PoliGraph: Emmer wrong on LGA
If Republican Tom Emmer's elected governor, he says he'll restructure the way the state parcels out money to cities to eliminate what he says has been wasteful spending in the local government aid program.
To help sell his platform, Emmer frequently points out that aid isn't spread evenly among Minnesota communities.
"I don't know how many of your viewers understand that only about half the cities in this state get any local government aid and frankly only a handful get the lion's share," he said during a debate Sept. 17, 2010.
It's a claim that he reiterated during a debate in St. Cloud Sept. 21, and that appears on part of his campaign website called EmmerTruth, meant to refute misinformation about the platform.
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There's little truth to this Emmer claim.
The Evidence
Emmer's campaign said it could not back-up his claim that only half the cities in the state get aid. In fact, most do. This year, 85 percent of communities - or 727 out of 854 communities -- will get local government aid after unallotment cuts, according to data supplied by the Minnesota State Legislature House Research Department, which tracks these payments annually.
Emmer's second point, that a handful of communities get the most money, is more complicated. This year, the state will give out $426,535,440 in local government aid. Nearly half of that - about $200 million - goes to 14 cities, including Duluth, Minneapolis, St. Cloud, St. Paul, and Winona.
However, Emmer's statement glosses over some important context. Local Government Aid was created to help towns with limited tax bases provide services to its residents. Funding is doled out based on a city's fiscal needs and its ability to pay for them, as well as other factors, including population. So on one hand, it makes sense that large cities, like St. Paul or Minneapolis, would be getting a lot of money.
But dollar amounts don't reveal much. To really understand how the state is spending the cash, it makes more sense to look at aid per capita. By this measure, some of the state's smallest towns are getting the most money per person. For instance, Leonidas, population 57, got $35,240 this year, which breaks down to about $618 per person. By comparison, Minneapolis, population 390,000, got $63,986,731 in local government aid - or about $164 per person.
The Verdict
Emmer's claim is fraught with inaccuracies. He's wrong that only half of Minnesota communities are getting aid. It's far more than that. And while Minneapolis and St. Paul come out on top in terms of dollars of aid, it's the smallest cities in the state that are getting the most aid per person - precisely the aim of the local government aid program.
This claim is false.
Sources
The UpTake, transcript of the TPT Almanac debate, Sept. 17, 2010
Emmer for Governor, EmmerTruth: Tom Emmer Wants to Reform, Not Eliminate, Local Government Aid, accessed Sept. 23, 2010
Minnesota Public Radio News, City officials gloomily expect cuts to local government aid, by Dan Olson, Sept. 17, 2010
Minnesota2020, Phony LGA Statistics at AARP Debate, by Jeff Van Wychen, Sept. 21, 2010
Minnesota House Research Department, Governor's December 2008 City Aid and Credit Cuts and Payments, Dec. 19, 2008
Minnesota House Research Department, 2009-2011 LGA certified and paid amounts, after the 2010 session, June 11, 2010
The Minnesota Department of Revenue, Final City Unallotment: 2009, accessed Sept. 23, 2010
The League of Minnesota Cities, Local Government Aid 101: 2009 Distribution & Beyond, updated April 2010
LGA payments by amount
LGA payments by per capita amount
Interview, Carl Kuhl, Emmer for Governor, Sept. 23, 2010
Interview, Lena Gould, Policy Analyst, League of Minnesota Cities
Interview, Jeff Van Wychen, fellow, Minnesota 2020, Sept. 23, 2010
Interview, Pat Dalton, House Research Department, Sept. 23, 2010