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Municipal Revenue & Taxation <br />Metro Cities opposes benefit improvements for active employees or retirees until the <br />financial health of the PERA General Plan and PERA Police and Fire Plan are <br />restored. <br />Metro Cities supports modifications to help align PERA contributions and costs, <br />and reduce the need for additional contribution increases, including a modification <br />of PERA eligibility guidelines to account for temporary, seasonal and part-time <br />employment situations, the use of pro -rated service credit and a comprehensive <br />review of exclusions to simplify eligibility guidelines. Further employer contribution <br />rate increases should be avoided until other cost alignment mechanisms are <br />considered. <br />1-Q State Program Revenue Sources <br />Metro Cities opposes any attempt by the state to finance programs of statewide <br />value and significance with local revenue sources such as municipal utilities or <br />property tax mechanisms. These local revenue sources are created to finance local <br />government services. Statewide programs, such as the Clean Water Legacy Act, serve <br />important state goals and objectives, and should be financed through traditional state <br />revenue sources such as the income or sales tax. <br />1-111 Post -Employment Benefits <br />Metro Cities supported enacted statutory changes that allow local governments to <br />establish trusts from which to fund post -employment health and life insurance <br />benefits for public employees, with participation by cities on a strictly voluntary <br />basis, in recognition that cities have differing local needs and circumstances. Cities <br />should also retain the ability to determine the level of post -employment benefits to be <br />provided to employees. <br />1-S Health Care Insurance Programs <br />Metro Cities supports legislative efforts to control health insurance costs, but <br />opposes actions that undermine local flexibility to manage rising insurance costs. <br />Metro Cities encourages a full examination of the rising costs of health care and the <br />impacts on city employers and employees. Metro Cities also supports a study of the <br />fiscal impacts to both cities and retirees of pooling retirees separately from active <br />employees. <br />1-T State Budget Stability <br />Metro Cities strongly supports a state revenue system that provides for stability, <br />flexibility and adequacy in the system, reduces the volatility of state revenues and <br />2016 Legislative Policies 7 <br />