Rep. Linda Slocum Honored by the League of Minnesota Cities as Legislator of Distinction

The League of Minnesota Cities has selected Rep. Linda Slocum (District 50A – Richfield/Bloomington) as a Legislator of Distinction for 2013. The honor recognizes Rep. Slocum for specific actions that aided efforts of Minnesota cities during the 2013 legislative session. This award is made annually by the League of Minnesota Cities to recognize legislators that successfully serve commonly shared constituents.  The award recognizes the partnership for progress that state and city officials make when working together to meet the unique needs of rural, suburban, and urban residents all across Minnesota.

Rep. Linda Slocum is the author of legislation that streamlined the process for communities across Minnesota to organize solid waste collection. This legislation can save cities significant wear on local infrastructure, can dramatically lower solid waste collection costs to residents, and can address a wide range of service and environmental issues in communities where local officials decide to implement it.

“I’m honored to receive this award from the League of Minnesota Cities,” said Rep. Slocum. “It was great partnering with my local officials in Richfield and Bloomington to get this legislation passed.  Communities across the state of Minnesota can save money while also providing an environmental benefit to their residents.  It took active collaboration between my office and local officials to move the bill through the legislative process and get it signed by the Governor.  It’s great to see all the work recognized.”

This year, the Legislature made historic investments in local communities. Cities and counties will see over $120 million in new state dollars through increases in Local Government Aid (LGA) and County Program Aid in the budget passed this session. Bloomington and Richfield alone will see increased of over $400,000 and $720,000 in LGA respectively.

There will also be $170 million in savings for cities and counties across because they will now be exempted from paying state sales tax.  The combined effect of these provisions alone should mean improved local services, lower local property taxes, and a more stable budgeting process for local governments due to a reformed formula to determine state aid in the future.

“Local communities across Minnesota depend on this state aid,” said Rep. Slocum. “This year, we wanted to make some positive reforms to the state aid formulas to stabilize aid to local governments and keep taxes low.  I’m happy to say confidently that our budget will be very positive for communities in all areas of our state.”