CC PACKET 11221989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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November 8 , 1989 Page 3 The League board agreed with the trustees and established a separate account which would finance projects undertaken with the proceeds from the fee. A special committee representing the broad spectrum of the membership, was created to advise the board on what projects should be funded and to review proposed budgets. Based on this committee's work, the board approved funding for three projects. The projects are a property tax analysis project; an economic development information project; and a personnel information project. The project which has caused the most discussion is the property tax analysis project. Some cities have suggested that the League should not undertake this project because the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities already has developed a property tax model and the League project might be used against the interests of the cities who supported this research. In a meeting with representatives from some of the Coalition's cities, I pointed out that the League will establish an advisory committee to the property tax analysis project. I also indicated the committee would be appointed immediately so the project would be monitored by representatives from all interested cities as the work develops. The League board also discussed this issue extensively. The board concluded that there ought to be an objective, unbiased property tax research capability which belongs to all of Minnesota's cities. The board hopes that other groups of cities will benefit from the League capability and, perhaps, be able to diminish expenditures on independent systems. The other two projects also rely upon extensive data collection and should provide beneficial products to Minnesota cities. The economic development/tax increment project will seek to develop extensive information on various economic development and redevelopment tools, such as tax increment finance and the use of bond allocation authority. Tax increment financing has been the subject of extensive criticism by the Legislature for the past four legislative sessions. Sound information concerning TIF projects is needed to document cities proper use of TIF and to guard against further restrictions on this vital development tool. The personnel information system will collect and analyze information on municipal employment. It will provide an automated wages and benefits information database which is current throughout the year. This will assist cities in establishing appropriate compensation arrangements for municipal employees and serve .as a basis for research on municipal compensation. As we all know, current information and research is fundamental to influencing the legislative process. The budget for these "special projects" in their first year, which was supported by the proceeds of the LMCIT fee, was $387, 000. During the first full year of fee collection, the budget will be $554 , 000.