Government Affairs

2010 Accomplishments:

Moratorium on local option sales tax extensions defeated

On May 3rd Vice President of Government Affairs John Eckerman testified at the Minnesota House of Representatives Tax Committee against the moratorium on local option sales tax extensions. His testimony highlighted all of the positive regional capital projects created over the years with the Rochester sales tax. (Read More)

"Historically our organization doesn’t stand up in support of taxes, but in this case it has been a useful tool for our community."

Rochester has had the local option sales tax in place since 1982. It was initially used to fund the flood control project thru Rochester. Since its original usage the citizens of Rochester have voted to keep the tax four times allowing necessary local projects to be completed. Examples of other regional projects which were funded by this local sales tax include Rochester International Airport improvements, expansion of the Mayo Civic Center, growth of Higher Education in Rochester and replacement of failing septic systems with an expansion of the sewer system.

The state legislature was considering a moratorium on local option sales tax extensions which would have affected Rochester's ability to extend their current sales tax which is slated to run out sometime in 2012.

In the end the bill to not allow communities such as Rochester an opportunity to extend their local option sales tax was defeated. The removal of the moratorium will be a part of the larger omnibus Tax bill that is to be voted on in the House and Senate.

Community Lighting Utility Fee

At the April 5th Rochester City Council Meeting the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce voiced the business community's concerns regarding the authorization of a new fee/tax called the "community lighting utility fee."(Read More)

City Administration states this new fee/tax would free up property tax general fund dollars to fund four new police officer positions starting in 2010. Presently, property taxes fund street lights in our community. In 2011, the proposed lighting utility fee/tax is estimated to raise $1.2 million per year to cover all of the costs associated with street lighting. The Chamber voiced concern regarding the use of the new revenue that is collected that exceeds the $400,000 that will fund the new police officer positions. The Chamber requested a meeting with President Hanson and City Staff to discuss the new revenue stream in more detail.

Recently, this meeting took place with the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee. Following the discussion, the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce makes these recommendations to the Rochester City Council.

The Chamber believes it is bad policy for the City to create new taxes and call the taxes “fees”; the “fee” is a tax. One may choose whether or not to pay a fee by deciding whether or not to purchase the good or service. The community lighting utility is not a fee because businesses and residents do not have a choice to have streetlights, everyone must pay.
If the Community Lighting Utility Fee is implemented, it needs to be tied directly to the costs associated with street lighting, maintenance and upgrade. The City must specifically detail those costs now so that the present costs may be used as a baseline if and when increases are sought in the future. That detail will create transparency. The fee should be routinely evaluated to determine if the amount collected is appropriate. The money collected should only be used for the lights and must not be diverted into the general fund. We urge the City Council to adopt language in their final resolution stating “no diversion of community lighting utility revenue to the general fund”. In the future, city staff should explore using available revenue in this fund for technology upgrades such as LED lights, photovoltaic and solar which should lower costs.
Moving forward, the Rochester Area Chamber is willing to work with City staff to research cost saving options for all departments thru technology and innovative processes for personnel efficiency which has been successful in other communities.
The Chamber understands that this proposed fee/tax replaces the property tax funding for street lights. We support using a portion of the $1.2 million property tax revenue to fund four additional police officers.
The Chamber calls for a transparent process to be put in place to evaluate all current and proposed city fees.

Highway 52 and 65th Street NW Interchange

Construction of an interchange at highway 52 and 65th Street NW would open the door for immediate development activity. Potential developers have walked away from projects due to a lack of access to Highway 52 at 65th St. NW. We are very supportive of MNDOT’s agreement to a folded diamond interchange design. This proven design will lessen the financial impact of the construction of the interchange. (Read More)

In our view construction of the 65th street interchange needs to occur as soon as possible. Linking the West frontage road between 55th and 65th street would dramatically delay the building of the interchange. The increase in cost of the West frontage road alone would significantly increase the cost of the project, thus delaying it for many years. We have already waited over five years for this project. Our community cannot wait any longer. We believe the best course of action is to build the interchange followed by a study of the traffic patterns as a result of the new interchange. If the research shows a frontage road is needed, we would be in support.

In light of the importance of this project to the business community and the high number of construction jobs and permanent business, industry and retail jobs that would be created in the immediate area of this interchange, the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce strongly support this construction.

The City of Rochester has a commitment of $5 million to pay a local cost share to construct this interchange. Again, the completion of the 65th Street Interchange will open up a large new area for growth for our community. Many private businesses are ready to immediately proceed to construction once a final decision is made to build this interchange. In these tough economic times, the building of this interchange will bring badly needed new permanent businesses, retail and industrial jobs in addition to significant construction jobs and provide a stimulus to our area economy.

Electronic Message Center Sign Ordinance Amendment Defeated

The February 8th, 2010, Rochester City Council Committee of the Whole meeting was a successful night for Rochester businesses. For several years, the Rochester/Olmsted County Planning Department has been advocating for a stricter zoning ordinance for electronic business signs. Since this was first brought forward, the Chamber has been working diligently against this thru a task force of businesses who have a vested interest in fighting the stricter ordinance.

Many businesses have invested thousands of dollars in these electronic message centers which market their products and services to the public. These signs are frequently used to promote non-profit and community events. Two of the main proposed ordinance changes would have limited sign locations and how often the sign message could change.

If the proposed ordinance would have been enacted, it would have made many of these signs essentially static.
By filling the room with local businesses, the Chamber, along with the business community, was able to get the issue tabled until a federal study on electronic messaging is complete. It is unknown when the study will be finished or if the study will even review electronic message centers.

"This was a long process and in the end it was good to have the council see that at this time there was no real issue with the electronic signs," says Mike Thom, manager at Home Improvement Professionals. "We business owners thank the council for their patience, understanding and support throughout this process."

The Chamber thanks the City Council and staff for supporting our task force efforts. They agreed that there was not a public outcry to enforce a stricter ordinance. There was not a problem to fix. You can be confident that if this issue pops up again in the future the task force will be re-mobilized to fight against this unnecessary zoning ordinance amendment.

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