minnesota’s municipal transportation system governor’s transportation advisory committee...

Minnesota’s Municipal Transportation System

Governor’s Transportation Advisory CommitteeSeptember 14, 2012Anne Finn, LMC Transportation Lobbyist

About the League of MN Cities

The League serves 832 of Minnesota’s 853 cities through advocacy, education and training, policy development, risk management, and other services

The League also operates an insurance trust for cities

About Minnesota’s 853 Cities

352 cities have a population < 500 500 cities have a population <

1,000 139 are in the seven-county

metropolitan area Of the 714 cities in greater MN,

only 36 have a population > 10,000

Bottom line: Minnesota’s cities are diverse

Planes, Trains (and Buses) and Automobiles(a.k.a. Airports, Transit and Streets)

Planes, Trains (and Buses) and Automobiles

Airports


Airports 135 publicly owned airports in MN Metropolitan area has MSP + 6 reliever

airports Remainder are in greater MN In greater MN, airports are typically

owned by a city


Airport Funding State Airports Fund (SAF) is the

primary state funding source for aeronautics

SAF comes from dedicated taxes on aviation fuel, aircraft registration, and airline flight property

Money in the fund is appropriated biennially to MnDOT as part of the transportation budget


Airport Funding Challenges In 2003, legislature transferred $15

million from the State Airports Fund to the general fund

Amount was repaid in 2008, then taken again in 2009

Funds have not been transferred back, meaning some airport maintenance delays


Transit


Transit Cities largely rely on counties, MnDOT,

regional organizations and nonprofits to provide transit

Dozens (hundreds?) of cooperative arrangements exist


Transit Growing in importance statewide due

to demographic changes, economic challenges and environmental awareness

Key component of local economic development initiatives


Transit Funding Challenges The level of service that Minnesota

transit systems can provide is closely tied to the amount of funding provided by the state

Funds are not keeping up


City Streets


City Streets 37, 524 of Minnesota’s 292, 599 lane

miles (about 13%) are municipal streets

Made up of collectors and residential streets

The design and quality of city streets is significant to all users


City Street Funding Municipal State Aid (MSA) funds up to

20% of streets in cities over 5,000 population

Currently, 147 (of 853) cities receive MSA

Non-MSA city streets are funded with property taxes and special assessments

Less common: assistance from county, developer fees


City Street Funding Challenges Most cities are ineligible for MSA In MSA cities, MSA funds are often

exhausted by cost participation in state/county projects

Already tremendous pressure on property taxes

Special assessments unpopular; increasing difficulty with benefit test


City Street Funding Challenges (cont.) City budgets are strained Maintenance is affordable, but not

always a priority Tax exempt property does not pay

Municipal Street System is Aging

New Funding Tools Needed

Unlikely Eligibility for MSA by more cities, more

streets More revenues from state Special assessments suddenly

becoming popular

Street Improvement Districts

How would it work?

Authority needed Cities would have ability to establish

one or more districts Projects would be identified when

district is established Fees would be collected within

district to fund projects in the plan

What is a street improvement district?

Would allow cities to collect fees for: Maintenance Construction Reconstruction Fixed transit infrastructure Trails and pathways

Benefits

Enabling legislation only Modeled after existing authority Mechanism is fair Allows maintenance and

reconstruction to stay on schedule Allows property owners to pay

relatively small fees over time

More Information

Anne [email protected]

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