By Sara Quam
Luverne city officials urged the state legislators not to cut Local Government Aid last week and persuaded representatives to support border city legislation.
LGA, state aid to Minnesota cities, is a particular sore spot for Luverne officials, so they attended a meeting Wednesday, Jan. 10, as a part of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities.
Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is revealing his budget proposal later in the month, and it's expected he'll propose cuts to LGA and Homestead and Agricultural Credit Aid, which are vital funding to the city's budget.
"Nobody really knows what the plan is," said Luverne Mayor Glen Gust of Ventura's upcoming proposal.
LGA is a state system that supplements cities that don't have property tax bases sufficient enough to meet the needs of their citizens for basic services. Without the aid, cities must rely on local property taxes to provide those services.
The Coalition estimates that without LGA, Luverne's property taxes on a $100,000 home will increase from $1,308 to $2,031 in order to sustain city services.
Gust said he doesn't expect drastic changes in the government aid system quite yet, but Ventura's ideas may take hold more in future legislative sessions.
The CGMC has taken the stand that removing or reducing state aid to cities would severely hurt greater Minnesota. However it won't issue a formal opinion on Ventura's budget proposal until it is released.
Border city legislation
In a more proactive measure, Gust, City Administrator Matt Hylen and Councilmen Tom Martius and Keith Erickson also visited with area representatives to gather support for border city legislation.
"I left there feeling good," Gust said. "I think we had a better chance last year; however, I think with persistence, we can do it. I don't want to get everyone's hopes up, but we want to keep it on the front burner."
Gust said the biggest concern for the legislation is that key committee chairs are from the metro area and may not understand problems facing a city like Luverne.
Hylen said the legislation will be introduced soon and has the support of Rep. Richard Mulder and Sen. Arlene Lesewski. The biggest pitch Luverne can offer is the study that showed it's suffering from the competition across the border in South Dakota.
Dilworth, Moorhead, Breckenridge, Moorhead and East Grand Forks are all Minnesota cities that have benefited from similar legislation. Luverne would ask for sales tax breaks for new and expanding businesses.
Luverne is unique because unlike the other border cities, more than a river separates it from its major competition. Luverne is nearly 30 miles from Sioux Falls and still feels the damage.