In This Issue:
Federal ARP Funding Updates
The State Office of MN Management and Budget (MMB) has received the first tranche of local government funds from the US Department of the Treasury and has verified SWIFT supplier IDs for non-entitlement cities. Local officials will need to have banking information be up to date. Instructions for adding or updating a bank account are included on the enclosed document. Questions can be directed to [email protected], or 651-201-8106.
https://mn.gov/mmb-stat/documents/swift/training/trainingguides/swift-sup-portal-update-supplier-profile.pdf. MMB is currently working on the on-line certification form, and will seek feedback once it is complete, to make sure it is working correctly. The US Department of the Treasury has also released an updated FAQ document: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRPFAQ.pdf. The updated document addresses questions regarding payroll expenses, revenue losses, and other items. The US Department of the Treasury has not yet released allocations for non-entitlement cities (cities below 50,000 population). Metro Cities will provide additional updates and information as it is available.
Questions? Please contact Patricia Nauman at 651-215-4002 or [email protected]
Legislative Updates
Since the end of the regular legislative session in mid-May, budget and policy proposals have continued to be worked on by members in informal working groups. Several negotiated agreements reflected in spreadsheets are now posted for public review. These include Legacy, Higher Education, and Commerce and Energy budgets. They can be found here: House Budget Spreadsheets, Senate Budget Tracking Spreadsheet. Per the overall budget parameters agreed to by legislative leaders and the Governor on May 17, today marks the deadline by which committee budgets are to be finalized.
Working group members continued to meet this week to continue work on an omnibus housing budget and policy package. The group was given a $10 million increase over the base budget to fund housing programs through Minnesota Housing. Metro Cities remains concerned about the local planning, land use and zoning policy preemption provisions in the Senate bill. Metro Cities submitted this letter to legislative leaders and the Walz administration last weekend to reiterate concerns with this language. The letter, submitted with several other city associations, highlighted several examples from local letters emphasizing the importance of maintaining local decision-making authority in residential development and redevelopment.
2021 Metro Cities Policy Committees - Sign Up!
Metro Cities is preparing for 2021 policy committees and your participation is encouraged! Meetings will be conducted remotely and will be held in July, August, and September. Committees will recommend legislative policies for 2022 and are open for participation by member city elected officials and staff. Committees and dates are on our website. Additional information, including remote meeting access, will be posted as it becomes available. Please be sure to sign up for the committee(s) you wish to attend. This will help us keep our rosters current and accurate. We look forward to seeing you this summer!