ST. PAUL, MN—Representative Tony Albright, R-Prior Lake, was elected by a unanimous voice vote to be the next Chair of the Legislative Commission on Metropolitan Government during Thursday's commission meeting in Saint Paul. Rep. Albright also serves as a member of the House Subcommittee on Metropolitan Council Accountability and Transparency.
The Legislative Commission on Metropolitan Government (LCMG) was established to oversee the Metropolitan Council's operating and capital budgets, work program, and capital investment program. The commission must monitor, review, and make recommendations to the Metropolitan Council and to the legislature for the following calendar year on tax rates, operating and capital budgets, debt increase requests, overall role and work of the Metropolitan Council, and more.
Rep. Albright issued the following statement regarding his election as chair of the LCMG:
"Communities in all parts of the seven-county Metro area are rightly concerned about the ever-growing size and scope of the Met Council's operations, and its trampling of local government authority," Albright said. "As chair of this commission, it's my hope we can continue to provide much-needed oversight and scrutiny to the Met Council's operations and budget and work with all stakeholders to rein in the Met Council's authority and put more power back in the hands of city and county officials, many of whom were directly elected by their constituents."
The next meeting of the LCMG will take place in January 2016.
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