15-11055r RESOLUTION NO. 11055
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING DEDICATED STATE FUNDING FOR CITY STREETS
WHEREAS, Minnesota contains over 141,000 miles of roadway, and over 19,000
miles—or 13 percent--are owned and maintained by Minnesota's 852 cities; and
WHEREAS, over 80 percent of municipal streets are ineligible for dedicated
Highway User Tax Distribution Fund dollars; and
WHEREAS, the more than 700 Minnesota cities with populations below 5,000
are ineligible for dedicated Highway User Tax Distribution Fund dollars; and
WHEREAS, city streets are a separate but integral piece of the network of roads
supporting movement of people and goods; and
WHEREAS, existing funding mechanisms, such as Municipal State Aid (MSA),
property taxes and special assessments, have limited applications, leaving cities under-
equipped to address growing needs; and
WHEREAS, city cost participation in state and county highway projects diverts
resources from city-owned streets; and
WHEREAS, maintenance costs increase as road systems age, and no city--large
or small—is spending enough on roadway capital improvements to maintain a 50-year
lifecycle; and
WHEREAS, for every one dollar spent on maintenance, a road authority--and
therefore taxpayers--save seven dollars in repairs; and
WHEREAS, cities need greater resources, including an additional dedicated
state funding source for transportation, and flexible policies in order to meet growing
demands for street improvements and maintenance.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Richfield,
Minnesota, as follows:
1. The City of Richfield supports an omnibus transportation funding bill that provides
additional dedicated state funding for city streets including funding that can be
used for non-MSA city street maintenance, construction and reconstruction.
Adopted by the City Council of the City of Richfield, Minnesota this 10th day of
March, 2015.
"al^ k)
Edwina Garcia, Mayor Pro Tempore
ATTEST:
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1
Elizabeth VanHoose, City Clerk