HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 2007-093CITY OF PLYMOUTH
RESOLUTION NO. 2007-093
REQUESTING COMPREHENSIVE ROAD
AND TRANSIT FUNDING IN 2007
WIffiREAS, all Minnesota communities benefit from a sound, efficient, and adequately
funded transportation system that offers diverse modes of travel; and
WIffiREAS, due to budget constraints, cities are increasingly deferring maintenance on
the over 39,000 lane miles under municipal jurisdiction of the 277,607 total lane miles in
Minnesota; and
WIffiREAS, local cost participation requirements for trunk highway and county projects
are onerous and are contributing to strains on city budgets; and
WIffiREAS, existing local funding mechanisms, such as Municipal State Aid (MSA),
property taxes, special assessments and bonding, have limited applications, leaving cities
unable to adequately address growing transportation needs; and
WI-IEREAS, the recently approved constitutional amendment that phases in dedication of
100 percent of the motor vehicle sales tax (MVST) for transportation purposes will
address only a fraction of the transportation fiunding needs in Minnesota, and total MVST
revenues are not meeting projections; and
WIffiREAS, transportation analysts in consultation with the Minnesota Department of
Transportation (MnDOT) estimate Minnesota will have to invest an additional $1.5
billion per year in transportation infrastructure for the next ten years in order to meet
identified needs; and
WIffiREAS, transportation infrastructure maintenance and improvement costs
significantly contribute to rising property taxes; and
WIffiREAS, lack of state fiunding has delayed regionally significant road constriction
and reconstruction projects across Minnesota; and
WI-IEREAS, Minnesota's transportation system is failing to meet the capacity needs
necessary to sustain population growth and promote economic development; and
WIffiREAS, congestion, inefficient transportation systems and lack of transportation
choices lead to greater dependence on foreign oil, increased environmental degradation,
and economic disadvantages for Minnesota's businesses and residents; and
WIffiREAS, many rural roads are not built to modern safety standards and are not
meeting the needs of industries that depend on the ability to transport heavy loads; and
WIffiREAS, current fiunding for roads and transit systems across all government levels in
Minnesota is inadequate, and this under -investment hinders Minnesota's progress as a
national business, economic, and civic leader.
Resolution No. 2007-093
Page 2
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA that this Council requests that in 2007 the
Minnesota Legislature pass a comprehensive transportation fiinding package that
permanently increases dedicated fiinding for transportation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Council requests that in 2007 Governor Tim
Pawlenty allow a comprehensive transportation fiinding package that permanently
increases dedicated fiinding for transportation that is passed by the Legislature to become
law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Council defines a comprehensive transportation
funding package as an initiative that permanently increases dedicated fiinding for state
and local road and transit systems in Greater Minnesota and the Metropolitan Area.
Adopted by the City Council on February 27, 2007.