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//n <br />^ il.*: 'Vi. -4'; <br />/ <br />April 4. 1995 <br />GlTYof ORONO <br />Municipal Offkcs <br />Stratt Mdress: <br />2750 Kelley Parkway <br />Orono. MN 55356 <br />MaiRnt AMrtss: <br />P.O. Box 66 <br />Crystal Bay, MN 55323 0066 <br />Senator Edward Oliver <br />121 Slate Office Building <br />St. Paul. Minnesota 55155 <br />Dear Senator Oliver: <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 would 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 being very fiscally <br />conservative. In Orono. as in other cities, significant needs requiring 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 plac- .. <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-pomt <br />source pollution. implemenU'as*5 of the Metropolitan Surface Water Management Act <br />requirements, and implementr a.® -f a water supply plan. The cost to Orono of only one of <br />these, the Local Water Managerneni 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 />systems 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 City 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 if this <br />new bill is enacted. <br />Telephone (612) 473-7357 • FAX 473-0510