Metro Cities News 9/23/22

 

In This Issue:

 

Metro Cities Accepting Applications for TAB and TAC

Metro Cities is seeking candidates to fill an opening on the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) as well as an opening on the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) that advises the TAB.

The TAB qualifies the region for federal transportation funds and is a participant in processes for transportation planning and funding in the metropolitan region. Municipal appointees to the TAB must be elected officials, and Metro Cities guidelines place a high priority on appointment balance with respect to geography and city size. There are no term limits, but members must meet attendance requirements to qualify for reappointment, as well as have a background and interest in transportation issues. Guidelines also give preference to those who agree to serve on Metro Cities’ Transportation Policy Committee.

Metro Cities is also seeking interested applicants for an opening on the Metropolitan Council’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) that advises the TAB. Appointees must be department head level staff with an engineering, planning or public works background. Metro Cities guidelines place a high priority on making the TAC balanced with respect to city size and geography. The Board also gives preference to those who agree to serve on Metro Cities’ Transportation Policy Committee.

The deadline to apply is next Friday, September 30, 2022. Interested candidates for the TAB should submit a completed questionnaire, letter of interest and resume to Jennifer Dorn at [email protected]. Interested candidates for the TAC should submit a letter of interest and resume to Jennifer Dorn at [email protected].

Please contact Patricia Nauman at [email protected], or Mike Lund, at [email protected] with any questions.

 

Proposed Property Tax Levy Deadline is September 30

The statutory deadline for cities to adopt a proposed property tax levy is next Friday, September 30th. This year, there are new statutory truth-in-taxation requirements for cities that have populations over 500. Under the new law, cities are required to provide supplemental levy, revenue, and expenditure information. Please click HERE for information provided by the MN Department of Revenue on the new law and requirements.

In addition, the League of MN Cities recently published information regarding changes that affect the metropolitan fiscal disparities program and that will result in reductions in the pool and distributions to cities for taxes payable in 2023. Please click HERE for an article published by the LMC last week on this issue.

Questions? Contact Patricia Nauman at 651-215-4002 or [email protected]


Metropolitan Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) Updates

After recommending approval of the 2023 Unified Planning Work Program, Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) members received informational presentations on three topics at their September meeting. These presentations covered Arterial Bus Rapid Transit, public input on the regional solicitation, and project ranking and funding scenarios for the 2022 regional solicitation.

The Metro Transit Arterial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is a network of eight lines planned to be in operation by 2030. The next line to open is the D Line with service beginning in December of this year. The presentation at this week’s TAB meeting provided members with the most current information on all the planned lines. Click HERE to view the presentation materials and learn more.

Staff walked through the results from a Metropolitan Council survey on the Regional Solicitation. The survey yielded 560 responses. The survey asked respondents to allocate $100 million across three modal ranges using an online tool. The results show that a preference for roadway spending (as opposed to transit or bike/pedestrian) was higher in suburban, suburban edge, and rural areas. These areas of the region also prioritized travel demand management (TDM) within the transit modal spending category whereas urban areas allocated a higher percentage of funds to transit. More than half of respondents prioritized multiuse trails and bicycle facilities within the bike/pedestrian modal area. Click HERE to view the presentation materials which include more detailed findings from the survey.

Finally, staff presented two regional solicitation funding scenarios, each with a total of $295 million. One scenario uses the midpoints of the modal ranges (55.5% for roadways, 30% for transit, and 14.5% for bike/pedestrian). The second scenario attempts to respond to public input by increasing the funding range for bike/pedestrian projects (to 20%) with corresponding decreases to roadways (52%) and transit (28%). More refined funding scenarios will be considered on October 19th with TAB approval occurring in November. Click HERE to view the funding scenarios in detail and HERE to view the presentation materials for this information item.

Click HERE to view a recording of Wednesday’s TAB meeting. Contact Mike Lund at [email protected] or 651-215-4003 with any questions.

 

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