Agenda Packets - 1999/08/23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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10. COUNCIL BUSINESS A. Senator Steve Novak Legislative Wrap Up. Senator Novak stated he appreciated the invitation to come before the Council. He stated he attempted to do this every year at the end of the Session, to provide a review of the Legislative Session, and to answer any questions the Council or anyone else might have regarding the results of the session in relation to state and local issues. Senator Novak reported that the state of the state is"pretty darn good."He added this comes from someone who has watched state budgets come and go for many years. He stated this was based upon the traditional barometers utilized to gauge the state's economy, the budget, the tax policy, and so forth. He stated that he does not know of a time that was better,and that this was part of a three-year trend in that direction. Senator Novak stated most Minnesotans, depending upon where they work, and how they receive their paychecks, had probably noticed a change in their withholding tables. He stated this reflects the permanent tax cut, which probably received less discussion than the rebate, however, has the more significant impact going forward over time,because it is permanent. He stated all three rates in the income tax system of the state were cut significantly, and the result of that is permanent tax relief. Senator Novak stated, within the next week to ten days, the question he had heard since last fall, regarding when the rebate check will arrive,will finally be answered. He stated this would happen sometime before the end of the month of August. He stated this was always the schedule of the rebate, although it had become somewhat confusing at times. He stated this matter is governed by the practical application of revenue department computers, than it is by any grand scheme or a particular campaign promise. He stated the rebate represents the same amount of money as the permanent tax cut,which is approximately 1.2 billion dollars. He stated the difference is significant in that the rebate is one-time money coming in, and one-time money going out in the form of a rebate. He stated this is the third rebate within the last three years. He stated the first two rebates were related to the property tax, and this rebate is related to sales and income tax tables. He stated it would be significant by anybody's measurement. He stated average rebates will be in the range of$700 to $1,500, depending upon the size of family, expenditures, and so forth. He stated some could be as low as$500 and some could be as high as $5,000,however, on average across the state, for a couple of million taxpayers it will be approximately $1,000. Senator Novak stated approximately 1.2 billion dollars in permanent expenditures has been made in the area of K-12 education funding. He stated the Mounds View School District 621,will benefit from this significantly, as will all school districts in the state on the(perfutifully?) formula which is the uniform payment by the state to school districts throughout Minnesota. He stated there were a variety of special factors in the formula, based upon the way school districts are constituted, and how their tax base is structured. He stated that Mounds View would also benefit from this. 14 C:\ADMIN\MINUTES\CC\8-9-99.CC