Title
Approving the City of Saint Paul's 2013 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; and
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 2013 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 rev...
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