Counties Transit Improvement Board
Encyclopedia
The Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB) is a Joint Powers Board established in March 2008 which will control an estimated $100 million annually in transit funds for the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The board is responsible for granting the funds under its control to major transit infrastructure projects around the Twin Cities.
, Ramsey
, Dakota
, Anoka
, Washington
, Carver
, and Scott
counties. This tax was to be divided equally among transit and highway projects. In further engrossments, the tax was reduced to 0.25% and the highway funding was removed, leaving a dedicated transit tax. The state legislation, which required each county board to both pass the tax and join a Joint Powers Board with the other counties that passed the tax, was passed on February 21, 2008 in the House and the same day in the Senate (as SF 2521). The bill was vetoed by Governor Tim Pawlenty
on February 22, and overridden by both houses of the legislature on February 25.
After the legislation was passed, each county board was required to vote whether or not to enact the tax and join the joint powers Counties Transit Improvement Board. On March 25 Anoka County and Ramsey County both voted to join the Board, thus fulfilling the legislative requirement that at least two counties enact the tax in order to create the Board. On the same day, Carver County voted not to join the board. A week later, on April 1 Dakota, Hennepin, and Washington counties voted to enact the sales tax and join the Board as well, while Scott County voted not to join. Though Scott and Carver counties are not currently members of the board, they may join at a later date if they so choose in the future.
The Board may fund any project it chooses, so long as it is within the taxing district, is consistent with the regional long-range transit plan established by the Metropolitan Council, and does not infringe upon any small county's minimum funding guarantee, which guarantees that any member county which contributes less than 3% of the board's funding is guaranteed to receive at least 3% of grant funding awarded. This last clause appears to be moot at least for now, since neither Scott nor Carver counties enacted the tax, and the remaining five counties should all be large enough to exceed the minimum funding guarantee.
The board's membership includes representatives of each member county as well as a representative of the Metropolitan Council
, which is the umbrella organization for all Twin Cities-area transit. The Metro-area counties have minimal power on the Metropolitan Council, much of which is appointed directly by the governor, and when the seven counties met to draw up the Joint Powers Agreement to create the CTIB, they chose to give the Metropolitan Council only 5 votes on the CTIB, reserving the remaining 95 votes to be divided among the member counties proportionally according to the mean of population and tax-revenue percentages.
Creation
Minnesota State House File 2800, introduced on February 12, 2008, proposed a 0.5% sales tax for the seven counties that make up the Minneapolis-St. Paul Urbanized Area: HennepinHennepin County, Minnesota
Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2010 the population was 1,152,425. Its county seat is Minneapolis. It is by far the most populous county in Minnesota; more than one in five Minnesotans live...
, Ramsey
Ramsey County, Minnesota
Ramsey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, founded in 1849. As of 2010, the population was 508,640. Its county seat is St. Paul, which is also Minnesota's state capital. The county is named for Alexander Ramsey , the first governor of the Minnesota Territory...
, Dakota
Dakota County, Minnesota
Dakota County is the third most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is bordered by the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers on the north, and the state of Wisconsin on the east. Dakota County comprises the southeast portion of seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul, the thirteenth...
, Anoka
Anoka County, Minnesota
Anoka County is the fourth-most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is bordered by the counties of Isanti on the north, Chisago and Washington on the east, Hennepin and Ramsey on the south, Sherburne on the west, and the Mississippi River on the southwest.As of 2010, Anoka...
, Washington
Washington County, Minnesota
Washington County is a county established in 1849 in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 238,136. Its county seat is Stillwater.-History:...
, Carver
Carver County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 70,205 people, 24,356 households, and 18,778 families residing in the county. The population density was 197 people per square mile . There were 24,883 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile...
, and Scott
Scott County, Minnesota
Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was organized in 1853 and named in honor of General Winfield Scott. As of 2010, the population was 129,928. Its county seat is Shakopee...
counties. This tax was to be divided equally among transit and highway projects. In further engrossments, the tax was reduced to 0.25% and the highway funding was removed, leaving a dedicated transit tax. The state legislation, which required each county board to both pass the tax and join a Joint Powers Board with the other counties that passed the tax, was passed on February 21, 2008 in the House and the same day in the Senate (as SF 2521). The bill was vetoed by Governor Tim Pawlenty
Tim Pawlenty
Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...
on February 22, and overridden by both houses of the legislature on February 25.
After the legislation was passed, each county board was required to vote whether or not to enact the tax and join the joint powers Counties Transit Improvement Board. On March 25 Anoka County and Ramsey County both voted to join the Board, thus fulfilling the legislative requirement that at least two counties enact the tax in order to create the Board. On the same day, Carver County voted not to join the board. A week later, on April 1 Dakota, Hennepin, and Washington counties voted to enact the sales tax and join the Board as well, while Scott County voted not to join. Though Scott and Carver counties are not currently members of the board, they may join at a later date if they so choose in the future.
Purpose, Powers, and Authority
According to the enabling legislation, the purpose of the CTIB is to collect the transit tax funds collected in member counties, and to grant those funds to capital transit projects in the Twin Cities area. The CTIB has independent bonding authority, secured by future revenues of the transit tax, and all counties that join the Board are legally bound to keep collecting revenues if they choose to leave the board, until all obligations made while they were members are repaid. The Board is also allowed to secure bonding in excess of its revenues if it does so in cooperation with member counties who choose to use their bonding authority to fund CTIB projects.The Board may fund any project it chooses, so long as it is within the taxing district, is consistent with the regional long-range transit plan established by the Metropolitan Council, and does not infringe upon any small county's minimum funding guarantee, which guarantees that any member county which contributes less than 3% of the board's funding is guaranteed to receive at least 3% of grant funding awarded. This last clause appears to be moot at least for now, since neither Scott nor Carver counties enacted the tax, and the remaining five counties should all be large enough to exceed the minimum funding guarantee.
The board's membership includes representatives of each member county as well as a representative of the Metropolitan Council
Metropolitan Council
The Metropolitan Council or Met Council is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. The Met Council is granted regional authority powers in state statutes by the Minnesota Legislature. These powers...
, which is the umbrella organization for all Twin Cities-area transit. The Metro-area counties have minimal power on the Metropolitan Council, much of which is appointed directly by the governor, and when the seven counties met to draw up the Joint Powers Agreement to create the CTIB, they chose to give the Metropolitan Council only 5 votes on the CTIB, reserving the remaining 95 votes to be divided among the member counties proportionally according to the mean of population and tax-revenue percentages.