June 10, 2021 at 1:12 p.m.
Legislators appear before Cass Board to hear county's concerns
All will be new to their positions when the Legislature convenes Jan. 3.
Administrator Joshua Stevenson presented a list of Cass concerns on behalf of the county board.
As a part of transportation funding, the county would like to see state funding for paved bike trails and permission for counties to set local speed limits.
The county would like to see additional documentation by the state and county on any improved outcomes relative to costs for newer state mandated child protection requirements.
State county program aid has not benefitted counties equally under existing formulas. Cass supports Association of Minnesota County's proposed new formula.
Cass and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe support increasing the county share of state-collected sales taxes from tribal lands from the current 10 percent.
Cass believes the state should establish a reserve fund to pay court-ordered property tax refunds in cases where the state, not the county has set the property value.
Cass thinks a county's population should not matter if a county wants to take advantage of the Community Corrections Act.
Cass commissioners believe the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund should protect forest habitat and provide access to public land.
They also think the state should establish funds to assist local governments when they need to purchase replacement election equipment.
Leslie Harper, government affairs representative from Leech Lake Band, told the legislators the band values its cooperative working relationship with the county and supports the county's appeal for a larger share of state sales taxes collected from Leech Lake.
Association of Minnesota Counties Executive Director Julie Ring informed the legislators AMC's survey of all Minnesota counties showed three issues are most important.
One is AMC's proposed new plan to equalize state program aid to counties under a formula that would not be as volatile as the present one, she said. Currently, the amount each county receives can vary drastically from year to year, leaving it difficult to plan ahead, she said.
A second issue is the need for transportation funding for roads, bridges and transit, with regional differences in mode of transportation, ongoing funding and dedicated funds for roads and for transit.
The third top issue is to reduce the number of mentally ill people being held in county jails and provide for mental health services for more individuals.
Harper asked the legislators to consider the cost to local governments when they set new state-wide directives. She cited several existing state required programs where counties have had to assume the costs.
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