Minneapolis pension bill yet another casualty of 2011 session

Lost in the budget stalemate news coming out of the Capitol this week was another casualty of the 2011 session -- the pension bill that would merge two Minneapolis police and firefighter pension funds with larger state funds.

Minneapolis officials were pushing for the bill, which they say would save the city $21 million next year. Brandt Williams reported on the bill last week.

The bill failed to get a vote in the House or Senate in the final days of the session. So unless lawmakers take it up in a special session, the pension deal is dead.

The deal would have been welcomed by many city taxpayers, who have been clamoring for property tax relief. While the city council did vote to create a property tax relief account, that account may be tapped if the Legislature cuts LGA to Minneapolis. In case you haven't been keeping track, the Legislature did vote to do that, but Gov. Dayton vetoed the bill.

And while the costs are still being tallied on Minneapolis tornado recovery, and the city hopes to tap state and federal disaster aid, it seems likely that the disaster will have an impact on the city's budget. We'll keep tracking this as the recovery continues.

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