Area Mayors, Officials Talk State Legislative Priorities in Joint Cities Meeting [AUDIO]

ST. JOSEPH - In the final run-up to the election, the mayors of 6 metro area cities - along with administrators and city council members - gathered at the St. Joseph Fire Hall on Tuesday night to review the biggest governmental priorities for our area.

St. Joseph Mayor Rick Schultz says the purpose of the St. Cloud Area Joint Cities meeting is to strategize on 19 identified key issues and proposals impacting central Minnesota - most notably the idea to hire a lobbyist to assist with extending the local option sales tax.

Schultz says even though they don't know exactly who will be representing central Minnesota following the election, the top priorities identified by each of the cities will stay the same.

Schultz says the council will regroup before the next session of congress to review all the legislative priorities.

The 6 area cities making up the committee are St. Cloud, Waite Park, Sauk Rapids, Sartell, St. Augusta and St. Joseph.