(C) Minnesota Reformer
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Gov. Walz to consider increasing local government aid after stern criticism from lobbying group [1]
['Michelle Griffith', 'More From Author', '- January']
Date: 2023-01
Gov. Tim Walz told a roomful of mayors and city officials Wednesday that he’s open to giving more state money to local governments. His comments came the day after the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities lambasted his budget for being stingy with local government aid.
On Tuesday, Walz’s 2024-25 budget proposal and suggestions for using the state’s $17.6 billion budget surplus included a $30 million bump to the state’s local government aid program. The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities advocated for a $150 million increase — five times more than what Walz proposed.
The state aid helps cities keep property taxes low because they can use the funds for public safety, infrastructure, housing and economic development, among other initiatives. Over 90% of cities in Minnesota receive aid through the program, according to the coalition.
Minnesota has sent out over $564 million in local government aid during the current two-year budget, according to the Department of Revenue.
The $30 million increase — or 5.3% despite near double digit inflation in recent years — was surprising and disappointing, said Bradley Peterson, executive director the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities.
“Given the size of the surplus, it seemed disproportional to both what we needed and what we were expecting from it,” Peterson said.
The state hasn’t made a large investment into the local government aid program since 2013, Peterson said, adding the allocations haven’t been in line with inflation so cities haven’t received the support they need.
Walz at the downtown St. Paul Radisson hotel Wednesday told the assembled city leaders who are part of the coalition that his rebate checks, child tax credits and tax cuts on Social Security benefits also help their cities. Walz, who extolled the value of the program as far back as his 2018 campaign, told the outstate officials he’d consider going higher than $30 million.
“I get it — that the frustration coming from all of you is because you know that those are dollars that will improve the lives of your citizens and it’s a fair way to do it. So I hear you on that,” Walz said.
Walz said the criticism from the coalition affected him because he had many friends and role models in the group.
“Let’s go back and … get a number that’s closer and then deliver for the people of Minnesota,” Walz said.
Local government aid is distributed to cities based on factors like the age of a city’s infrastructure, the number of visitors it receives day-to-day and its population.
After Walz spoke to the crowd, legislative leaders — including House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park —also said they are open to increasing the state’s local government aid allocation, but didn’t cite a specific number.
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