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By Greg Zylka

President, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities

It’s been a long road, but I’m glad that after five special sessions legislators in the DFL-led House and Republican-led Senate were able to come together to reach a strong bipartisan agreement on the bonding bill.

As our communities continue to struggle with the economic impacts of the pandemic, the projects funded through this bill will create thousands of much-needed jobs and boost economic recovery across the state.

For Greater Minnesota, the passage of the bonding bill means that dozens of cities will be able to afford to make critical improvements to their wastewater and drinking water facilities — projects that may not have been able to move forward without this funding.

The bill also includes many other key priorities for Greater Minnesota, such as funding for local roads and bridges, housing and economic development programs, and the creation of a new child care facilities grant program, all of which are vital to providing strong, livable communities for our residents and businesses.

I want to thank Capital Investment Committee chairs Rep. Mary Murphy and Sen. David Senjem, as well as minority leads Rep. Dean Urdahl and Sen. Sandy Pappas, and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman, Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent, and Gov. Tim Walz and his staff for working tirelessly to craft a bonding bill that addresses infrastructure and economic development needs across Minnesota.