Woodbury Outlines 2012 Legislative Priorities

Less than a week before the 2012 legislative session begins, the Woodbury City Council discussed what it would like to see from lawmakers.

As part of a , City Administrator Clint Gridley outlined several priorities for Woodbury. Among them:

The continuation of no levy limits for cities. Levy limits hurt long-term planning efforts for cities, Gridley said, adding that there has been talk of reinstituting them.

The continuation of the Homestead Market Value Exclusion, which replaced the Market Value Homestead Credit. The city would rarely receive funds from the state under the previous arrangement.

Allow cities to use general-obligation bonds for recreational facilities. Woodbury has a AAA bond rating, Gridley said, and it would be nice to be able to take advantage of that fact and use the low-interest bonds for certain projects, such as the expansion. “It can save the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in interest,” Gridley said.

Reducing the number of agencies the city has to deal with for . “There are too many agencies in the water closet,” Gridley said. “It’s crazy.”

Relaxing limits on which things (mowers for example) cities can purchase through buying cooperatives.

Sen. Ted Lillie and Rep. Andrea Kieffer attended the meeting, along with officials from the Municipal Legislative Commission who said they’ll be working toward simplifying the state tax code and property tax reform.

The 2012 legislative session begins Tuesday. Find out what , along with in the GOP.