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5-A Transportation Funding <br />Transportation <br />A comprehensive transportation system is a vital component in planning for and meeting <br />the physical, social and economic needs of our state and metropolitan region. Adequate <br />and stable sources of funding are necessary to ensure the development and maintenance <br />of a high quality, efficient and safe transportation system that meets these needs and that <br />will position the state and region to be economically competitive in the years ahead. <br />Under current transportation financing structures, transportation needs in the metropolitan <br />region continue to be inadequate and underfunded. Our transportation funding system <br />relies primarily on local property taxes and fees and the motor vehicle sales tax (MVST) <br />for transit. Automobiles are becoming more fuel efficient and MVST receipts continue to <br />lag behind projections, resulting in funding levels that continually fail to meet demand. <br />Transportation funding and planning must be a high priority for state, regional and local <br />policymakers so that the transportation system can sufficiently meet the needs of the <br />state's residents and businesses and its projected population growth. Funding and <br />planning for our regional and statewide systems must be coordinated at the federal, state, <br />regional and local levels to optimally achieve long term needs and goals. <br />In addition, cities lack adequate tools and state resources for the maintenance and <br />improvement of municipal systems, with resources restricted to property taxes and <br />special assessments. Cost participation requirements have overburdened city budgets. It is <br />imperative that alternative revenue generating authority be granted to municipalities and <br />state resources be made available for this purpose to relieve the burden on the property <br />tax system. <br />Metro Cities strongly supports stable and sufficient statewide transportation <br />funding and local tools to meet the long term transportation system needs of the <br />region and local municipal systems. <br />Metro Cities supports funding to assist cities over -burdened by cost participation <br />responsibilities imposed by improvement projects on the state's principal arterial <br />system and on the county state aid highway (CSAH) system. <br />Metro Cities supports state funding for state highway projects, including congestion <br />and safety improvements. Metro Cities also supports state financial assistance, as <br />well as innovations in design and construction, to offset the impacts of regional <br />transportation construction projects on businesses. <br />2016 Legislative Policies 49 <br />