I believe that county-wide support for a regional facility like the Central Library is not enough. I believe that we need a region-wide way of addressing and paying for items of regional significance. I also believe the State should pay for things of State significance. The problem is when it comes to crunch time, the Legislature bails, leaving the City to make something happen. And we have a narrowly-defined regional governance structure and because of this, we don't even think of having a regional government address these types of issues. Case in point, the Minneapolis Convention Center. A facility that gives business from around the State the ability to showcase and sell their goods on the national and international market. Clearly a state benefit. The discussion of having a national-level convention center was started by the State. Then the State refused to pay for it, pushing the cost off to Minneapolis. Minneapolis stepped up to the plate and made it happen. The result? A great facility important to the State and City economy. But when we talk about the debt load of Minneapolis, the biggest portion of that debt is the Convention Center. Other examples? The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (the most unknown property tax in the City). The Target Center and the Metrodome (food and liquor taxes used for the Metrodome for several years and pledged to the Target Center if needed). The Chain of Lakes and the other regional parks. (paid almost virtually all by your tax dollars). Etc. I support a City tax for funding the Library because I believe it is the only way of getting the job done. Over the long-term though, the two questions in my mind are 1) how do we engage the Legislature to take responsibility for things of State significance which are owned by other levels of government and 2) how do we fund things of regional significance without a regional source of funds and a narrowly defined regional government. Carol Becker Longfellow ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Minn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Multiple recipients of list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2000 7:53 AM Subject: Paying for the Library > Tim Bonham misses the point, and frankly, so did most Minneapolis voters. > > I'm very much a believer in central cities as cultural and destination > engines of a region. That's why I supported LRT. BUT>>>Minneapolis has a > shrinking percentage of tax base relative to the growth of the region,and > Minneapolis has a increasing proportion of local debt relative to local tax > base growth - primarily due to a high level of TIF. Minneapolis used to > always be a net contributor to Fiscal Disparities. Now, many suburbs are > net contributors, and Minneapolis occasionally a net recipient. > > As C/I and Apartment tax rates continue to get relief from the legislature, > and new projects downtown get disproportionate TIF relative to private > investment, the debt and tax burden of the city gets shifted to a smaller > and smaller number of taxpayers...i.e.: Mr. Bonham's house. > > Hey...pay for it...thank you.....but I'm still an urbanite at heart, and I > think Minneapolis SHOULD have demanded county-wide support for this > institution, and denied resource sharing unless they got it! > > Steve Minn > Minneapolis-deprived > ---------- > >From: Tim Bonham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: Multiple recipients of list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Subject: Re: Paying for the Library > >Date: Fri, Nov 10, 2000, 6:49 PM > > > > > > >>Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2000 17:18:59 -0600 > >>From: "Steve Minn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >>To: "Beem, Katy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > >>Subject: Paying for the Library > >> > >>...You have made my point...Non > >>Minneapolitans will use it, and not pay for it! > > > > You know, Steve, I think some of those Non-Minneapolitans also drive on our > > streets or swim in our lakes or play softball in our parks, all without > > paying for it! > > Gee, do ya think maybe we should set up tollbooth checkpoints at > > the borders of the city? Or maybe just accept this as one of the prices to > > pay for living in the big city & the economic heart of the state? > > If we want to get into all the myriad of ways in which the city > > residents/taxpayers subsidize suburban/rural areas, that's a whole new (& > > lengthy) discussion. > > > > Tim Bonham > > Longfellow Neighborhood > > >
