Dear Neighbor,
Residents of the Melrose-Melrose Area Public School District 740 are invited to vote on a two-question referendum – bonding for a $24.9 million facilities project and a $3 million gym/walking track – between the hours of 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. today.
The Legislature last weekend provided final approval to a tax provision that would factor into referendum questions in places such as Melrose. The unfortunate timing in this case is Gov. Mark Dayton has 14 days from the end of session to sign the bill and, as of now, has not done so and enactment is not concrete.
Farmers and rural property owners have been absorbing a disproportionate amount of tax increases through school construction bond levies. The legislation awaiting the governor's approval dedicates nearly $91 million in agriculture property tax relief, which will result in a tax reduction equal to 40 percent of their school property tax obligations.
I will pass along more as this unfolds.
We also are still are awaiting to see if the governor will call a brief special session in order to provide final approval for bonding/transportation packages that stalled in the waning minutes before the midnight deadline for final passage in the Legislature.
As I mentioned in a newspaper column I submitted to area papers this week, the Senate added an amendment offered by a metro-area member which threw everything in disarray. That amendment, one which called for an additional $10 million for trains in the metro area, came minutes after the House had already passed the same bill and adjourned for the year. It meant that the amounts of money appropriated for transportation in the House and Senate bills were different, and time had run out before they could be rectified.
This maneuver is preventing much-needed money for roads and bridges to be appropriated – along with important bonding for important infrastructure work. House members this week are conducting press conferences at sites throughout the state where projects are now on hold, including one I will be attending in Morris later this morning. We are joining local officials at these events, urging the governor to call a special session to fix this problem.
Until next time, I urge people in the Melrose area to get to the polls today. Here is a Melrose Beacon link to specific polling locations, and you also can click here for a Beacon article with more details on the referendum questions themselves.
Sincerely,
Paul