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Coalition update: LGA protected, bonding wins for water and wastewater
Summary
Marty, representing a coalition of Greater Minnesota cities, told the Crookston City Council that Local Government Aid remained intact this session and that the coalition secured bonding for wastewater, PFAS work and increased grant caps for rural water infrastructure. He said childcare funding remained insufficient.
Marty, a representative of a coalition of Greater Minnesota cities, briefed the Crookston City Council on outcomes from the 2024–25 legislative session, saying local government aid (LGA) cuts proposed in a Senate tax bill were defeated and LGA funding remains intact. He said the coalition persuaded lawmakers across party lines to avoid reducing LGA, which he described as “a big part of your budget” for rural cities.
Marty said the coalition pushed unsuccessfully for an automatic LGA inflation/population adjustment and that a sales‑tax moratorium has expired, allowing communities to pursue local‑option sales taxes in the next session. He listed several bonding and grant outcomes the coalition supported: expanded wastewater and clean‑water bonding, an increase in PCIG and WIF grant caps (from $7 million to $12 million and $10 million respectively), $18 million for emerging‑contaminant (PFAS) work, and a modest lead service line replacement allocation this year in addition to prior biennium funding.
On childcare, Marty said the session produced little new funding and that grant programs remain oversubscribed—he told the council that roughly 70 childcare providers statewide applied to a recent grant round—and described regulatory requirements from the Department of Health as another driver of closures.
Why it matters: Marty framed the session results as mixed for rural cities: important protections for core operational funding, some capital wins for infrastructure and clean water, but continued shortfalls for childcare and disagreement over whether to adopt automatic inflation adjustments for long‑term stability.
The presentation closed with an invitation to council members to contact the coalition’s staff and a reminder about an upcoming coalition conference in Grand Rapids.
