#267

January 2008

AT&T AND SPRINT SETTLES CELL PHONE TAX LAWSUIT … Lawyers representing AT&T, Sprint and Missouri municipalities have agreed to settle the long-standing lawsuit on cell phone taxes. AT&T has agreed to pay $76 million in back taxes and attorneys’ fees and Sprint has agreed to pay $52 million; both agreed to pay municipal telephone taxes in the future. Verizon and U.S. Cellular had already agreed to the settlement which calls for two years back taxes (no penalties and interest). In the lawsuit, the city attorneys had asked for almost ten years back taxes, plus interest and penalties. The city attorneys (John Mulligan and Howard Paperner) should be congratulated for settling the contentious issue in a fair and equitable manner. City officials (in cities with telephone taxes) will have to file documents approving the settlement agreements with each company over the next few months. You can find information and documents relating to the settlements on the MML Web site.

MML LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE … The MML Annual Legislative Conference will be held February 20-21 at the Jefferson City Capitol Plaza Hotel. Registration material can be found on the MML Web site. We urge all city officials to attend this important, informative Conference.

LEGISLATIVE CONTACTS … When the General Assembly convenes on January 9, several issues impacting municipalities will have been pre-filed; many of these bills are detrimental to municipal interests. To date, bills have been or will be filed relating to property taxes, collective bargaining, police/fire overtime, transportation funding, liability for delinquent water and sewer bills, open records, relocation of utilities in the rights-of-way and many other issues.

     Municipal officials will need to contact legislators at the appropriate time before they commit to support these bills. Building relationships with legislators takes time and careful effort, but it is the most effective way to shape the rethinking of those who decide public policy. The best way to build these relationships is by being a useful and trustworthy source of sound information and insight. Your message should be to oppose legislation that makes it more difficult to govern cities. City budgets are in a crunch, and the state should not reduce local revenues or mandate costs on local government.

MEETINGS WITH LEGISLATORS … If you arrange a meeting with your legislators either in Jefferson City or at home, please remember to invite MML staff. If we are able to attend, it is helpful to us in our lobbying effort.

2007-2008 POLICY STATEMENT … The 2007-2008 Policy Statement is now available for download on the MML Web site. Members may also request a hard copy from League headquarters. The policy statement was adopted at the business meeting during the Annual Conference.

FLAT STATEWIDE SALES TAX COLLECTIONS … From July to November, statewide sales tax collections increased only 1 percent over last year, not even keeping pace with inflation. City officials need to keep this in mind when preparing budgets.

MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT BOARDS: TRAINING REQUIRED … To clarify last month’s article on this topic, the training is required of each member of a retirement board, not the board of aldermen. If your municipality is a member of LAGERS, the training is required of each LAGERS board member. If your city has established its own retirement system, the training is required of each member of your retirement board. Sorry for any confusion.

IRS MILEAGE RATES … Effective January 1, the IRS standard mileage rate will increase to 50.5 cents per mile.

NLC POLICY COMMITTEES … We have openings for appointments to the following National League of Cities Policy and Advocacy Committees: Community and Economic Development; Energy, Environment and Natural Resources; Finance Administration and Intergovernmental Relations; Human Development; Information Technology and Communications; and Public Safety and Crime Prevention. The policy committees meet only at the two regular NLC conferences. Preference will be given to officials from cities that are not represented already on NLC committees. Please let us know if you are interested in serving on one of the above committees.

FISCAL CONDITIONS SURVEY … In coordination with the National League of Cities, MML is conducting a survey of the fiscal condition of our member cities. An e-mail including a unique username and password has been sent to all member cities for which the League has an e-mail (only one e-mail per city was sent). This e-mail also provided a link to the online survey hosted by NLC. Please take the time to complete this short survey. A reminder e-mail to those who have not completed the survey will be sent out shortly. The survey must be completed by January 18. Thank you for your assistance.

GFOA WINTER WORKSHOP … The Missouri Government Finance Officers Association will be conducting a Winter Workshop on January 25, in Columbia. The workshop topics include: a presentation from the Federal Reserve Bank, negotiation skills, and ethics. All municipal officials are invited to attend. More information can be found on the MML Web site.