2000 Minnesota Statutes

     465.87 Aids to cooperating and combining units. 

    Subdivision 1.    Eligibility.  A local government unit 
 is eligible to apply for aid under this section if the board has 
 approved its plan to cooperate and combine under section 465.83. 

    Subd. 1a.    Additional eligibility.  A local government 
 unit is eligible to apply for aid under this section if it has 
 combined with another unit of government in accordance with any 
 process within chapter 414 that results in the elimination of at 
 least one local government unit and a copy of the municipal 
 board's order or orders combining the units of government is 
 forwarded to the board.  If the municipal board issues an order, 
 or two or more orders within 30 days, for the annexation of the 
 area of an entire township by two or more cities contiguous to 
 the township, the cities subject to the board's order are 
 eligible to receive pro rata shares, on the basis of the 
 population of the area of the township that was annexed by each 
 contiguous city, of the total amount of cooperation and 
 combination aid all participating units of government would be 
 eligible to receive under subdivision 2.  If two units of 
 government cooperate in the orderly annexation of the entire 
 area of a third unit of government which has a population of at 
 least 8,000 people, the two units of government are each 
 eligible for the amount of aid specified in subdivision 2.  

    Subd. 1b.    Application procedures.  A local government 
 unit covered by subdivision 1 may submit an application to the 
 board along with the final plan for cooperation and combination 
 required by section 465.83.  A local government unit covered by 
 subdivision 1a may submit an application to the board after the 
 issuance of the municipal board's order combining the two units 
 of government.  The application must be on a form prescribed by 
 the board and must specify the total amount of aid requested up 
 to the maximum authorized by subdivision 2.  The application 
 must also include a detailed explanation of the need for the aid 
 and provide a budget indicating how the requested aid would be 
 used. 

    Subd. 1c.    Aid award.  The board may grant or deny an 
 application for aid made by a local government unit under 
 subdivision 1b.  The board may also grant aid to an applicant in 
 an amount that is less than the amount requested by the 
 applicant.  The board shall base its decision on the following 
 criteria: 

    (1) whether the local government unit has adequately 
 demonstrated that the requested aid is essential to 
 accomplishing the proposed combination; 

    (2) whether the activities to be funded by the requested 
 aid are directly related to the combination; 

    (3) whether other sources of funding for the activities 
 identified in the application, including short-term cost 
 savings, are available to the applicant as a direct result of 
 the combination; and 

    (4) whether there are competing needs for the funding 
 available to the board that would provide a greater public 
 benefit than would be realized by the combination or activities 
 described in the application.  

    The board may award money to an applicant for a period not 
 to exceed four years.  Any funding awarded for a period beyond 
 the biennium in which an award is made, however, is contingent 
 on future appropriations to the board. 

    Subd. 2.    Amount of aid.  The annual amount of aid to 
 be paid to each eligible local government unit may not exceed 
 the following per capita amounts, based on the combined 
 population of the units, as estimated by the state demographer, 
 or $100,000, whichever is less. 

       Combined Population                   Aid

        after Combination                 Per Capita

              0 -  2,500                     $25 

          2,500 -  5,000                      20 

          5,000 - 20,000                      15

             over 20,000                      10

 If two or more units are eligible for a single award under this 
 subdivision, the award must be divided among the units in pro 
 rata shares based on each unit's population.  Payments must be 
 made on the dates provided for payments of local government aid 
 under section 477A.013, beginning in the year during which 
 substantial cooperative activities under the plan initially 
 occur, unless those activities begin after July 1, in which case 
 the initial aid payment must be made in the following calendar 
 year.  Payments to a local government unit that qualifies for 
 aid under subdivision 1a must be made on the dates provided for 
 payments of local government aids under section 477A.013, 
 beginning in the calendar year during which a combination in any 
 form is expected to be ordered by the Minnesota municipal board 
 as evidenced in a resolution adopted by July 1 by the affected 
 local government units declaring their intent to combine.  The 
 resolutions must certify that the combination agreement 
 addressing all issues relative to the combination is 
 substantially complete.  The total amount of aid paid may not 
 exceed the amount appropriated to the board for purposes of this 
 section. 

    Subd. 3.    Termination of aid; recapture.  If a second 
 referendum under section 465.84 fails, or if an initial 
 referendum fails and the governing body does not schedule a 
 second referendum within one year after the first has failed, or 
 if one or more of the local government units that proposed to 
 combine terminates its participation in the cooperation or 
 combination, no additional aid may be paid under this section.  
 The amount previously paid under this section to a unit must be 
 repaid if the governing body of the unit acts to terminate its 
 current level of participation in the plan.  The amount 
 previously paid to the unit must be repaid in annual 
 installments equal to the total amount paid to the unit for all 
 years under subdivisions 1c and 2, divided by the number of 
 years when payments were made. 

    HIST: 1991 c 291 art 14 s 8; 1993 c 375 art 15 s 13,14; 1995 c 
 264 art 8 s 11; 1997 c 231 art 2 s 39,40; 1998 c 264 s 1