Posts filed under ‘Featured Articles’
Proposed street fees rile property owners
“I just think it’s very disingenuous to say we want to provide property tax relief but then take it out of the other pocket and call it something else.”
Kaye Rakow, Director of Public Policy, NAIOP Minnesota
Finance and Commerce, Wednesday, April 24, 2013
United for Jobs Launches Campaign Across Minnesota with TV, Radio, Newspaper, and Online Ads
Effort Will Focus on Spending Accountability
“Before the Governor and legislators ask for more from taxpayers, they need to go line-by-line through the budget, make sure they have cut the waste, and are accountable for every single taxpayer dollar they spend,” said David Olson, president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. “If they could save just two cents on every dollar spent, they would save over $700 million ($36.7 billion times .02), thus wiping out the deficit.”
To learn more visit www.UnitedforJobsMN.com or follow @UnitedforJobs on Twitter.
Watch a TV ad “Highest”
Press release
Messaging document
Spending reform items
List of United for Jobs Coalition members
“Minnesota has a lower margin for error in being a significant outlier on business taxes and costs than other ‘high tax, high service’ peer states.”
Finding Our Balance: Taxes, Spending and Minnesota Competitiveness
Analysis of 10 national competitiveness studies offers perspective on striking a balance between public investments and business costs.
Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence
Mark Haveman’s PowerPoint presentation to the Public Policy Committee
Press Release
Executive Summary
How much ‘fairness’ is too much?
The state’s income tax system is already among the nation’s most progressive
“Fairness often is ‘politically convenient as an argument to raise more revenue,’ the Center’s executive director, Mark Havemen, told us. ‘It’s a lot easier to raise revenue by saying somebody else is not paying their fair share.’ “
Read the editorial
St. Paul Pioneer Press Editorial, April 10, 2013
Member Profile: Andrew Budde, Bolton & Menk, Inc.
Personal Profile
I was born and grew up around Avon, Minn. and attended Albany Area High School. I knew in high school that I wanted to be a civil engineer, which guided me to North Dakota State University in Fargo where I earned a BS in Civil Engineering and graduated in 2003. I took a job at Bolton & Menk, Inc. in the Fairmont, Minn. office and then transferred to the Chaska office in 2005.
I have been a member of NAIOP for two years and have been actively involved on the Developing Leaders Committee. This year I have helped with coordination for the DL Miniseries and have participated in DL organized events and volunteer opportunities.
8 to 5…
At Bolton & Menk I have worked on a variety of projects including preliminary planning and final design for industrial, commercial, single family residential, municipal street and utility projects, and state highway projects and have recently become the city engineer for the City of Watertown.
Some of my recent projects have been an organics recycling facility and outdoor amphitheater in Scott County, and a 1.5 mile corridor reconstruction of TH 284 in Waconia which included three roundabouts. I currently have completed final design on eight roundabouts throughout Minnesota.
My current tasks include project management from the preliminary planning stages through construction completion. This includes coordinating with developers, city staff, and/or other stake holders in the project to develop preliminary layouts, estimated costs, final construction documents, and coordination of the contractor and the public during construction.
5 to 8…
In my free time I enjoy woodworking, hiking, and canoeing.
David Kordonowy, President of Steiner Development & 2013 President of NAIOP Minnesota, represents commercial real estate and NAIOP on Greater MSP Business TV show
Greater MSP Business is a program hosted by Cyndy Brucato on KSTP. This weekly program is sponsored and arranged by the Minneapolis St. Paul Regional Development Partnership and features regional businesses and their organizations.
From the Capitol
Two bills add an additional tax/fee on property
SF 606/HF 511 - Authorizes local units of government to levy a “recreational facilities fee,” i.e. a tax to finance parks, playgrounds, trails, recreational complexes, etc.
- Has not had a hearing in the House or Senate.
SF 607/HF 745 - Authorizes cities to establish municipal street improvement districts and to apportion street improvement fees, i.e. taxes, on all parcels located in the district.
- Passed on a party line vote in House Government Operations and Transportation Policy.
- “City managers love this idea.”
- Has not had a hearing in the Senate.
A bill changing the Fiscal Disparities Program
SF 207/HF 208 - Authorizes the use of the Fiscal Disparities Pool to finance part of the expansion at the Mall of America.
- The bill has been heard in both the House and Senate Tax Committees. No votes taken.
- Pat Mascia, Duke Realty, and Michele Foster, Foster Real Estate Advisory Services, both members of the Fiscal Disparities Task Force, testified on behalf of business property owners.
Advice from House Minority Leader Representative Kurt Daudt
“Legislators really remember personal stories about the impact of proposed tax and policies on their businesses. They use those examples in committee discussions and floor debates.”
House Minority Leader Representative Kurt Daudt
Guest speaker at the March Public Policy Committee meeting
Demonstrating what can happen if the business community galvanizes with one voice
Governor Dayton dropped the B2B (business-to-business) part of his budget proposal.
A great big thank you to everyone who communicated with the Governor and their legislators.
A special thank you to public policy committee members who stepped up to the plate:
- Using various real project and development scenarios, calculated the impact on the CRE industry.
- With that information, briefed CEOs in advance of a meeting with the Governor.
- Mark Nordland, Nordland Partners, testified in the House Tax Committee.
In the hubbub of Capitol activity, it’s imperative that we keep the business property tax message in front of legislators.
Minnesota’s Classification System shifts the burden of local property taxes onto commercial/industrial (C/I) properties. In effect, owners and their employer-tenants end up subsidizing all other taxpayers in the same jurisdiction.
In 2012, business property owners and their employer-tenants paid 31.1% of all property taxes, but represented only 12.8% of total statewide estimated market value.
Thank you to the roughly 50 commercial real estate people who represented the industry at the Day at the Capitol.
Commercial real estate talking points
“A feisty Gov. Mark Dayton climbed into the belly of the beast Wednesday, March 13, to tell critics in the business community that they have their facts wrong on Minnesota’s economy…In perhaps the most in-your-face speech by a Minnesota governor since Jesse Ventura left office in 2003, Dayton accused those critics of partisan sniping because he’s a Democrat…”
Bill Sallisbury of the Pioneer Press
