Dear Friends,
Some updates from the past week in Saint Paul:
Tax Relief Signed
Over the weekend, Governor Dayton signed into law $20 million in tax relief for college students, teachers, and homeowners who are beginning to file their tax returns.
Thanks to what's known as "federal conformity," Minnesotans will now be able to take advantage of certain tax deductions available under federal law, and won't have to amend their tax returns later on in order to get them. The tax conformity bill passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate.
Disaster Relief Passes Unanimously
Yesterday the House unanimously passed a bill to provide $17 million in tax relief to 47 counties—including Hennepin and Anoka County—to cover disaster relief cleanup costs from severe flooding last summer.
The legislature has a strong tradition of coming together on a bipartisan basis to pass disaster relief, and I'm glad we were able to continue that tradition again yesterday. The bill is expected to be signed soon by Governor Dayton.
Met Council Column
I wanted to share with you a column I sent to one of our local papers that is set to appear in the coming week. It's about the Met Council and the expansive power it holds over cities in our community and across the Metro area. I welcome your input and feedback on it, and hope you'll contact me at rep.mark.uglem@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-5513 with any questions.
Additional oversight, restraint needed for Met Council
Rep. Mark Uglem, District 36A
Earlier this month, Governor Mark Dayton appointed a new, full-time chair of the Metropolitan Council. Adam Duininck, the new chairman, will make receive a taxpayer salary of $145,000, more than we pay the Governor of our entire state. Mr. Duininck's background is not in city planning, regional planning, or urban studies.
I'm disappointed that rather than choosing a non-partisan, widely-respected, and qualified individual to chair one of the most powerful government entities in the Metro area, Governor Dayton chose someone whose only qualification seems to be that he knew all the right people.
The Met Council wields tremendous power that impacts your life and has the power to dramatically shape the future of the seven-county Metro area. Initially created in the late 1960's to help manage regional sewer and wastewater systems, the Met Council has grown to become a powerful super-agency that is involved in transportation development, environmental policy, community planning, urban development, and more. They can now actually dictate to cities what type of housing they are allowed to build.
The Met Council's budget is more than $900 million and has the authority to levy taxes on the seven county Metro area. I'm concerned about the expansive growth and mission creep by the Met Council, which has decided over the past decade that rather than being limited to planning multi-county transit projects and sewer lines, it is their responsibility and within their authority to execute entire radical regional growth plans for the next thirty years.
Simply put, an unelected body made up of bureaucrats who are appointed by the Governor should not have the immense power the Met Council currently has. Cities and counties in the Metro area have expressed countless concerns about the mandates and requirements put on them by the Met Council that strain city budgets and place unreasonable and oftentimes unwanted expectations and requirements on them in exchange for funding.
As Mayor of Champlin, it was frustrated being dictated to when it came to housing policy, transportation policy, and growth plans for the coming decades.
Citizens have the power to elect your City Councilman, your County Commissioners, your Mayors, and other elected Representatives. Those are the people who should have the power to develop future policies for cities and towns across the Metro. They shouldn't be told what to do by an unelected, unaccountable entity like the Met Council.
That's why I am supporting a number of bills to bring additional accountability to the Met Council. One proposal requires a majority of City Councilmembers from a Met Council District to approve appointments for their Met Council representative. Other proposals have suggested direct elections of Met Council representatives. I also support requiring the Met Council to submit its budget to the legislature, the same way other agencies are required to.
It's time for a Met Council that's more responsive to the people, rather than to the whims of government bureaucrats. I hope Mr. Duininck will keep in mind his responsibility to represent people from all parts of the Metro area who represent a variety of viewpoints and a variety of visions for the future of the Metro area.
I also hope he will join a bipartisan coalition of legislators to support additional accountability for the Met Council. Citizens deserve a direct voice in this process, and a direct say in the policies being crafted by the Met Council. It's past time to reign in the power of this unelected, unaccountable super-agency, and give citizens the control and input they deserve.