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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 2005-052RESOLUTION 2005-52 CITY OF PLYMOUTH 2005 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY ISSUES Local Control. The City of Plymouth believes that local control is the cornerstone of representative local government. We urge legislators to put decision-making on local issues in the hands of local officials. This leaves no question about who is responsible and increases accountability. We oppose legislation that erodes local control or creates mandates without a corresponding state appropriation or fiinding mechanism. Taxpayer Bill of Rights. State imposed limits on local government decision making, such as Minnesota's proposed Taxpayer Bill of Rights legislation, are inconsistent with local accountability and are rigid formula mechanisms that counter representative democracy and challenge local units of government to plan with financial confidence. Levy Limits. Levy limits should not be re-enacted. Local government officials should have the ability to make decisions on local taxation and service levels. Street Utility Fees. The City supports the Legislature allowing revenue options for cities, such as street utility fees, particularly if levy limits or other restrictive measures remain in place. Wine Sales in Grocery Stores. Eliminating the sale of alcohol to minors has been a top priority of the City of Plymouth for several years. The City conducts compliance checks and has adopted a Best Practices Program. The City of Plymouth opposes wine sales in grocery stores or other venues where currently prohibited. The limit on points of sale for alcohol aids in preventing youth access to alcohol. Emergency Preparedness. Additional measures have been identified as necessary for improved emergency preparedness at the state and local levels including training for local fire and law enforcement personnel, additional detection and decontamination capability, additional vaccinations/antidotes and protective equipment, and improved interagency communications. The Legislature should support and fiind these activities at both state and local levels to improve our readiness to meet emergency conditions that may arise from either natural disasters or terrorist attacks. CriMNet. The City of Plymouth urges continued support and fiinding of CriMNet, as well as improvements to enhance the integrity of the system. Firefighter Staffing. Shortage of paid -on-call and volunteer firefighters is a statewide issue. The City of Plymouth encourages the State to enact legislation to enhance recruitment and retention of paid -on-call and volunteer firefighters. Consideration could be given to providing tax credits and supplemental disability insurance. Affordable and Life Cycle Housing. Economic and demographic trends indicate that Minnesota's population is aging and workers need more affordable housing closer to where they work. The region's population age 65 and older will likely double from the year 2000 to 2020. Jobs in Plymouth are projected to increase approximately 27% during the same period. Housing is both a statewide and local issue. The City urges the Legislature to maintain and increase resources to the extent possible in order to encourage the development of affordable housing for both of these groups. Local property taxes should not be relied upon to fiind housing programs because this increases the cost of housing for those most in need and has regressive impacts. Surface Water Quality Plans. As mandated by the State, the City Council has adopted a surface water quality plan and committed significant local funds for implementation. Because lakes and watersheds often cross municipal boundaries, the City Council requests that the State maintain and increase funding or bonding, to the extent possible, for water quality improvements to enhance fiinding at the local level. Transportation Funding. The entire economy benefits from a sound and adequately fiinded transportation system. To adequately address growing congestion, this system must be multi- modal. Consequently, significantly greater resources are needed to provide high quality, efficient systems that include both transit and highways. The City encourages the Legislature to identify long-term fiinding sources with growth potential that will increase transportation fiinding to levels that will allow the building of high quality, efficient metropolitan and local transit and highway systems. In addition, local elected officials should continue to be included in MnDOT's decision-making process when state -aid roads and highways are planned in a city. The City supports preservation of opt -out transit status. Sales tax exemption on local government purchases. When the State was experiencing a budget shortfall in 1992, the Legislature repealed the sales tax exemption for local government purchases. Cities now pay state sales tax for purchases of items such as road maintenance equipment and building materials. Since the Legislature provided no additional state aids to offset the cost, this policy effectively increased local property taxes to finance state government operations. The City supports legislation to reinstate the sales tax exemption for all local government purchases. Controlled Substance Laws. The City supports increased penalties for manufacture and possession of methamphetamine. Local control of residential speed limits. State law currently controls speed limits on residential streets, with limited exception. Legislation is requested to allow more flexibility for local officials to establish speed limits for residential streets that do not have an impact on neighboring cities. Construction Delays by Utility Companies. The City has experienced significant project delays due to lack of timely response by utility companies in relocating utilities. Legislation is requested to require that if a utility company fails to relocate utilities in a timely manner and causes a delay in a constriction project, the City shall be held harmless. Zero Depth Pools. A provision in Minnesota Rule 4717.1850, Subp. 213(1) states that a zero depth pool may be allowed or used in Minnesota only if a lifeguard is present at the zero depth area at all times in the pool is in use. The City proposes that this be overridden to allow use by persons of 18 years or older without the requirement of a lifeguard. I-494 and I-169 Median Barriers. Over the past decade, the stretch of I-494 in Plymouth has been the site of more than 20 serious accidents in which 10 people died and 14 suffered life- threatening injuries. Of those, I I involved vehicles that crossed the median and crashed into oncoming traffic. This segment of roadway is not slated to be improved by the Minnesota Department of Transportation until 2014 or later. Similarly, Highway 169 from 26th Avenue to Bass Lake Road has many crossover incidents resulting in death and serious injury. That roadway has no planned improvements through 2030. To improve safety along the road, the City requests the installation of temporary cable median barriers. Highway and Street Projects Cost Rider. The City opposes the Highway and Street Projects Cost Rider (ICR) proposed by utility companies. This would add a line item for purported "government required relocations." The vast majority of utility relocations are done because the utility company wants to do the replacement while the streets are disrupted. The City's work rarely creates a situation that requires a utility line relocation. Combined MPCA and OEA. The City opposes the combination of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Office of Environmental Assistance into a new Department of Environmental Protection due to concerns that recycling issues may receive less emphasis and SCORE funding could be jeopardized or reallocated.