01-22-2007 CC - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item No: 6A Meeting Date: 01/22/07 Type of Business: Special Order City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Kurt Ulrich, City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Discuss 2007 Legislative Agenda with Senator Betzold and Rep. Tillberry With the presence of our newly elected/re-elected legislators, Representative Tom Tillberry (D- 51B), and Senator Don Betzold (D - 51), it is suggested that the City Council take the opportunity to discuss legislation of local interest. With the new representatives to the State Legislature now in place, it is time for the City to consider what legislative issues it wishes to make a priority. Some legislative areas of particular interest to Mounds View include: • noise wall construction along the south side of U.S. Highway 10 Senate File 8 and House File 45 have been introduced and provide for a $400,000 allocation to provide funding for a noise wall along the south side of US Highway 10. • transportation funding, specifically funding to plan for the upgrading of I35W to lessen backup onto local streets The I35W Coalition will again be seeking funding to provide approximately $500,000 of planning money for a design concept study to be done for the stretch of I35W between I-694 and Lexington Avenue in Blaine. This study would set the stage for this stretch of roadway to be included in the Metropolitan’s Council’s 2030 Transportation Policy Plan. • Local Government Aid (LGA) formula. Mounds View would support changes that make this revenue source more stable and beneficial for fully-developed suburban communities that have a relatively low tax capacity. Attached is a position paper and data from the NMMA (North Metro Mayor’s Association) advocating for a formula change that would better correlate aids to “the ability of the City to pay. . . “ • Administrative offenses. New legislation is needed to provide clear authority for cities to enforce minor traffic and property issues at a local level without going through the County court system. Attached are supporting positions from the LMC, the Association of Metropolitan Communities (AMM), and the MN Chiefs of Police Association. A number of Ramsey County communities have also pledged support of this issue. Senator Betzold is researching the issue and is assisting the City in the legislation. Representative Tillberry has also been supportive. • Volunteer firefighter pension benefits. This legislation benefits recruitment for cities like Mounds View that use volunteer firefighters. Fire Chief Zikmund has been working with the State to try to get pension benefits that allow cities that utilize a large “volunteer” labor force to be more effective in attracting employees to the fire service.