This is part of our series on the debate over the new budget for the State of Minnesota. To see previous articles on the new proposed budget click here
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Democrat Governor Tim Walz is proposing to increase the sales tax in the seven-county metropolitan area to provide an additional $770,000,000 to the Metropolitan Council in the next 10 years, According to Governor Walz, this new revenue would expand transportation services the Metropolitan Council offers.
Metropolitan Council was founded in 1967 and has the distinction of imposing taxes even though the members of the Metropolitan Council are not elected by the public. The governor appoints all 17 members.
The Metropolitan Council already currently has an operating budget of roughly $1,000,000,000, a capital budget of $8,000,000,000 and has over 4,000 employees.
It’s by far the largest regional authority in the nation.
Hennepin County Commissioner and former Republican candidate for Governor Jeff Johnson is a strong opponent on the Met Council. In 2017 he made a video outlining criticism of the council.
Watch the video below
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