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Minnesota Senate Tax Committee Chairman Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, has appointed five Minnesotans to a Local Government Aid Study Group that was created under the 2008 Tax Bill. The group of elected officials and public citizens are charged with analyzing the current LGA formula, assessing disparities in funding, and ultimately developing recommendations to the Legislature.
“State aid to Minnesota local governments has been cut by $2.3 billion from 2002 to 2008. Over the same period, Minnesotans’ property taxes have increased by $2.7 billion,” Sen. Bakk said. “The Legislature created this study group to analyze the role of LGA and determine how to strengthen the state-local partnership moving forward.”
The 2008 Tax Bill, House File 3149, authorized the Minnesota Legislature to create an LGA study group, “to examine the current system of aids to local governments and make recommendations on improvements to the system.” Governor Pawlenty has been unwilling to support the Legislature’s aim to preserve state aid to local governments in order to keep property taxes down, so the Legislature created the study group to ensure the future of LGA and property tax issues would be addressed.
The Senate appointed the following members to the LGA Study Group:
Co-chair: Senator Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook
Senator Linda Scheid, DFL-Brooklyn Park
Senator David Senjem, R-Rochester
Mayor Bruce Ahlgren, Cloquet
Joel Young, Chatfield City Clerk
Steve Peterson, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities
They will join six members appointed by the House of Representatives last week. They are:
Representative Paul Marquart, DFL-Dillworth
Representative Diane Loeffler, DFL-Minneapolis
Representative Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington
Councilwoman Betsy Hodges, Minneapolis
Anne Norris, Crystal City Manager
Rachel Walker, League of Minnesota Cities
“We are relying on a wide range of state and local elected officials, city staff, as well as other Minnesota citizens with expertise in this area,” Sen. Bakk said. “Our hope when we created this group was that by including people with such a wide range of experiences, they would generate diverse opinions and develop a comprehensive, responsible plan to move Minnesota forward.”
The group will consider disparities in the distribution of LGA, an analysis of the formula used to calculate aid for cities, and volatility in LGA distribution. The group must report on its specific recommendations to the Legislature by December 15, 2010.
Minnesota Senate Tax Committee Chairman Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, has appointed five Minnesotans to a Local Government Aid Study Group that was created under the 2008 Tax Bill. The group of elected officials and public citizens are charged with analyzing the current LGA formula, assessing disparities in funding, and ultimately developing recommendations to the Legislature.
“State aid to Minnesota local governments has been cut by $2.3 billion from 2002 to 2008. Over the same period, Minnesotans’ property taxes have increased by $2.7 billion,” Sen. Bakk said. “The Legislature created this study group to analyze the role of LGA and determine how to strengthen the state-local partnership moving forward.”
The 2008 Tax Bill, House File 3149, authorized the Minnesota Legislature to create an LGA study group, “to examine the current system of aids to local governments and make recommendations on improvements to the system.” Governor Pawlenty has been unwilling to support the Legislature’s aim to preserve state aid to local governments in order to keep property taxes down, so the Legislature created the study group to ensure the future of LGA and property tax issues would be addressed.
The Senate appointed the following members to the LGA Study Group:
Co-chair: Senator Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook
Senator Linda Scheid, DFL-Brooklyn Park
Senator David Senjem, R-Rochester
Mayor Bruce Ahlgren, Cloquet
Joel Young, Chatfield City Clerk
Steve Peterson, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities
They will join six members appointed by the House of Representatives last week. They are:
Representative Paul Marquart, DFL-Dillworth
Representative Diane Loeffler, DFL-Minneapolis
Representative Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington
Councilwoman Betsy Hodges, Minneapolis
Anne Norris, Crystal City Manager
Rachel Walker, League of Minnesota Cities
“We are relying on a wide range of state and local elected officials, city staff, as well as other Minnesota citizens with expertise in this area,” Sen. Bakk said. “Our hope when we created this group was that by including people with such a wide range of experiences, they would generate diverse opinions and develop a comprehensive, responsible plan to move Minnesota forward.”
The group will consider disparities in the distribution of LGA, an analysis of the formula used to calculate aid for cities, and volatility in LGA distribution. The group must report on its specific recommendations to the Legislature by December 15, 2010.
