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Taxes likely topic at cities meeting in FF
Published 10:49am Tuesday, November 15, 2011Fergus Falls will be bustling with city leaders from all over the state from Wednesday through Friday when the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) holds its fall meeting at the Bigwood Event Center.
“It’s our meeting with the membership to kind of determine what our (legislative) strategies are,” said Bradley Peterson, lobbyist with the coalition.
The coalition, which is currently made up of 77 cities, is one of the largest advocates for non-metro Minnesota towns in the state. Local members include Fergus Falls, Perham, Elbow Lake, Wadena and Breckenridge. Though the coalition’s fall meeting is usually held in Alexandria, a scheduling conflict at the usual venue netted Fergus Falls the opportunity to host the event.
“Fergus Falls has been a great member of the coalition, and we wanted to come up that way,” said Peterson.
This year’s meeting looks to be a special one for CGMC. The group typically focuses on local government aid and property tax issues, and those will be up for discussion again.
“(One of) our basic goals … is going to be preventing any cuts to the LGA program in 2012,” Peterson noted.
However, in addition to defending cities’ allotments from the state, CGMC is planning to be proactive in encouraging economic development.
If the coalition members approve it, said Peterson, “We’re going to actually being discussing a proposal that we’re going to be taking to the Legislature in 2012.”
That proposal will likely be split into multiple pieces of legislation that promote infrastructure improvement, workforce readiness and other economic boosters.
Many of those ideas have received an advance look from Mayor Hal Leland and Economic Improvement Commission Director Harold Stanislawski, both of whom were part of an economic development work session with the CGMC in October.
“They took a careful look at economic development plans that could benefit rural Minnesota cities,” said Stanislawski. Though he did not wish to comment about specific plans until coalition members approve the measures, he added, “There isn’t a negative one in the bunch.”
Only time will tell if CGMC’s ideas will meet legislative success, Stanislawski said. While he approves of many of the propositions, he said a lack of funds at the state level might sink some of the ideas.
Leland, who serves as a CGMC committee member on boards related to economic development and property tax relief, is excited for the meeting’s possibilities. He is particularly keen on promoting the EB-5 regional center, a foreign investment zone Otter Tail County is part of, as a viable economic tool all around the state.
“We have to get every kind of economic incentive … for all of Minnesota, especially for the area right next to the Dakotas,” he said.
In addition to the Friday discussion and voting on CGMC’s proposals and goals for the 2012 legislative session, members will hear from different speakers throughout the three days, including former attorney general Mike Hatch. They will also tour the new community ice arena and the Regional Treatment Center on Thursday morning.
