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14 <br />league of minnesocc-" �i ,les <br />May 17, 1984 <br />T0: Mayors, Managers, and Clerks <br />FROM: Peter Tritz and Don Slater <br />RE: Report of the LMC Local Government Aid Policy Task Force <br />The Procedure <br />Enclosed is a copy of the proposed policy statement on local government aid <br />which has been approved by the League's local government aid policy task <br />force. The LMC Board of Directors invites all city officials to submit <br />written comments on this proposed statement. The Board will also conduct a <br />hearing on this policy statement at the League's annual conference in Duluth. <br />The Board will then take action to approve, amend, or disapprove the statement <br />following that hearing. If it is approved, the League's Revenue Sources <br />legislative committee will then begin work to develop a formula embodying the <br />policy. Both the policy and the formula would then be presented for adoption <br />as formal League policy at the LMC Legislative Conference next January. <br />The Polic <br />The type of formula contemplated by this policy would differ from the current <br />formula in several ways: First, the policy proposes that population and/or <br />households should be a significant formula element. Second, the policy <br />proposes a floor or minimum distribution which all cities would receive, <br />unlike the current formula under which some cities would eventually receive no <br />aid. And third, the policy proposes to measure "need" by the city's <br />expenditures for a specified list of basic municipal services. By contrast, <br />the current formula's "need" measure is the sum of the city's current LGA plus <br />its levy limit. <br />There was considerable controversy within the task force on the issue of <br />"need," and how any measure of expenditures or revenues should fit into the <br />formula if at all. The task force ultimately concluded that the formula <br />should reflect a city's expenditures for "basic municipal services." Defining <br />which expenditures would count as a "basic municipal service" proved to be <br />very difficult, and involved extensive discussion. The list included in the <br />policy is a compromise between members who preferred a very narrow definition <br />of "basic municipal services, and those who argued for a more inclusive list. <br />-over- <br />1 E3 university avenue east. st. pau:. ^ ==_ecs =9 ! O'i (c" 2) 227.5600 <br />