Putting a local option sales tax on the ballot may not be as easy as Cloquet Mayor Bruce Ahlgren and the Cloquet City Council once thought.
At least two key figures in the Minnesota legislature who have been part of stopping the city of Cloquet from putting a local sales tax on the ballot were ousted in the 2006 general election, giving the city the first glimmer of hope in seven years. After speaking with State Senator Tony Lourey about a recent local rural caucus Lourey attended, Ahlgren claimed the glimmer of hope is still there - but barely.
"[Tax Committee Chair and District 6 State Senator] Tom Bakk feels they should move away from offering a local option sales tax in this region unless necessary," said Ahlgren. "I was a little surprised. Tony's still 100 percent for it, though."
According to Ahlgren, the reasons for offering to place a local option sales tax on the ballot have been reserved for cities who offer regional services. Ahlgren added he knows one of the reasons for questioning the validity of a sales tax in Cloquet is because legislators don't feel it's right for people who aren't from Cloquet to pay for our services. Ironically, said Ahlgren, the opposite is true.
"Cloquet truly is a regional center," he said. "You could make a huge case that basically everything we do in Cloquet has regional significance and that we have to put a lot of money into services the entire surrounding area uses."
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Ahlgren said he plans on being persistent in his lobbying efforts to get the legislature to allow the people of Cloquet to decide whether or not they want a half-cent sales tax.
Pine Journal Editor Mat Gilderman can be contacted at: mgilderman@pinejournal.com .
