Elbow Lake- Representative Jay McNamar announced a series of town hall meetings throughout District 12A, which includes all or part of Big Stone, Douglas, Grant, Pope, Stevens, Traverse, and Wilkin Counties. These meetings will take place on Friday, February 21, 2014, beginning with morning meetings in Elbow Lake and Breckenridge, MN; followed by afternoon meetings in Wheaton, Ortonville, and Morris, MN.
“My decision on any bill starts with what I’m hearing from people in my own community,” said Rep. McNamar. “It’s important to hear from area residents before the legislature starts up again on February 25th.”
During the legislative interim, Rep. McNamar has been busy preparing for a shorter than usual session. In the group of bills that were first to be submitted in 2014, McNamar had authored bills to repeal taxes on farm machinery repairs (HF 1893) and reduce sales tax costs for local units of government purchasing equipment (HF 1892). Rep. McNamar is also the lead author of a bi-partisan bill to create a grant program to construct greater Minnesota public infrastructure necessary for business development (HF 2059).
“I’m optimistic the budget forecast news at the end of February will be good. This session will give us an opportunity to use our state’s balanced budget to push for investments rural Minnesota communities have gone without for several years,” said McNamar. “We want to make sure we’re helping farmers and other businesses continue to thrive and invest in our towns, and make sure that we’re leveraging bonding dollars to get repairs and projects that our small town tax-payers can’t afford without state help.”
The budget forecast released in early December showed a budget surplus of $825 million after the $2.8 billion school shift was paid back. Lawmakers will base future budgeting off of the updated forecast due to be released on February 28.
“It’s very important to hear from my constituents. If you’re unable to attend a town hall, please take a minute to send me an email or drop a phone call," said McNamar. "Your input matters to me.”
Rep. McNamar can be contacted at rep.jay.mcnamar@house.mn or 651-296-4929 with any questions or concerns.
The locations and times of townhall meetings are listed below:
· Elbow Lake 8:00 am – 9:00 am
o Elbow Lake Community Building, Goetzinger Room
-
119 Central Avenue North, Elbow Lake, MN 56531
· Breckenridge 10:30 am – 11:30 am
o City Hall Council Chambers
o Breckenridge City Hall, 420 Nebraska Ave, Breckenridge, MN 56520
· Wheaton 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
o City Hall: Library Community Meeting Room
o City Hall, 104 9th St N, Wheaton MN 56296
· Ortonville 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
o Ortonville Public Library: Meeting center in basement
o Address: Ortonville Public Library, 412 NW 2nd St, Ortonville, MN 56278
· Morris 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
o Morris Senior Community Center: City Hall Council Chamber
o Address: 603 Oregon Ave, Morris, MN 56267