Title
Approving the City of Saint Paul's 2012 Legislative Agenda.
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is a major center of commerce and business activity; and
WHEREAS, cities provide important public services including police, fire, public works, code enforcement, libraries, parks and recreation, housing and economic development, and city administration; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul, as the capital city, is the host community to a wealth of cultural, educational, and entertainment assets of statewide importance which contribute to our regional economic competitiveness; and
WHEREAS the City of Saint Paul continues to act with purpose to ensure that people in our region can live and work in a diverse, vibrant community with quality educational opportunities, safe streets and modern infrastructure;
WHEREAS, the Central Corridor light rail transit project and redevelopment of University Avenue marks an undertaking of statewide significance that must leverage private investment and provide support for existing businesses in order to maximize job creation; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is challenged to address the societal impacts related to the mortgage foreclosure crisis, academic achievement gap, employment disparities, and the concentration of poverty; and
WHEREAS, the breakdown in State and local government partnership is unfairly shifting the tax burden to the property taxpayers;
Now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the following items are the legislative agenda of the City of Saint Paul for the 2012 Minnesota legislative session:
REVENUE
• Advocate for improving the local government aid formula to restore previous cuts, reduce the year-to-year volatility of aid levels that cities receive, and reform the formula to consider inflation in the cost of providing city services as well as other factors that reflect current economic and tax base conditions.
• Oppose state-imposed levy limits and ensure maximum flexibility for local revenue options.
• Support strategies for a regional tax base including fiscal disparities and sales tax equalization.
• Advocate for City CIB authority extension.
• Advocate for fair and equitable distribution of new revenue as a result of the passage of the constitutional amendment to fund conservation, the environment, and the arts.
• Advocate for use extension of Legacy funds from two years to three years.
• Support the removal of sales tax on all city purchases, including materials for public works, public safety, and water distribution.
• Support continued clarification of online travel companies and local hotel occupancy taxes.
CAPITAL INVESTMENT
• Advocate for the following projects in the 2012 State Bonding Bill, including:
o Saint Paul Regional Ball Park -$27M
o Minnesota Children's Museum Expansion - $12M
o Como Park Transportation Improvements - $7M
o TPT Renovations - $9M
o Great River Passage Planning - $1.4M
o Flood Mitigation - $9M
• Support the following projects:
• Metropolitan Parks Capital Improvement Request
• Ramsey County / 35E Interchange Improvements
• Library Accessibility Improvement Grants through the MELSA System
• Infrastructure Development and Reconstruction / Former 3M Industrial Site - $5.1 million
• Reconstruction of a Failed Dockwall at Barge Terminal # 1 - $2.4 million
• Metropolitan State University Infrastructure Request
• Saint Paul College Infrastructure Request
• Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission request for planning dollars to design an Urban Regional Sports Center
• Minnesota Housing's request for additional housing programs
• Metro Cities' Inflow/Infiltration Program Request
• Metropolitan Council's Southwest Corridor Request
• Efforts by state agencies to fund Asian Carp mitigation and population control programs
TRANSPORTATION
• Support tax increment financing for Transit Oriented Development
• Support transit investments: Central Corridor; Union Depot; High Speed Rail; Gateway, I-94, Rush Line, Red Rock, Robert Street, and other East Metro transitways;
• Support MnDOT's efforts in continued maintenance funding and other additional resources to better meet the department's needs.
• Support funding for a statewide Complete Streets policy, requiring that all new and reconstructed streets accommodate all users of those streets, including motor vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles and people in wheelchairs.
• Support additional resources to continue to improve the transit network in the City of Saint Paul. Saint Paul encourages the Metropolitan Council to maintain much-needed bus service during and after the construction of Central Corridor.
• Support policies that emphasize connecting transit-dependent workers with employment centers.
• Support funding of a statewide effort to educate motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians about the rules of the road and best practices in order to increase safety and decrease crashes, injuries and fatalities.
• Support MnDOT's request for the authority to construct a MnPASS Express Lane on I-35E between 694 and Downtown Saint Paul.
EDUCATION & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
• Advocate for restoration of direct appropriations to the Saint Paul Youth Corps Program, and ensure fair administrative costs.
• Support the extension of the Building Jobs Coalition legislative package from the 2010 legislative session.
• Support recommendations made by the Mayors' Green Jobs Initiative that will create and expand green jobs in Saint Paul with the overarching objectives to espouse green manufacturing policies benefiting core cities and to achieve as much energy efficiency as possible.
• Support efforts to address the employment disparity gap by increasing funding for job search assistance, skills training, childcare, and related programs to help people find and retain employment.
• Support tax incentives for companies that hire and retain disadvantaged workers.
• Support permanent funding for the Power of You program.
• Support state funding for a statewide study of youth after-school transportation needs and programs.
• Support early learning initiatives as appropriate and as they complement programs administered in Saint Paul.
• Support Second Chance Coalition legislation reforming qualification requirements for EMS Academy and EMT applicants.
• Support legislation prohibiting discrimination for school lunch, including no child turned away, no child stigmatized, and no collection agencies for school lunch debt.
• Oppose changes to the Parent Aware Quality Rating Tool System that could negatively impact programs in Saint Paul.
PUBLIC SAFETY
• Support maintaining cities' abilities to affectively prosecute quality of life crimes and impose penalties for those crimes.
• Support permanent state funding for the Survivor Resources Program administered by the Saint Paul Police Department.
• Support data practices changes in conjunction with Saint Paul's Blueprint for Safety.
• Support appropriations changes to the Minnesota Fire Safety Account to fund critical services.
• Oppose legislation establishing a Minnesota Board of Residential Construction.
• Support efforts to formalize ambulance service repayment programs.
• Support inclusion of Saint Paul public safety services in the planning and design of a Statewide Emergency Operations Center, and use of the currents statewide plan for regional training centers.
• Support the establishment of a Disaster Contingency Fund.
• Oppose the Secure Communities Legislation that requires that requires proof of citizenship.
• Advocate for expansion of the definition of problem properties to address public nuisance properties through civil court proceedings.
• Support clarifying scrap metal legislation to protect victims of theft.
JOB CREATION & COMMUNITY STABILITY
• Advocate for stable statewide funding to address neighborhood recovery, housing preservation, and increased affordable housing supply as a direct result of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Support collaborations with Minnesota Housing Partnership, Minnesota Foreclosure Partners Council and others on priority housing issues, including:
o Restoring housing markets in communities impacted by foreclosures;
o Rehabilitating vacant and abandoned houses for economic recovery; and
o Providing a housing safety net for vulnerable homeowners.
• Support passage of local government tools to addressing housing and community challenges brought on by the mortgage foreclosure crisis.
• Support full funding of regional parks.
• Support land use and economic development incentives to benefit redevelopment and job creation at the Ford Plant site.
• Support state funding for operations and capital investment at UEL. Encourage the University of Minnesota to recognize UEL as part of the University's overall bioscience corridor.
• Support dedicated State funding for programs at the Department of Employment and Economic Development focusing on women and minority-owned businesses, redevelopment areas, and transit improvement areas.
• Support the removal of property tax exemptions for property of the Metropolitan Airport Commission surrounding the airport at Holman Field.
• Support UFCW efforts to create a fund for construction of grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods in urban and rural areas.
• Support modifications to liquor laws clarifying a city's ability to impose license restrictions.
• Support incentives, mandates and policies that increase solar and thermal production for public and private entities in conjunction with the Solar Energy Grant awarded to Saint Paul and Minneapolis by the U.S. Department of Energy.
• Support expansion of programs to provide low-cost financing to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes and buildings, particularly those in low- and moderate-income communities hit hard by the foreclosure/vacant housing crisis.
• Support programs to fund loans and grants to businesses along Central Corridor.
• Support efforts to ease restrictions and allow future growth of composting of organic material.
• Oppose elimination of the Solid Waste Management Tax.
• Monitor activities regarding governance of the Metropolitan Council.
• Monitor efforts to change current practices with regional watershed districts.
• Monitor legislation affecting Minnesota Critical Areas and its current rulemaking process.
• Support the Saint Paul Port Authority's New Market Tax Credit initiative.
• Support ongoing financial support for Alexander Ramsey House and similar landmarks in Saint Paul.
GENERAL MUNICIPAL ADVOCACY
• Support the 2012 legislative agendas of the League of Minnesota Cities, MetroCities, Ramsey County and the Saint Paul Public School District, except in cases of conflict.
• Support a state demonstration project in the City of Saint Paul as a precursor to ensuring that all children in the state have access to adequate health insurance.
• Support regional planning and governance that foster investments in core cities by utilizing current infrastructure and taking advantage of existing housing stock.
• Oppose constitutional amendments as a way to circumvent the legislative process.