Missoula County supports HB 104, Revise county leasing authority, up for second reading today on the House floor.
HB 104 attempts to clean up the language and provide uniformity in the way local governments can lease property. Currently there is a discrepancy in the law that allows cities and the state to lease lands for terms up to 40 years, yet county governments are limited to 10 years. While this discrepancy may seem small, it prevents counites and local elected officials from doing good work and being good partners.
It is hard to be a good partner in a project that will bring new jobs, new amenities or expanded services when one party must come to the table and can only look to the short term. Investments in our communities are needed and the way we get good investments is when the people and entities investing know that their investments will pay off over time, but when that time is limited to 10 years, it can stop some projects in their tracks.
-Under current state law, only counties are limited to leasing county lands to 10 years or fewer; state and municipal governments are not limited in the term of the lease. This has created challenges for counties when it comes to finding partners for worthwhile community projects. A few examples from Missoula County include:
1. One of our rural fire districts approached Missoula County about leasing a piece of land near one of their parks to build a new fire station. They were looking for at least a 30-year lease to be able to secure financing and to ensure adequate time for use of the building. However, the county is prohibited from this type of lease since they are limited to 10-year terms.
2. A community organization approached Missoula County to build a new facility on the fairgrounds, and they were able to privately raise more than $2 million to fund it. This puts the county in a difficult position of asking them to make a $2 million donation to construct a building for their use that they might lose after 10 years.
-Our goal is for counties to have the same leasing authority as cities under state law so we can be better community partners.
Missoula County supports HB 104, Revise county leasing authority, up for hearing today in the Senate Local Government Committee.
HB 104 attempts to clean up the language and provide uniformity in the way local governments can lease property. Currently there is a discrepancy in the law that allows cities and the state to lease lands for terms up to 40 years, yet county governments are limited to 10 years. While this discrepancy may seem small, it prevents counites and local elected officials from doing good work and being good partners.
It is hard to be a good partner in a project that will bring new jobs, new amenities or expanded services when one party must come to the table and can only look to the short term. Investments in our communities are needed and the way we get good investments is when the people and entities investing know that their investments will pay off over time, but when that time is limited to 10 years, it can stop some projects in their tracks.
Senators, Missoula County supports HB 104, Revise county leasing authority, up for second reading today on the Senate floor. HB 104 attempts to clean up the language and provide uniformity in the way local governments can lease property. Currently there is a discrepancy in the law that allows cities and the state to lease lands for terms up to 40 years, yet county governments are limited to 10 years. While this discrepancy may seem small, it prevents counites and local elected officials from doing good work and being good partners.
It is hard to be a good partner in a project that will bring new jobs, new amenities or expanded services when one party must come to the table and can only look to the short term. We need to make investments in our communities, and we get good investments when the people and entities investing know they will pay off over time. But when that time is limited to 10 years, it can stop some projects in their tracks.
Sent Jan. 26:
ReplyDeleteRepresentatives,
Missoula County supports HB 104, Revise county leasing authority, up for second reading today on the House floor.
HB 104 attempts to clean up the language and provide uniformity in the way local governments can lease property. Currently there is a discrepancy in the law that allows cities and the state to lease lands for terms up to 40 years, yet county governments are limited to 10 years. While this discrepancy may seem small, it prevents counites and local elected officials from doing good work and being good partners.
It is hard to be a good partner in a project that will bring new jobs, new amenities or expanded services when one party must come to the table and can only look to the short term. Investments in our communities are needed and the way we get good investments is when the people and entities investing know that their investments will pay off over time, but when that time is limited to 10 years, it can stop some projects in their tracks.
Please support HB 104.
Commissioner Strohmaier's testimony from Jan. 19:
ReplyDelete-Missoula County supports HB 104
-Under current state law, only counties are limited to leasing county lands to 10 years or fewer; state and municipal governments are not limited in the term of the lease. This has created challenges for counties when it comes to finding partners for worthwhile community projects. A few examples from Missoula County include:
1. One of our rural fire districts approached Missoula County about leasing a piece of land near one of their parks to build a new fire station. They were looking for at least a 30-year lease to be able to secure financing and to ensure adequate time for use of the building. However, the county is prohibited from this type of lease since they are limited to 10-year terms.
2. A community organization approached Missoula County to build a new facility on the fairgrounds, and they were able to privately raise more than $2 million to fund it. This puts the county in a difficult position of asking them to make a $2 million donation to construct a building for their use that they might lose after 10 years.
-Our goal is for counties to have the same leasing authority as cities under state law so we can be better community partners.
Sent Feb. 3:
ReplyDeleteSenators Boldman and Morigeau,
Missoula County supports HB 104, Revise county leasing authority, up for hearing today in the Senate Local Government Committee.
HB 104 attempts to clean up the language and provide uniformity in the way local governments can lease property. Currently there is a discrepancy in the law that allows cities and the state to lease lands for terms up to 40 years, yet county governments are limited to 10 years. While this discrepancy may seem small, it prevents counites and local elected officials from doing good work and being good partners.
It is hard to be a good partner in a project that will bring new jobs, new amenities or expanded services when one party must come to the table and can only look to the short term. Investments in our communities are needed and the way we get good investments is when the people and entities investing know that their investments will pay off over time, but when that time is limited to 10 years, it can stop some projects in their tracks.
Please support HB 104.
Sent March 10:
ReplyDeleteSenators,
Missoula County supports HB 104, Revise county leasing authority, up for second reading today on the Senate floor.
HB 104 attempts to clean up the language and provide uniformity in the way local governments can lease property. Currently there is a discrepancy in the law that allows cities and the state to lease lands for terms up to 40 years, yet county governments are limited to 10 years. While this discrepancy may seem small, it prevents counites and local elected officials from doing good work and being good partners.
It is hard to be a good partner in a project that will bring new jobs, new amenities or expanded services when one party must come to the table and can only look to the short term. We need to make investments in our communities, and we get good investments when the people and entities investing know they will pay off over time. But when that time is limited to 10 years, it can stop some projects in their tracks.
Please support HB 104.