Local governments in Minnesota have already spent at least $729,000 of taxpayer money this year to lobby policymakers in Washington, DC.

If federal lobbying records are any indication, Minnesota’s local governments are increasingly turning to our nation’s capital in search of funding for local programs. A Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act filings finds that Minnesota’s local governments and their associations spent at least $5.217 million lobbying the federal government from 2006 through the first half of 2010.[i] Annual lobbying expenditures have risen each year and are on pace to set a new record in 2010, with at least $729,000 spent the first half of the year.

So far in 2010, the biggest spenders have been the City of Minneapolis ($90,000), the City of Moorhead ($80,000), and Scott County ($60,000).

Overall, the biggest spenders since 2006 have been Scott County ($815,000), the City of Moorhead ($620,000), Hennepin County ($405,000), the North Metro Mayors Coalition ($375,000), and the Anoka County Regional Railroad Authority ($369,000).

“I do believe that given the multitude of issues at the federal level that directly impact the cost of county government that it is important the county have a voice and be heard,” said Gary Shelton, Scott County Administrator. “I also believe it has been money well spent.”

The controversial practice of using taxpayer money to lobby for additional taxpayer money is nothing new in Minnesota. In fact, local governments and their associations are required to report lobbying expenditures to the Office of the State Auditor (OSA), which prepares an annual report on local government lobbying activities. However, the state law requiring local governments to report lobbying expenditures to the OSA does not apply to federal lobbying.

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Vice President Joe Biden met with state and local government officials from across the country last year to provide guidance on spending federal stimulus funds. Biden implored local leaders to focus on only essential infrastructure needs that will put people back to work and to avoid frivolous projects: “No swimming pools! No tennis courts! No golf courses! No Frisbee parks!”

Since then, dozens of Minnesota cities and counties have taken advantage of a little known stimulus bond program, borrowing $684 million for projects that include municipal swimming pools, a multi-million dollar golf course renovation and a new mega-community center, a Freedom Foundation of Minnesota analysis shows.

The Build America Bonds program offers a substantial subsidy by the federal government to help cover interest payments and entice local governments to borrow money, making it the fastest growing portion of the municipal bond market.

While most of the 65 bonding projects across Minnesota appear to be public improvement projects for roads and basic infrastructure, concerns have been expressed that Build America Bonds could encourage borrowing for unessential government projects, as well.

The City of Plainview approved borrowing $1.5 million through Build America Bonds for renovations to its municipal swimming pool. The City of Coon Rapids leveraged Build America Bonds for a $4.23 million facelift to the city-owned Bunker Hills golf course. Despite a budget crunch, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman pitched using Build America Bonds to help fund $24 million in projects.  The construction work includes installing a new $7.2 million swimming pool with a “lazy river”at Como Park, renovations to the Highland Park swimming pool, and building a 36,000 square foot community center.

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More than 100 staff members appointed by three Minnesota congressmen who serve as chairman or ranking member on powerful House committees appear to be exempt from a key requirement in the controversial health care reform bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law.

Now that most of twelve California wind turbines retrofitted for Minnesota winters are finally operational, several cities have acknowledged to the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota that the $5 million project may be more suited for generating PR—both good and bad—than producing significant quantities of power.

The wind power project involves utilities in eleven cities scattered across the state from the metro area to East Grand Forks in a consortium called the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA). Each of the eleven member cities received one turbine, and the twelfth was given to the MMPA owned and operated Faribault Energy Park in Faribault. It was supposed to be a step toward meeting the state renewable energy mandate that requires 25 percent of Minnesota’s power be from renewable energy sources by 2025.

It turns out, however, the twelve wind derricks will produce power for perhaps several hundred homes, hardly making a dent in the MMPA’s 57,000 household and business customers.

“They’re basically for public relations, educational purposes. They’re just not feasible for any significant amount of electrical generation,” said Dan Voss, Municipal Utilities Director for the City of Anoka.

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Does the government’s power of eminent domain include seizing the rights to the wind that wafts over your property? That’s the controversial question swirling around an 8 megawatt wind farm proposed by the southern Minnesota city of New Ulm and opposed by several farmers in rural Lafayette Township who refuse to grant their “wind rights” to the city utility.

“This is merely an evolution of principles that have been evolving since the sovereign rights of eminent domain were determined to exist,” according to Hugh Nierengarten, New Ulm City Attorney.

“Eminent domain is basically like a nuclear bomb,” said Clete Goblirsch, a farmer who refuses to sign an easement. “The repercussions would be long lasting and widespread, not just for us, but for the wind industry.”

While public utilities have fairly broad powers to use government authority to force property owners to sell to meet their needs, the New Ulm plan involves an unprecedented move to expand eminent domain authority to include the seizure of air space on private property for power generation.

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Minnesota has declined to make public its list of recommended projects for the first round of broadband stimulus funding until Washington announces the lucky recipients beginning in early November.   Sure, many other states have released their prioritized lists of applicants for a $7.2 billion jackpot.  And sure, the secretive nature of the process seems at odds with the high level of transparency that was promised to accompany the even higher level of stimulus funding.

A cursory review by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota of the projects under consideration, however, indicates there’s plenty of reasons to avoid public scrutiny.  

Leading the list of dubious projects is a $5.2 million proposal by the city of Minneapolis to provide laptops or iPod Touches to “underserved” residents, courtesy of taxpayers.  Of course, many taxpayers would no doubt appreciate receiving an iPod Touch themselves and there’s no indication of how handing out iPods and laptops would help create or save jobs, or spur economic recovery. 

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