I want to take this opportunity to congratulate city and county officials for finalizing the new law enforcement contract. The new contract is not perfect. For example, the city still will turn its share of municipal monies over to the county, which is contrary to the provisions of state law. Both sides made concessions and a new contract is the result. The City Administrator and the gentlemen I served with on the council deserve a special thanks from citizens for their courage and determination at staying the course and saving city taxpayers $500,000 in the next five years. It’s time to eliminate the "Special Assessment for Landfill," which the county continues to include on your property tax bill. Here’s the facts:oThe Special Assessment was established years ago to provide monies for closing the old dump. oThe county has continued the Special Assessment long after the funds were needed. oToday, the $210,000 collected annually from the Special Assessment are used for other county purposes in violation of the law. oCity of Luverne taxpayers pay more than 60 percent of the Special Assessment fees even though they represent only 19 percent of the property value in the county. oThe Special Assessment does not apply to vacant land. Call your city council members and demand that they take action to call on the county to end this "Special Assessment."David HaugeLuverne