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Item No: 11B Meeting Date: Oct 22, 2012 Type of Business: Reports City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Administrator Report 1. MN ASAP Discussion Mounds View resident Bill Urbanski recently approached the City Council and requested that it consider adopting a resolution to urge our Minnesota congressional delegation and the President to “shift federal funding priorities from war and the interests of the few, to meeting the essential needs of us all.” The organization Mr. Urbanski represents, Minnesota Arms Spending Alternatives Project (MN ASAP), would like local groups, organizations, agencies, cities, etc., to adopt a resolution highlighting the costs of war and how much MN taxpayers have spent funding the war efforts. After listening to Mr. Urbanski’s presentation, the Council asked me to research some of the data and report back to them. The MN ASAP resolution relies on statistics from the National Priorities Project, a self- described nonprofit, nonpartisan federal budget research organization. I was unable to readily confirm or “fact-check” the data provided although I did not spend a great amount of time attempting to do so. It was clear from the beginning that I was not in a position to assess and analyze the Pentagon’s budget or levels of military spending associated with the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the Council members asked if the Council had a policy regarding taking stands on matters of the State or Nation. I indicated that while no policy exists to my knowledge, the City Council has a long-standing record of being apolitical—NOT taking a position on State and Federal matters unless there was a direct and tangible relationship to the City of Mounds View. Staff requests direction from the City Council regarding the MN ASAP resolution. Respectfully submitted, ________________________ James Ericson City Administrator