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<br />ASSOCIATION Of <br />~ <br /> <br />Jl.INNESOTP, COUNTIES <br /> <br />NCDA Agenda [tern #6a <br /> <br />Alert from AMC President Dennis Fink <br /> <br />09/24/2004 <br /> <br />Comprehensive Transportation Funding Proposal approved <br />by AMC Transportation Policy Committee <br /> <br />Last week, the Transportation Policy committee unanimously supported the AMC Transportation Work Group <br />recommendation for a comprehensive transportation funding package. <br /> <br />"This package is like Ragu spaghetti sauce of transportation funding: 'it's in there'," said AMC President Dennis Fink <br />(St. Louis County). <br /> <br />The work group met five times with each meeting lasting an average of four hours. Sixteen commissioners were <br />appointed to the work group and overall attendance at each meeting exceeded SO individuals, which included <br />others working on the transportation packages: MnDat, the Transportation Alliance, and Senate and House research <br />staff to name a few. <br /> <br />What the work group attendees saw was leadership in action. Work group co-chairs, Warren Affeldt (Polk County) <br />and Paul Krause (Dakota County) set a tone of civility as the work group primarily listened during the first few <br />meetings and focused on debate during the final meetings. It was a thing of beauty as factual information, <br />emotions, geographic needs and compromise unfolded into a funding package, <br /> <br />The group even took time to joke as Keith Nelson (St. Louis County), cracked after arriving late one day, "Do you <br />know you have a congestion problem here in the metro area?" In the end, the group agreed to move a <br />comprehensive package to the Transportation Policy Committee. <br /> <br />Key elements of the package include: <br /> <br />. Gas tax increases .05 cents first year, .05 cents second year, indexing the third year <br />. Local option sales tax - .005% for transit and transportation <br />. Wheelage tax <br />. Bonding for special items, i.e. interchanges <br />. Bonding for bridges <br />. Formula change - old money formulas stay the same; new gas tax money formulas changes to 60% needs and <br />40% registration. <br /> <br />Now begins the real work, AMC's membership wifl need to bring our message to everyone who will listen. We need <br />to say this is our package. We want every component, not just one or two. The package is worth $1 billion. <br /> <br />"We may need to adjust the size of the package but it is the component parts that make this package viable," <br />explained Transportation Work Group members explained to the Transportation Policy Committee last week. <br /> <br />For more information and details: <br /> <br />. AMC Comprehensive TransPortation Plan (PDF) <br /> <br />. Consensus Positions for a 2005 Transportation Proposal (PDF) <br /> <br />. la-Cent Gas Tax Variations Spreadsheet (PDF) Prepared By State Aid For Loca! Transportation <br /> <br />AMC Staff will be providing more in depth explanation of the plan at the Fall District MeetinQS. <br /> <br />Association of Minnesota Counties <br />125 Charles Avenue <br />Saint Pau!, ~"N 55103~2108 <br />Phone: 651.224.3344, Fax: 651.224.6540 <br />