| For Immediate Release | For more information contact: |
| April 9, 2001 | Jeff Bakken (651-297-5600) |
ST. PAUL -- State Rep. Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan) assailed the Metropolitan Council at last Saturday's annual Tax Cut Rally on the steps of the State Capitol. Buesgens believes the unelected governing body's so-called "Smart Growth" initiatives are extremely anti-suburban and unfair to the taxpayers he represents in Scott County -- the fastest growing county in Minnesota according to recently released census data.
"In the past decade, the Met Council's operating revenue has soared to almost half a billion dollars per year," Buesgens said to the thousands of people who took part in the rally. "This isn't money they've printed, it's money they've taken from our pockets. But that's not all. The policies and programs that the Met Council is putting into place will ensure that our families bare tremendous burdens for years to come."
Once considered one of the most affordable metropolitan regions in the nation, the Twin Cities area has seen its affordability plummet over the past five years as land and home prices and the property tax burden placed on them have sky-rocketed. Buesgens attributes the "Smart Growth" policies pushed by the Met Council as the largest contributor to the problem.
"It doesn't take an economics wizard to figure out that policies geared towards restricting the amount of developable land, coupled with an increase in demand brought about by a population explosion in the second and third-ring Twin Cities suburbs, will result in substantial price increases," added Buesgens. "It's simple supply and demand. Remember, this is the same unelected, unaccountable governing body that wants to build expensive, government-subsidized trolley cars instead of building new roads or expanding existing ones. If you think traffic is a mess and that our taxes are way too high today, just wait until the smart growth agenda is fully enacted. The congestion and drain from our pocketbooks will be staggering."
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Over the years, through a combination of creative interpretations of its own powers and the willingness of DFL-controlled legislatures to increase it jurisdiction, the Metropolitan Council has become a powerful, unelected governing body. Under current law, elected local governments in the seven-county metropolitan area are required to prepare, adopt, and periodically review and update local comprehensive plans for development. These plans must then be submitted to the Met Council for review. If the Met Council disapproves of the local government's comprehensive plan, it can penalize the local government and order them to change the plan.
A bill to abolish the Met Council being carried by Buesgens is making its way through the Minnesota House of Representatives. It already has passed the House Subcommittee on the Metropolitan Council, which Buesgens serves as chairman. City councils throughout the metropolitan area, from Eagan to Prior Lake, strongly support Buesgens' legislation.
Buesgens represents District 35B, which includes Jordan, Shakopee, Prior Lake, and Jackson, Louisville, Sand Creek and Spring Lake Townships. Due to tremendous growth in Scott County, out of 134 districts in the state, District 35B is currently the fifth-largest. According to census data, the district has 48,270 people, 11,557 more than it will have after redistricting is completed prior to the 2002 Election.
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