12.2. SR 04-26-1993 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ji. '. . . 2 April 5, 1993 Memorandum To: County and Local Officials of Benton, Sherburne and Stearns Fm: MSA Task Force Subj: 1992 OMB MSA ~eclassification of st. Cloud Metropolitan Area On December 28, 1992 the Office of Management and Budget announced the reclassificatlon of the st. Cloud Metro area which removed Sherburne county from this Standard Metropolitan statistical Area (SMSA) and added it to the Twin cities MSA. This decision not only reduced the size of the st. Cloud MSA by 41,945 or 22%; but it also took 5,240 st. Cloud city residents, who live in Sherburne county, and placed them in the Twin Cities MSA. After discussions with local government officials and their staff, Congressman Peterson protested this decision to OMB. On January 26, OMB called the Congressman to advise him that they would re-open this issue and requested that he and the other affected members of the Minnesota congressional delegation submit their recommendations to OMB. They also advised him that any MSA changes would be announced in a Federal Register in June 1993. An Ad Hoc task force was formed to assess the impact of this decision. Participants included city of st. Cloud and county staff from Benton, Sherburne and Stearns counties, HRA, Area Planning Organization, and Economic Development Partnership staff, and representatives from both Congressmen Oberstar and Peterson's offices. We have conducted considerable research. The readers must understand that while this represents our best available information, time did not allow formal , written responses from state and federal agencies, as well as other sources. We have prepared an issue paper that summaries critical issues and presents alternatives to the local communities. Congressmen Oberstar and Peterson are soliciting the recommendations from local officials of all three counties and local jurisdictions for the purpose of making recommendations to OMB. Since OBM regulations are sufficiently broad to allow Sherburne county in either MSA, a three-county consensus recommendation greatly improves the chance of a favorable OMB decision. Footnote: If any reviewer identifies any misinformation or knows of critical facts not contained in this analysis, the Task Force requests that you provide it to us immediately.