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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 01-21-1997 SpecialMINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING JOINT MEETING WITH LEGISLATORS JANUARY 21, 1997 A special meeting of the Plymouth City Council was called to order by Mayor Tierney at 6:00 p.m. in the Public Safety Training Room, 3400 Plymouth Blvd., on January 30, 1997. COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Tierney; Councilmembers Wold, Johnson, Preus, Spigner Black, and Bildsoe. ABSENT: None. LEGISLATORS PRESENT: Representatives Stanek, Van Dellen, Abrams, and Leppik; Senators Olson and Limmer. STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Johnson, Assistant City Manager Lueckert, Community Development Director Hurlburt, Public Works Director Moore, Public Safety Director Gerdes, Finance Director Hahn, Assistant to Public Works Director Sweeney, and Deputy City Clerk Hoffinan. Tax Increment Financing Changes City Manager Johnson explained the recently adopted TwinWest Chamber of Commerce position supporting revisions to the Tax Increment Financing program. He said the City of Plymouth passed a resolution supporting the TwinWest position, providing that any revisions are not applied retroactively to the existing TIF districts. He said Plymouth agrees that changes to TIF are needed, but the laws and regulations in place at the time the existing districts were approved should remain in place until the districts expire. Representative Abrams discussed a proposal which he has authored. He said he would like to widen tax abatements, so that if TIF status is not granted to a project, a firm can go to the City and request tax abatements for up to ten years. He also explained his plan for setting up state approval of TIF status. He said he wanted to put some responsibility into the tax increment financing system and cut competition between cities for funds. He said this line of thought would be more controversial outside of the metropolitan area. Community Development Director Hurlburt asked whether the proposal would apply only to economic districts or redevelopment and housing districts as well. Representative Abrams said that issue is still open for debate, since those differ from economic districts in purpose. Councilmember Preus asked about other proposals for TIF money. Representative Abrams said the State Auditor is now involved in an effort to see how closely cities are in Special Council Meeting January 21, 1997 Page 2 compliance with TIF guidelines. He said compliance seems to be least in smaller cities without full time staff. City Manager Johnson asked about using a different qualifying criteria for small towns. Representative Abrams said it would be better to apply one standard statewide, because setting a different criteria for smaller towns only complicates things for those smaller communities on the edge of the larger metro areas. Councilmember Bildsoe asked about maintaining the tax exempt status of municipal bonds. He said it is important to keep that the tax exempt status in order for cities like Plymouth to remain competitive. Property Tax Reform City Manager Johnson explained that continuing uncertainty about property tax reform makes long range planning for both operating and capital needs more difficult. He said the City can support property tax reform under certain conditions. He said any property tax reform should address the imbalance in property taxes paid in the metro area, as a percentage of income, compared to greater Minnesota. Tax reform should be judged based upon total impact on Plymouth taxpayers, not just its impact on the City budget. He said cities and other jurisdictions need to have time to plan for changes in aid. Representative Van Dellen said he will re -introduce a modified tax reform bill. He said it is not an ambitious bill but would address commercial and industrial property taxes. He said the bill would address residential property tax as well, and attempt to reduce the share of burden on property taxes for homes, apartments, and commercial/industrial classifications. Transit Transit Coordinator Sweeney said it is likely that the Metropolitan Council will introduce legislation which will change the way transit taxes are calculated in the region. He said the present transit tax is determined by the frequency of the off-peak fixed route service provided in a city. He said the way the Plymouth system operates is that the City is taxed at the lowest rate. He said the Met Council proposal would change the basis of tax rate from frequency to hours of service, including Dial -a -Ride and other para -transit services operating in a city. This change from frequency to hours will likely mean a property tax increase of $300,000 over current tax levels. He explained the new off-peak circle routes within the city, and said the program is off to a slow start, but he is cautiously optimistic. He said the program is trying to cooperate with the Dial -a -Ride service, and the reverse commute program for commuters from other cities who work in Plymouth. He said a job fair is being planned for March, with participation by businesses in the City, in an effort to attract new ridership in the reverse commute bus program. Property Tax Treatment of Affordable Housing Special Council Meeting January 21, 1997 Page 3 Community Development Director Hurlburt said a revision of the state property tax system could affect how affordable housing is provided in the community such as Plymouth Towne Square for senior citizens, and the HRA program. Property tax reform that would increase property taxes on subsidized or other affordable rental housing would increase housing costs, reduce the amount of available affordable housing, and make it more difficult to develop additional affordable housing. She said she is concerned about the future of affordable housing in the suburbs. Metropolitan Livable Communities Act Community Development Director Hurlburt stated that the City has adopted housing goals that will require local, state, and federal resources in order to meet the Metropolitan Council's Livable Communities Act requirements. The amount of resources available does not meet the need. She said the City would support efforts underway to improve the allocation of MHFA funds. She said there are a number of categorical programs, but nothing flexible enough for local communities to customize to meet their local needs. Metropolitan Growth Strategies Community Development Director Hurlburt said Plymouth will be closely monitoring any changes that may be proposed to the Metropolitan Land Planning Act to implement the Metropolitan Council's growth strategy for the metro area. Implementation of the growth strategy will require cooperation between the Met Council and local governments. She said one concern is for adjustment of density levels to meet guidelines, and still satisfy environmental regulations, as well as providing funding for the increased demand for roads. Local Housing Preferences Community Development Director Hurlburt said the City has a policy that housing preference is given to people who work in Plymouth. She said that the Minnesota Department of Human Rights has made a determination that such housing preference for persons working in a community is a violation of the State human rights law. She said State legislation may be necessary to permit such preferences. She said the Plymouth HRA supports a preference for persons working in Plymouth, because it helps link jobs and affordable housing. Residential Speed Limits Public Safety Director Gerdes said that concerns about speeding in residential neighborhoods is one of the most consistent issues that Plymouth residents bring to the City Council. He said the City has tried various approaches to this problem, including additional stop signs, speed humps, increased enforcement, and public education. He said the City of Plymouth is interested in a reduction of the residential speed limit to 25 mph. He said that pattern driving will always be above the limit, so a lower limit will have impact. He said that zero tolerance in enforcement doesn't make a difference in pattern Special Council Meeting January 21, 1997 Page 4 driving. He said the City will be an active supporter of such legislation, and would gladly testify at any hearings. Community Notification Act Public Safety Director Gerdes said that the City of Plymouth is a strong supporter of the notification law. He outlined the three levels of the public notification process. He said some problems may develop, because public meetings are not permitted under notification guidelines for Level One and Level Two offenders. Councilmember Spigner stated that she was not pleased with the legislation. She said that Level Three offenders are not the ones who will cause recurring trouble in the community, but Levels One and Two, which won't get general notice in the community. She said she wants to see the open meeting notification cover not all sex offenders, but specific categories of sex offenders such as pedophiles, regardless of level. Senator Limmer said he served on the commission that wrote the law. He said the attempt was to head off continual court challenges. He said legislators proceeded cautiously. Councilmember Spigner said the unfortunate aspect is that the policy is interpreted by policy makers in different ways. She said the legislation should specifically talk about predatorial behavior. Representative Stanek said the Legislature took it slow in creating the law, under debate. He said he expects there will be changes. Strengthening DWI Laws Public Safety Director Gerdes said the City of Plymouth endorses any strengthening of the Minnesota's driving while intoxicated laws. Representative Stanek said his concerns about strengthening the laws relate to what additional financial impact might come to cities and to the State for enforcement. Public Safety Director Gerdes agreed there would be additional costs whenever there is an increase in offenders, but he encouraged more work in that direction, based on past success. He said he has had good responses from the judicial system on such efforts. Representative Leppik said that some states have made changes, with improved statistics as a result. She said the incidence of fewer alcohol-related accidents could be traced to the fact that aggressive prosecution made a difference. She said she is co-author of a bill to find several ways to reach the goal of improved driving statistics in addition to lower speed limits. Local Performance Aid Assistant Manager Lueckert explained that there are ill-defined ways to measure performance and eligibility for Local Performance Aid. She said there are no minimum standards for performance measurement systems. She said because each community is free to develop its own measurement system, comparing performance and the cost of Special Council Meeting January 21, 1997 Page 5 government among jurisdictions will be difficult at best. She said the city is not opposed to performance measurements, but is concerned about the lack of state-wide guidelines and the possible unintended consequences of linking measurements to state aid. Open Discussion Legislators discussed some of the committee work they will do during the session. Councilmembers offered to give testimony whenever appropriate. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Kurt Hoffman Deputy City C a