The Fargo-Moorhead Forum weighed in on LGA in the paper’s editorial section today. Citing the disproportionate cuts cities have taken over the past decade, the paper notes that non-essential spending has been eliminated in most area cities, leaving municipalities the choice to either pare back critical services such as police, fire protection and snow removal, or increase property taxes and fees. As the paper notes, these actions widen the disparities between rural Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro that the LGA program was instituted to bridge. To read the full editorial, click here.

An opinion piece in today’s Ely Timberjay makes the point that the LGA program is a critical tool in keeping property taxes affordable in lower wealth communities. In response to wealthier cities that do not receive LGA and may feel shortchanged, the author argues that strengthening the economic vitality of lower wealth cities is in the interest of all Minnesotans:

I would argue that Minnesota is one big community where citizens deserve to have basic public services and needs met with help from statewide revenues. Police and fire responders, public works, planning and zoning, utilities, a library and economic development are not too much to ask. Good governance, programs for children and teens and recreation are essential to healthy communities. We should not let small and poorer towns fall by the wayside.

To read the full column, click here.