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Northern Counties Coalition (Enclave) asks Beltrami County to join, highlights PILT wins and shoreland effort
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Summary
Representatives from the Northern Counties Coalition (referred to in the meeting as Enclave) presented to the board, described recent legislative work on PILT and tax-forfeited lands, offered one year free membership and asked Beltrami County to review a joint powers agreement for consideration.
Representatives of Enclave, which is seeking to rebrand as the Northern Counties Coalition, asked the Beltrami County Board to consider joining their 14-county group to amplify northern Minnesota's voice on natural-resource and tax issues.
Neil Peterson, Pennington County commissioner and chair of Enclave, and Paul McDonald, St. Louis County commissioner and vice chair, outlined the coalition's recent focus on PILT (payments in lieu of taxes) and a resolution of the Tyler v. Hennepin tax-forfeited lands issue. "We got that over the finish line," McDonald said, describing unanimous action in both legislative chambers around a settlement the coalition cited as $109,000,000. He said Beltrami County has seen PILT receipts in the multiple-million-dollar range following legislative changes.
Enclave said the first year of membership would be free and that dues would be $2,000 in 2027. The group invited commissioners to a tentative March 4 meeting at Mancini's and agreed to provide a joint powers agreement for the board's review. Commissioners asked routine governance questions about representation, meeting schedules and costs; several commissioners requested the joint powers agreement be included in the next board packet for review before a vote.
