Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Fire Jpa topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council hears update on regional fire JPA; Minnetrista opposes pure market‑value formula
Summary
Councilors discussed a proposed joint powers agreement (JPA) formula for shared fire services with Mound, Spring Park and Saint Bonnie; Minnetrista staff said it will not accept a pure percent‑of‑market‑value allocation and offered a phased proposal to move toward a 50/50 market‑value/call‑hours split by 2031.
Minnetrista City Council received an update on the ongoing joint powers agreement discussions for regional fire services and deliberated competing formulas for how member cities would share the cost of operations.
City staff reported that the JPA negotiation group (which includes Mayor Whalen and Councilmember Revkin) is discussing allocation formulas that mix market value, population and call volume. The existing contracts differ by partner: Saint Bonnie’s contract currently uses a 50/50 split of market value and call hours, while Mound’s contract blends population, market value and call hours.
Why it matters: The method used to apportion costs will materially affect each city’s property tax levy. Minnetrista staff said a pure percent‑of‑market‑value formula would increase Minnetrista’s long‑term share because the city’s taxable market value has been growing faster than that of partner cities.
Council members and staff described several options that have been discussed: a 50/50 split (market value vs. call hours), 60/40 and 70/30 splits weighted toward market value, and a staged proposal offered by staff that would start at 75% market value / 25% call volume in year one then transition to 50/50 by 2031. Staff said the staged option would cause an estimated 2.61 percentage point increase in Minnetrista’s levy the first year but would reduce Minnetrista’s long‑term share compared with an immediate market‑value‑only allocation.
Staff outlined projected long‑term percentages under the staged proposal: by 2031 Minnetrista would pay about 40% of the budget, Mound about 41%, Spring Park about 12% and Saint Bonnie about 5%; staff said those shares would then hold steady. City staff cautioned that continued growth in Minnetrista’s market value (an average increase the city estimated at roughly 8% per year and about 100 new homes annually) would make a pure market‑value allocation increasingly unfavorable to Minnetrista.
Council members asked for guidance on negotiating the JPA terms, including explicit year‑by‑year percentage changes, budget step increases (staff referenced an initial budget step of about 12% in year one and smaller steps thereafter), and strong contractual provisions and penalties to discourage a city from withdrawing after the JPA is implemented. Staff said the full JPA would set those terms and include details on withdrawal costs.
Staff requested council direction that Minnetrista not accept a percent‑of‑market‑value allocation; council members expressed support for continuing to negotiate a phased approach intended to share costs more equitably.
Ending: Staff said they will continue negotiations with Mound, Spring Park and Saint Bonnie and will return to council with recommended JPA terms and modelled financial impacts for the council to consider before any final contract action.
