SF 2519

Introduction - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996)

Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00 a.m.

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to Minnesota municipal board; removing county 
  1.3             commissioners as ex officio members; raising per diem; 
  1.4             changing multiple town or municipality consolidation 
  1.5             procedures; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 
  1.6             414.01, subdivisions 2, 5, and 6a; and 414.041, 
  1.7             subdivisions 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 414.01, 
  1.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  The board shall be composed of three members 
  1.12  appointed by the governor, at least one of whom shall be learned 
  1.13  in the law, and at least one of whom shall be a resident from 
  1.14  outside of the metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121, 
  1.15  subdivision 2.  The board shall select from its members a chair 
  1.16  who shall have the powers and duties prescribed by the general 
  1.17  law applicable to the heads of departments and agencies of the 
  1.18  state.  In proceedings before the board for the incorporation of 
  1.19  a statutory city, consolidation of two or more municipalities, 
  1.20  or annexation of unincorporated land to a municipality, two 
  1.21  county commissioners of the board of the county in which all or 
  1.22  a majority of the affected land is located shall serve on the 
  1.23  board during such time as the board shall have under 
  1.24  consideration said matter.  The executive director of the board 
  1.25  shall upon initiation of a proceeding for such incorporation, 
  1.26  consolidation, or annexation notify the county auditor of the 
  2.1   county in which the majority of the affected property is 
  2.2   situated of the need for the appointment of the two county 
  2.3   commissioners to the board.  At the next succeeding meeting of 
  2.4   the county board the commissioners shall designate the two 
  2.5   appointed and shall thereupon immediately notify the Minnesota 
  2.6   municipal board executive director of their action.  The county 
  2.7   commissioners shall represent districts which do not contain any 
  2.8   of the affected territory.  If commissioners from the unaffected 
  2.9   districts are unavailable, commissioners from the affected 
  2.10  district may serve. 
  2.11     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 414.01, 
  2.12  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  2.13     Subd. 5.  The board shall transact business and conduct 
  2.14  hearings by a majority of its members except as otherwise 
  2.15  provided for by subdivision 12 but a smaller number may adjourn 
  2.16  from time to time.  The chair may order the consolidation of 
  2.17  separate proceedings in the interest of economy and expedience.  
  2.18  In those proceedings in which the board is composed of five 
  2.19  members, No order of the board shall be final unless approved by 
  2.20  three of the five members, and in all other proceedings unless 
  2.21  approved by two of the three members. 
  2.22     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 414.01, 
  2.23  subdivision 6a, is amended to read: 
  2.24     Subd. 6a.  Each member of the municipal board shall receive 
  2.25  $50 $150 per day when in attendance at board meetings or 
  2.26  hearings, or when otherwise engaged in the performance of 
  2.27  duties.  The county commissioners shall be paid $25 per day for 
  2.28  each hearing or meeting attended.  The county auditors and 
  2.29  commissioners shall be deemed to be performing duties for the 
  2.30  county without additional compensation when serving as ex 
  2.31  officio members of the board.  Each member of the board and the 
  2.32  county commission members of the board shall be reimbursed for 
  2.33  actual expenses incurred in accordance with regulations relative 
  2.34  to travel and expenses of state officers and employees. 
  2.35     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 414.041, 
  2.36  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.1      Subdivision 1.  [INITIATING THE PROCEEDING.] Two One or 
  3.2   more townships and one or more municipalities or two or more 
  3.3   municipalities may be the subject of a single proceeding 
  3.4   provided that each town or municipality abuts at least one of 
  3.5   the included towns or municipalities.  The proceeding shall be 
  3.6   initiated in one of the following ways:  
  3.7      (a) Submitting to the executive director a resolution of 
  3.8   the city council or town board of each affected town or 
  3.9   municipality; 
  3.10     (b) Submitting to the executive director a petition signed 
  3.11  by five percent or more of the resident voters of a town or 
  3.12  municipality who voted for governor at the last general 
  3.13  election; or 
  3.14     (c) By the board on its own motion.  
  3.15     The petition or resolution shall set forth the following 
  3.16  information about each included town or municipality:  name, 
  3.17  description of boundaries, the reasons for requesting the 
  3.18  consolidation and the names of all parties entitled to mailed 
  3.19  notice under section 414.09.  The party initiating the 
  3.20  proceeding shall serve copies of the petition or resolution on 
  3.21  all of the included towns or municipalities. 
  3.22     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 414.041, 
  3.23  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.24     Subd. 2.  [APPOINTMENT OF CONSOLIDATION COMMISSION.] Upon 
  3.25  receipt of a petition or a resolution requesting consolidation 
  3.26  or upon the board's own motion, the board shall appoint a 
  3.27  consolidation commission from a list of ten candidates submitted 
  3.28  by each affected town board or city council.  The commission 
  3.29  shall be composed of not fewer than five members from each 
  3.30  affected town or municipality.  From a separate list of three 
  3.31  persons submitted by each affected town board and city council, 
  3.32  the board shall appoint a commission chair who is not a resident 
  3.33  of an affected town or municipality but who resides in an 
  3.34  affected county.  
  3.35     No person is disqualified from serving on a consolidation 
  3.36  commission by reason of holding other elected or appointed 
  4.1   office.  Consolidation commission members shall hold office 
  4.2   until a consolidation report has been issued by the commission.  
  4.3   The board shall fill vacancies in the commission by 
  4.4   appointment.  The consolidation commission shall make rules with 
  4.5   reference to its operation and procedures including quorum 
  4.6   requirements with reference to its operations and procedures.  
  4.7      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 414.041, 
  4.8   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  4.9      Subd. 5.  [BOARD'S ORDER.] In arriving at its decision, the 
  4.10  board shall consider the following factors: 
  4.11     (a) Present population, past population growth and 
  4.12  projected population of the included towns or municipalities; 
  4.13     (b) Quantity of land within the included towns or 
  4.14  municipalities; and natural terrain including general 
  4.15  topography, major watersheds, soil conditions, and such natural 
  4.16  features as rivers, lakes and major bluffs; 
  4.17     (c) Degree of contiguity of the boundaries between the 
  4.18  included towns or municipalities; 
  4.19     (d) Analysis of whether present planning and physical 
  4.20  development in the included towns or municipalities indicates 
  4.21  that the consolidation of these towns or municipalities will 
  4.22  benefit planning and land use patterns in the area; the present 
  4.23  transportation network and potential transportation issues, 
  4.24  including proposed highway development; 
  4.25     (e) Analysis of whether consolidation of the included towns 
  4.26  or municipalities is consistent with comprehensive plans for the 
  4.27  area; 
  4.28     (f) Analysis of whether governmental services now available 
  4.29  in the included towns or municipalities can be more effectively 
  4.30  or more economically provided by consolidation; 
  4.31     (g) Analysis of whether there are existing or potential 
  4.32  environmental problems and whether municipal consolidation will 
  4.33  help improve such conditions; 
  4.34     (h) Analysis of tax and governmental aid issues involved in 
  4.35  the consolidation of the included towns or municipalities; and 
  4.36     (i) Analysis of the effect of consolidation on area school 
  5.1   districts. 
  5.2      (j) Analysis of the applicability of the state building 
  5.3   code.  
  5.4      The board shall consider and may accept, amend, return to 
  5.5   the commission for amendment or further study, or reject the 
  5.6   commission's findings and recommendations based upon the board's 
  5.7   written determination of what is in the best interests of the 
  5.8   affected towns or municipalities.  
  5.9      The board shall order the consolidation if it finds that 
  5.10  consolidation will be for the best interests of the towns or 
  5.11  municipalities.  In all cases, the board shall set forth the 
  5.12  factors which are the basis for the decision.  
  5.13     If the board orders consolidation, it shall provide for 
  5.14  election of new municipal officers in accordance with section 
  5.15  414.09.  If the most populous of the included municipalities is 
  5.16  a statutory city, the new municipality shall be a statutory city 
  5.17  and the plan of government shall be Optional Plan A, provided 
  5.18  that an alternate plan may be adopted pursuant to section 
  5.19  412.551, at any time.  If the most populous of the included 
  5.20  municipalities is a home rule charter city or organized under a 
  5.21  statute other than chapter 412, the new municipality shall be 
  5.22  governed by its home rule charter or the statutory form under 
  5.23  which it is governed except that any ward system for the 
  5.24  election of council members shall be inoperable.  If the 
  5.25  commission's findings and recommendations include a proposed 
  5.26  home rule charter for the new municipality, the board may in its 
  5.27  order combine the issue of the adoption of the charter and the 
  5.28  vote on approval of the order for consolidation into one 
  5.29  question on the ballot, and shall submit it in a special or 
  5.30  general election as provided in section 410.10.  The ordinances 
  5.31  of all of the included towns or municipalities shall continue in 
  5.32  effect within their former boundaries until repealed by the 
  5.33  governing body of the new municipality. 
  5.34     Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, 
  5.35  the board may in its order establish a ward system in the new 
  5.36  municipality, in which event it shall establish not less than 
  6.1   three nor more than seven wards, each of which shall elect one 
  6.2   council member.  When more than two years have elapsed after 
  6.3   consolidation, the governing body may, by a four-fifths vote, 
  6.4   abolish the ward system. 
  6.5      The new municipality shall assume the name of the most 
  6.6   populous town or municipality unless previous to the election 
  6.7   another name is chosen by joint resolution of a majority of the 
  6.8   included towns and municipalities or by the consolidation 
  6.9   commission. 
  6.10     The number of license privileges existing in the included 
  6.11  towns and municipalities prior to consolidation and pursuant to 
  6.12  state law shall not be diminished as a result of the 
  6.13  consolidation. 
  6.14     If the consolidation is denied or defeated in a referendum, 
  6.15  no proceeding for the consolidation of the same towns or 
  6.16  municipalities may be initiated within two years from the date 
  6.17  of the board's order unless authorized by the board. 
  6.18     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 414.041, 
  6.19  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  6.20     Subd. 6.  [FINAL APPROVAL OF THE CONSOLIDATION.] (a) If the 
  6.21  consolidation was initiated by a petition of the resident voters 
  6.22  of a town or municipality, the board's order for consolidation 
  6.23  shall be final upon approval by resolution of the town board or 
  6.24  city councils in each of the affected municipalities units of 
  6.25  local government unless ten percent or more of the resident 
  6.26  voters of an affected town or municipality who voted for 
  6.27  governor at the last general election petition the town board or 
  6.28  city council for a referendum on the consolidation.  The 
  6.29  petition must be submitted within 90 days of the final date of 
  6.30  the board's order or the date of final approval of the board's 
  6.31  order by the town boards or city councils, whichever is later.  
  6.32  Upon receipt and verification of the petition, the board shall 
  6.33  order the towns and municipalities to conduct separate referenda 
  6.34  at a general or special election in each town or municipality on 
  6.35  the same day, and the referenda shall be held within six months 
  6.36  of the receipt of the petition.  Costs of the respective 
  7.1   referenda shall be borne by the respective town or 
  7.2   municipality.  A majority of those voting in each town or city 
  7.3   must approve the proposed consolidation.  The results of the 
  7.4   referenda shall be certified to the executive director of the 
  7.5   municipal board by the chief election judge within ten days 
  7.6   after the referenda.  The executive director shall upon receipt 
  7.7   of the certificate notify all parties of the election results. 
  7.8      (b) If the consolidation was initiated by a town board or 
  7.9   city council resolution of each affected town or municipality, 
  7.10  the board's order for consolidation shall be final unless ten 
  7.11  percent or more of the resident voters of an affected town or 
  7.12  municipality petition for a referendum as provided in clause (a).
  7.13     (c) If the consolidation was initiated by the board's own 
  7.14  motion, no consolidation order of the board involving existing 
  7.15  towns or municipalities shall become effective unless adopted by 
  7.16  the town board or council of each affected town or municipality 
  7.17  by a majority vote and unless the consolidation order of the 
  7.18  board is approved by the qualified voters of the affected towns 
  7.19  or municipalities at a general or special election set according 
  7.20  to law.  The form of the ballot shall be fixed by the board; 
  7.21  and, if a majority of the votes cast on the question in 
  7.22  each town or municipality are in favor of its adoption, the 
  7.23  order of the board shall become effective as provided herein.  
  7.24     (d) Notwithstanding a disapproval of the board's order for 
  7.25  consolidation by a an affected city council of an affected 
  7.26  municipality or town board required to approve the board's order 
  7.27  in clause (a) or (c), the board's order for consolidation shall 
  7.28  nevertheless be deemed approved by that town board or city 
  7.29  council if ten percent or more of the resident voters of 
  7.30  that town or municipality who voted for governor at the last 
  7.31  general election petition the city council for a referendum on 
  7.32  the consolidation as provided in clause (a), and a majority of 
  7.33  those voting in that town or municipality approve the board's 
  7.34  order for consolidation.  
  7.35     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 414.041, 
  7.36  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  8.1      Subd. 7.  [DIFFERENTIAL TAXATION.] Where one town or 
  8.2   municipality is receiving substantially fewer municipal 
  8.3   services, the board may provide that the tax rate of the town or 
  8.4   municipality shall be increased in substantially equal 
  8.5   proportions over a period of not more than five years to 
  8.6   equality with the tax rate in the remainder of the new 
  8.7   municipality.  The period shall be determined by the board on 
  8.8   the basis of the period reasonably required to provide 
  8.9   substantially equal municipal services.