Waite Park Hires Firm to Assist With Legislative Project Requests

WAITE PARK -- Waite Park officials are considering adding an additional half-cent sales tax to help fund some future city projects.

The city is planning ahead for projects, like transportation, which will need financial backing by the state.

To assist with the legislative services the council approved a contract Monday night with Flaherty & Hood to lobby on city's behalf for potential requests to the legislature.

City Administrator Shaunna Johnson says being a large retail community puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to local government aid and felt the need for some outside assistance.

We really felt the need to find some additional revenue sources that were going to allow us to be able to diversify our revenue and do it in an equitable way.

Johnson says they will work with the firm over the next month to identify several top projects to bring before the legislature.

If the projects are approved by the state during the legislative session, the city council would then need to bring a referendum to the voters.