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Municipal Revenue & Taxation <br />1-H Market Value Homestead Exclusion Program <br />The Market Value Homestead Exclusion Program (MVHE) provides property tax relief <br />to qualifying homesteads, through reductions in property tax values, which shifts <br />property taxes within jurisdictions. The MVHE replaced a former Market Value <br />Homestead Credit Program, which provided credits on local government tax bills to <br />qualifying properties, with reimbursements provided by the state to local governments. <br />Metro Cities opposes restoration of the former Market Value Homestead Credit, as <br />reimbursements to local governments were inconsistent, and encourages elimination <br />of the exclusion program, as the program shifts taxes onto other property classes <br />and further complicates the property tax system. <br />1-1 Metropolitan Area Fiscal Disparities Program <br />The Metropolitan Area Fiscal Disparities Program, enacted in 1971, was created for the <br />purposes of: <br />• providing a way for local governments to share in the resources generated by the <br />growth of the metropolitan area without removing existing resources; <br />• promoting orderly development of the region by reducing the impact of fiscal <br />considerations on the location of business and infrastructure; <br />• establishing incentives for all parts of the area to work for the growth of the area as a <br />whole; <br />• helping communities at various stages of development; and <br />• encouraging protection of the environment by reducing the impact of fiscal <br />considerations to ensure protection of parks, open space and wetlands. <br />Metro Cities supports the Fiscal Disparities Program. Metro Cities opposes any <br />diversion from the fiscal disparities pool to fund specific programs or projects, as <br />this would contradict the purposes of the program. <br />Metro Cities recognizes that laws enacted in the 2013 legislative session to assist the <br />expansion for the Mall of America were not in accordance with Metro Cities' legislative <br />policy on fiscal disparities. This new law should not serve as a precedent for future <br />legislative action with respect to funding specific projects or programs out of the fiscal <br />disparities pool. <br />Legislation that would modify or impact the fiscal disparities program should only be <br />considered within a framework of comprehensive reform efforts of the state's property <br />tax, aids and credits system. Any proposed legislation that would modify or impact the <br />fiscal disparities program must be evaluated utilizing the criteria of fairness, equity, <br />stability, transparency and coherence in the treatment of cities and taxpayers across the <br />metropolitan region, and must continue to serve the program's intended purposes. <br />4 2016 Legislative Policies <br />