein of the Fgrest Lake Times hereinafter described, said newspaper was printed and published in the Village of Forest Lake in the County of Washington, State of Minnesota, on Thursday of each week; that during all said time said newspaper has been printed in the English language in newspaper format and in column and sheet form equivalent in printed space to at least 900 square inches; has been distributed at least once each week; has had at least 50 percent of its news columns devoted to news of local interest to the community which it purports to serve; has been circulated in and near the municipality which it purports to serve, and has had at least 500 copies regularly delivered to paying subscribers, and has had an average of at least 75 percent of its total circulation currently paid or no more than three months in arrears, and has had entry as second-class matter in the Forest Lake post office; has its known office of issue established in the Village of Forest Lake and in the County of Washington; has filed a copy of each issue immediately with the State Historical Society; has filed with the secretary of state prior to January 1 of each year an affidavit signed by the publisher or managing officer and sworn to before a notary public stating that the newspaper is a legal newspaper; and has complied with aIX of the foregoing conditions for at least two years last past; That the ..Fublic Notice hereto attached was cut from the columns of said newspaper, and was printed and published therein in the English language, once each week, for . . ... Jane successive weeks; that it was first so published on Thursday, the . . . 13th day of ...AP,gU t 19 70 , and thereafter on Thursday of each week to and including the . . ...1.3th ...day of ... AUgLtst 19 70 , and that the following is a printed copy of the lower case alphabet from A to Z, both inclusive, and is hereby acknowledged as being the size and kind of type used in the composition and publication of said notice, to -wit: 6-point News Type --abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz KANIVOtrigtialIffeMikalt Subscribed and sworn to before me this . ...1±1 day of ... August 19 7Q CA ROLE SERWA Notary Public, Washington County, Minn. My Commission Expires June 5, 1976 Notary Public, Washington County, Minn. My commission expires 19 /s/ June L. Emerton, Clerk -Treasurer (Published in the Forest Lake TIMES August 13, 1970.) Printers Affidavit of Publication County of Washington STATE OF MINNESOTA 0 0 1 e 0 15 2/leeage .duca Za‘ed Lino Lakes, Minnesota 55014 RESOLUTION ENDCRSING AMENDMENT N0. 1 ON TAX-EXEMPT PROPERTY TY WHEREAS, the Village of Lino Lakes is by law almost totally dependent on the property tax to finance municipal services; and `HEREAS, the Village Council is acutely aware of the burden which property taxes impose on property owners, particularly those individ- uals living on fixed incomes; and WHEREAS, the Village Council is concerned about the steady growth in tax-exempt property which serves to increase the burden of texpayirk. property owners; and WHEREAS, the Village Council is ict uiuiirjiful of the valuable services performed by many tax-exempt organizations, particularly religious and educational institutions; and WHEREAS, the Minnesota Le, isla Lure ':a = thoroughly studied this problem and expressed its concern through the passage of Laws 19690.925, which proposes to amend Article 9, Section 1 of the Minnesota Corati utioi- to permit the Legislature to define or limit the classes of exempt property, except churches, houses of wcrsip au', property used solely for educational purposes, but ::.rcludin ; businesses in direct competition with private 'business; rind WHEREAS, the Village Council believes the proposed amendment ;.o be in the best interests of the Village of Lino Lakes an4 the State as a v;ho1e, and represents a reasonable means of meeting the need to more equitably spread the burden of financing local government services while at the same time avoiding imposing undue financial hardship on educational and religious institutions; NON TREREFGRE BE IT flE;0LVE that the Village Council of Liao Lakes endorses the principles of equitable tax policy and reform exemplii'ied in Amendment No. 1 relating to tax-exempt property and urges its ratification. Adopted this 27th day of July, 1970. IM LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA MUNICIPALITIES 3300 University Avenue S.E. Minneapolis, Minn., 55414 Phone: Area 612/373-9992 July 15, 1970 To :Mayors Managers or Clerks. The erosion of tope property tax base throughout the state by the steady growth of tax-exempt property (as defined in the Minnesota Constitution) is a problem facing every municipal government in Minnesota. The state legislature, recognizing the need to limit and redefine some of tie categories of property now classified as tax --exempt, voted unanimously to place an amendment on the ballot in the November 3 election concerning this issue. Amendment j-1 to tie •iinnesota Constitution, Article IX, Section 1, if approved by toe voters, would allow the state legislature to make some sorely needed revisions in the definition of tax-exempt property. The enclosed fact sheet includes toe provision for tax-exempt property as it now stands in the Constitution, and the changes proposed by Amendment #1, Tihe League of Minnesota Municipalities favors passage bf the Amendment and is asKing every municipality in the state to pass a resolution of endorsement. A copy of a suggested resolution is enclosed. Because the passage of this Amendment could be of real help to your community in paving the way for more equitable distribution of the property tax burden and in halting the trend toward more and more tax-exempt property, we urge your immediate consideration of the resolution. Strong support of the Amend- ment by local communities throughout the state will encourage support by the voters on November 3. If toe resolution of endorsement is passed, will you please fill in the blanks on the enclosed news release and submit it to your local newspaper for publi- cation. By publicizing any positive action in behalf of Amendment #1, we hope to educate and inform toe public on the benefits of voting "yes." Will you please also send a copy of your resolution to this office so that we may shave a record of the number of municipalities taking action on this measure. Sincerely, Dean A. Lund Executive Secretary i:-.J : dma Encis. FACT SHEET ON LIEND Ili T NO. 1 AND THE MINNESOTA COMMITTEE ON TAX• -EXEMPT PROPERTY Amendment No. 1 is a proposal to amend the Minnesota Constitution, Article 9, Section 1, Providing for the Classes and Treatment of Property Exempt from Taxes. The state constitution now provides that: ...public burying grounds, public school houses, public hospitals, academies, colleges, universities, and all seminaries of learning, all churches, church property and houses of worship, institutions of purely public charity; and public property used exclusively for any public purpose, shall be exempt from taxation." Amendment No. 1 would add this sentence: 'The legislature may by law, define or limit the property exempt under this section, other than churches, houses of worship, and property solely used for educational purposes by academies, colleges, universities and seminaries of learning. The Amendment, therefore, will give the legislature the authority which it does not now have, to enact laws defining and limiting the property exempt under Article 9, Section 1, without changing the tax-exempt status of churches and houses of worship, or property used solely for educational purposes. The Amendment, itself, cannot change the status of any property that is presently tax-exempt. It will enable the legislature to make these changes by enacting laws. Some of the currently tax-exempt property which the legislature might consider for change if the Amendment is passed includes college and school -owned residences for teachers; residential property of clergymen, some of whom are without churches; camps and recreation grounds owned by durches and other non-profit groups some retirement and nursing homes; vacant land owned by institutions; and major private industry on land owned by the Metropolitan Airports Commission. The 1969 state legislature voted unanimously to place the Amendment on the ballot in the November 3, 1970 election, following lengthy hearings on tax-exempt property in 1968 by a legislative sub -committee. The Minnesota Committee on Tax -Exempt Property was organized as a non-profit corporation to inform Minnesota citizens on the extent of tax-exempt property in the state and its effect on government operations and finances, and to make the public aware of Amendment No. 1 and its providsions. The Committee's Board of Directors consists of: David K. Roe, co-chairman President, Minnesota AFL-CIO Wheelock Whitney, co-chairman Chief Executive Officer Dain, Kalman & Quail William R. Chapman, treasurer Chairman of the Board Midland National Bank Fact Sheet - 2 Thomas L. Anding Executive Director Upper Midwest Research and Development Council Frances J. Boyden Director League of Women Voters of Minnesota Gladys S. Brooks Alderman, City of Minneapolis Past President, Minnesota Council of Churches Earl W. Cravens President Greater Minneapolis Area Board of Realtors James Faber Director of Public Relations Minnesota Association of Commerce and Industry Ernest A, Lindstrom State Representative District 28A Dean A. Lund Executive Secretary League of Minnesota Municipalities Frances B. Paulu Director League of Women Voters of Minnesota Martin 0. Sabo State Representative District 42 Rita F. Shemesh Executive Secretary Voyageurs National Park Association Bayle Greenberg is executive secretary of the Committee. The Committee is seeking support fpr its activities from organizations which have an interest in introducing greater equity into the tax system. The Committee believes the issue of tax-exempt property to be of sufficient importance that voters should be thoroughly familiar with the topic and with the proposed Amendment concerning it. To overcome voter ignorance and apathy, the greatest opponents of any .amendment, the Committee will sponsor a state-wide educational and informational campaign preceding the November election. Distributed by: THE MINNESOTA COMMITTEE ON TAX-EXEMPT PROPERTY 3300 University Avenue S.E. Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414 Phone: (612) 321-1230 DRAFT RESOLUTION ENDORSING AMENIiI' EIi N 1 O1'' TAX-EXEMPT PROPERTY WLERiAS, thL t-y (Village) of is by law almost totally dependent on tie property tax to finance municipal services! and WHEREAS, the city (village) council is acutely aware of the burden which property taxes impose on property owners, particularly those individuals living on fixed incomes; and WriEREAS, the ey (village) council is concerned about the steady growth in tax-exempt property which serves to increase the burden of taxpaying property owners; and WIER AS, the LiLy (village) council is not unmindful of the valuable services performed by many tax-exempt organizations, particularly religious and educational institutions. and WiEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature has thoroughly studied this problem and expressed its concern through the passage of Laws 1969c.925, which proposes to amend Article 9 Section 1 of the Minnesota Constitution to permit the Legislature to define or limit the classes of exempt property, except churches, hous f worship and property used solely or educational pur- poses : tom.► l WHEREAS, the e4ty (village) council believes the pro amendment to be in the best interests of the city (village) and the state as a whole, and represents a reasonable means of meeting the need to more equitably spread the burden of financing local government services while at the same time avoiding imposing undue financial hardship on educational and religious institutions; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the e4+y (village) council of endorses the principles of equitable tax policy and reform exemplified in Amendment No. 1 relating to tax-exempt property and urges its ratification.