City lobbyist says budget outlook improves; asks council for letters to support $4.6M water‑plant bonding request

Rob Eklund, the city's lobbyist, briefed the International Falls City Council on state budget developments and the status of the city's capital investment request for the water treatment plant on March 2.

Eklund said the February forecast unexpectedly improved the state's budget outlook, which he said makes a bonding bill more likely this session. "The February forecast came out last Friday and all of a sudden the budget picture looks a little bit better," he said, adding the update changes how lawmakers may prioritize capital projects. (Rob Eklund)

On the city's request, he estimated the capital ask for the water treatment plant at roughly $4.6 million and cautioned that "haircuts are gonna need to be made" as committees consider many requests. He described having regular contact with Representative Grama and plans to meet with Senator Hochschild and other senators to seek support in the senate, which he identified as the likely bottleneck. (Rob Eklund)

Eklund asked the council to send hard‑copy letters to the city's legislative delegation — specifically mentioning Senator Hochschild and Representative Scribe as contacts named in his update — and suggested members consider in‑person visits after the Easter recess to press the case. "We could use a letter from the council to both Senator Hochschild, Representative Scribe...hard copy letters sometimes do get their attention," he said. (Rob Eklund)

Why it matters: bonding decisions determine whether the city receives capital funds for large projects such as the water treatment plant rehabilitation. Eklund's request for letters and on‑the‑hill visits are standard advocacy steps to secure support during committee consideration.

Next steps: council asked staff to draft a letter for the mayor's signature and Eklund said he would pursue meetings with senators and advise which members the council should contact.