Dakota County leaders are urging taxpayers and businesses to join them in opposing a measure that would take $14 million from the county — and $93 million total from seven metro counties — and give it to the Metropolitan Council.
The proposal is part of a House-Senate Transportation Working Group's budget plan. That plan is among budget bills set for votes by the Legislature as early as Monday, June 9. The proposal caught counties and even some lawmakers by surprise because it was not discussed publicly or voted on during the regular legislative session.
“Our taxpayers expect you to deliver on your promise to invest in local projects that will modernize our transportation system," Dakota County Board Vice Chair Laurie Halverson told the working group Friday, June 6. “Shifting money to the Met Council fails in that promise."
The funding is generated through a regional sales tax for transportation. Current state law directs 83 percent of the tax revenue to the Met Council, and the counties split up the other 17 percent. The surprise measure in this year's bill would cut the counties' share to 8.5 percent and send the remaining 8.5 percent to the Met Council for construction of new BRT lines in the metro area.
State estimates show the transportation measure will not only shift $93 million over the next two years, but it will divert nearly $100 million in the following two-year budget cycle as well. The Met Council did not ask for the change and does not need the money to complete BRT projects scheduled for construction, county leaders said.
The seven counties — Dakota, Anoka, Carver, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington — have lists of projects they have already programmed in their transportation plans which rely on the sales tax revenue. Those projects include road preservation, local transit service and trail expansion. They meet requirements outlined in a 2023 transportation funding agreement that created the new regional sales tax.
“Counties are your partners in policymaking," Halverson told the working group. “We know what our residents are asking for because we engage in robust civic engagement when we talk about the infrastructure plans we are creating in our communities."
The proposal would take an estimated $14 million from Dakota County alone over the next two years — roughly $7 million a year. It will affect dozens of projects in nearly every city and many townships in Dakota County:
- Re-engineering highways in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville, and Hampton and Randolph townships.
- Increasing pedestrian and bike transportation throughout the county, including planned projects in Burnsville, Eagan and West St. Paul.
- Completing engineering work in Rosemount and Inver Grove Heights for future projects.
- Extending the greenway system, which provides safe, scenic routes for walkers, bicyclists and others.
“We sincerely ask you to remove the proposal that threatens county projects and reduces our ability to deliver on the promise of transformational change in our transportation system," Halverson told lawmakers.