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'.V ' . <br />1 Aii-tT • ’ 1 JV ' <br />April 4, 1995 <br />GITYof ORONO <br />Municipal Offices <br />Street Address: <br />2750 Kelley Partowy <br />Orono. MN 55356 <br />Mailiiif Address: <br />P.O. Box 66 <br />Crystal Bay, MN 55323 0066 <br />Senator Gen Olson <br />119 State Office Building <br />St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 <br />Dear Senator Olson; <br />This letter is to express the City of Orono’s strong opposition to SF 1570, a bill that <br />would take local spending decisions out of the hands of local officials. This bill will have a <br />serious negative impact on the City of Orono. <br />This bill would take control of local financial decision making out of the hands of local <br />officials, who are most in touch with the needs of the community and most accountable to the <br />citizens of the community. The City of Orono has a long history of bemg very fiscally <br />conservative. In Orono, as in other cities, significant needs requinng substantial expenditures <br />occur periodically. Decisions to fund these needs are difficult, and are made only after a <br />process that includes opportunities for input from the city’s residents. These are not decisions <br />that should be controlled by the State. <br />While this bill would freeze and then limit local spending, other legislation has placed <br />mandates on Orono that require large expenditures. Examples include numerous mandates <br />from the Metropolitan Council including implementation of an interim strategy on non-point <br />source pollution, implementation of the Metropolitan Surface Water Management Act <br />requirements, and implementation of a water supply plan. The cost to 0^"® <br />these, the Local Water Management Plan, is approximately $120,000. In addition the Met <br />Council, MPCA, and DNR have mandated shoreland regulations which have made a large <br />percentage of the septic systems in Orono non-conforming. The cost to replace these septic <br />svstems Is approximately $6 million dollars. Some of these septic systems can best be replaced <br />through sewer projects which will require additional expenditures by both the property owners <br />and the city. <br />The Citv of Orono has been finding it very difficult to determine how to meet these <br />mandates within a level of spending that both the city’s residents and the local officials believe <br />is reasonable. It will become impossible to comply with even the least costly mandates i i <br />new bill is enacted. <br />Tdephoiie (612) 473-7357 • FAX 473-0510