Ending the ballpark tax

Members of a House committee want to make sure the sales tax increase that helped to pay for the Minnesota Twins’ new ballpark doesn’t go on forever.

Nearly five years ago, the Legislature signed off on public funding for a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins. Construction of Target Field, as the new home for the Twins would eventually be called, was funded primarily through a 30-year, 0.15 percent sales tax increase in Hennepin County.

Rep. Ann Lenczewski (DFL-Bloomington) said some little-known provisions in the law could lead to that tax increase continuing on into perpetuity, unless the Legislature takes action. She sponsors HF502 that would modify the use of revenues from the sales tax, in her words, to “strengthen the protection of the taxpayers of Hennepin County.”

The House Government Operations and Elections Committee approved the bill Feb. 22 and sent it to the House Taxes Committee. There is no Senate companion.

The original legislation authorized establishment of a ballpark reserve fund, and allowed county officials to put some of the sales tax revenues toward public libraries and youth sports. The bill would cap the reserve fund at $20 million and repeal an annual increase of 1.5 percent in the amount of money to be used for the libraries and youth activities.

Without the changes, Lenczewski said county officials could theoretically game the system to pay for expensive upgrades or even build a whole new ballpark someday.

“When we all were voting on the Twins stadium, there was no contemplation that the people of Hennepin County should possibly continue to do all the upgrades or even replace the stadium over time,” she said.

Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin said the legislation isn’t needed. He argued the stadium was a good deal for taxpayers, and that the county had managed the sales tax revenues prudently. As evidence, he cited the county’s early repayment of some of the stadium bonds.

“We don’t think the state should be micromanaging this process. We think we’ve been good stewards of the taxpayers’ funds,” McLaughlin said.