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<br /> ~undsl Legislators may need to review ' '
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<br /> ~~ther method,is,misus~d, Rest says ,,- .
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<br /> ~ed from p-.e1B Amouj ot!tCr users of~purchase into complial1ce wilh ~ty codes. '
<br /> , , ' Anan"'", lD recent years are Wood- andalldancwoueneededlD thefut-. ".-~'
<br /> KCidcd civic proj~ But others say b1Iry and Apple ValJt:yo, fat public growins city, said AdminiStrator ~';.~'
<br /> ~ 15 a merely an end works builclinp; ADob unty. fura Kevin Fra2clL ' ',,--~
<br /> :un aroW1d taxpayers, who are stuck $6.! mm;()'\ human services building .1
<br /> with the tab. in BI&Ine, and ('h,.lra and White "We can't cOntlnue to aBow employ- '; ".
<br /> , , ' , . Bear Lake, for sd1ool-related pro- 'ees to operate in lubstandard.... .,;:,
<br /> ~. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope. jeclS.' UoIlS," . Frazell said. "This !S not, ';...'
<br /> chairwomaD of the House Tax Com- ' somethiDI we have the op11011 to ;;."
<br /> II\ittee, says legis1atoTa may need to The uaro",t'tlc)u is usually bAntllM by i&Do~... We can't buy the :Dew :: ;j.:'
<br /> review whether this financing tool a public qency, often a local eco- putI1pers we need '-'t"... the two .' ~,~',
<br /> w heeD misused. ' nomic deve1opmen1 authority, which Old stations are toO smaI1." ' . :<,
<br /> , sells boads fur a project and then .~~.:'
<br /> The Legislature doesn't require a ref. leases it to a city or county. Cottage Grove'l EconOlllic Develop- " .~.'"
<br /> eiendum for a jail "because it is not ment Authority would sell aboutS!.5 1. "
<br /> ,eiadly the most popular thing people Lease paJ:ll!1t5 are IISCd to retire the milliOl1 in bonds fat the fire stations ': ~,~
<br /> would vote for,", Rest said. "llIut bonds, whieh the leasee has,the and then lease them to the'c:i~, saI~..:. '
<br /> ~ . . , ;t becomes the alternative, option to buy the buildins for a nom- Mayor Jack Denver. He said this '.",
<br /> ~ choice, to do a lease-purchase in inaI amount. approach would save more than " h
<br /> order to nepte a vote of the elector- $15,000 1\lat the city would spel!d to :: ':'
<br /> ,lite. there are serious questions about State officia\s don't track how often ,hold another refetclldum. Last fall, : ,.
<br /> ~1)ein8 responsible publie act1ol!." lease-purchase fiJlAn.,;t\g is used. But voters defeated an 58 mi11i9n bond"... ,
<br /> . . . 25 cities and counties issued such propasa1 that included a new City .. 'r:
<br /> ; If a project is needed. "They ought to bonds last lc:' according to an esti. Hal\, public worb building and perk ";,'
<br /> be able UlconviDoe thr:te:Ple," Rest mate.by prlnpted . IDe.. St Paul, space. , .1,.,
<br /> . "Sometimes, a erendum will which advises about 200 Minnesota ' ' . .
<br /> , a vo~ two or three times..It clties and eountics. Eden Prairie offidals "~ved the city :~~. '
<br /> iDisht be a slower process, but people a ton of money" by 1ISlnIlease-pUr- .b:
<br /> are more satisfied with the process if "I thi!lk it is becoming mote com. ..hod"S fat a new City a.u. said :',,'
<br /> )hey determine the o\llcome." moll, It laid Dennis Balyeat, a senior Mayor Doug Tenpas. '. :; ,
<br /> .' . ' . vice president at Miller &: Schroeder . :~~
<br /> r Mulder, executive director of IDe. The bond underwritint fimt has He said Ci~ members also .. ,<>
<br /> . ~ociation of~esota Coun...~.1ease-Purchasinl 0127 city act as.the . nOlllic ~e1op!ll~t }~
<br /> es, 1lUd, "I wouid think there would ha1ls, courthouses. jails and other fa- Authority. which sold $13.4 million, "
<br /> ,J;Je a lot of cities and county officials cilities worth mon:: than 5200 million in boads for the project. .
<br /> who would be very nervous about since 1985, he said. . .
<br /> this kind of ammgement, because Althouah Eden' Prairie voters defeat. . I.,
<br /> IIlOSt counties would want to be very State law allows -cities. toWllships, ed a $5 million proposal' to build a '. ',~
<br /> tUligb.tforward about how they fl- COUllties and certain, school districts new City Hall in the mid-1980s, the . ...:,
<br /> IWlCC something." to use lease-purchasing for buildings, council decided that buyins the fore- .,.'
<br /> . equipment and f'lJzft;.hin..... closed computer plant jlt less than a. .'
<br /> ~user, chairwoman of the third of its cost was prudent, TenJ:""
<br /> W ' on County Board, defended The law says a governmental body said. City offices occupy less n '1
<br /> the decision 'to avoid a referendum c:an levy, bul not suarantee. taXes to half the 240,QOO.square-foot build.
<br /> and use lease-purchase financing for cover lease payments, and must be :f. surplus space is subleased to the '.,'
<br /> the $34 million Law Enforcement able to terminate the lease annually. ' 001 diStrict and others..
<br /> Center and Jail that opened ill Still.
<br /> water last summer. Beeause of their higher risk, lease-
<br /> "There are certain services alld build- purchase bonds pay a ~t1y higher Ie i> {!<<,,'-.rp'l T
<br /> mteteSt rate than sene obligation '.
<br /> ~ that are properly in the purview bonds, which are fu1ly backed by city h'//5:1l 1ft ,(se
<br /> . the elected persOIl, so I don't feel talte5, said Steven Apfelbacher, a fl. .-')
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<br /> th.ztt absolutely every iss\le should non~i21 adviser for Cottage Grove, or 5e'lC<j-~ ' '.
<br /> € before the public," Hauser HowevCl', a city would rarely default
<br /> . "Sometimes the public will and risk foreelosure 011 a fire station "
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<br /> nge a decision on the basis of or city hall, he noted. "
<br /> what was funded. Sometimes \hey , .
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<br /> object because anything was funded." tease-purchasing will enable Cottage ".
<br /> Grove to bring two old tire stations ' ,
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