Editorial: Everyone out of the revenue-sharing pool

Hundreds of construction workers turned out at the State Capitol earlier this week to show their support for a plan to use public money to build a parking ramp at the Mall of America. Given the sorry state of the economy, the workers have plenty of time to attend rallies.

As argued previously in this space, there are many reasons Minnesotans should hope the owners of the megamall will proceed with the $2.1 billion expansion plan in Bloomington. The state benefits when members of the building trades are carrying hammers instead of rally placards, and the project would be an economic-development victory for the region.

The problem is that the proposed funding source for the $204 million parking lot is the metrowide fiscal disparities pool, which was created in the 1970s to allow slower-growing cities to share in the commercial-industrial tax growth of neighboring communities. Tapping the fund to build a parking ramp would establish a bad precedent -- one not lost on Dennis Berg, chairman of the Anoka County Board.

Berg recently sent a letter to the county's legislative delegation suggesting that if Bloomington gets a break from the fiscal disparities pool for the Mall of America project, legislators should seek public support for a north metro project in the future. He mentioned SportsTown USA, a proposed retail and entertainment development in Blaine. The Legislature can expect more of the same if the megamall proposal is approved.

Despite opposition from the respected Citizens League, the Greater Minneapolis Building Owners & Managers Association and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the megamall plan has support from key Republican and DFL legislators. It could be up to Gov. Tim Pawlenty to determine the fate of the legislation, and so far he hasn't shown his hand. The governor has, however, expressed concern about a possible "parade of projects'' that will want a break from fiscal disparities if the mall receives one.

The megamall's owner, Triple Five Group, is a Canadian firm with significant real estate holdings and banking, venture capital and other business interests. Because the company is privately held, its finances remain a mystery. It's possible that the megamall's Phase II would proceed without a subsidy, which would be the best outcome for the state, the metro communities that depend on the fiscal disparities pool, and the construction workers who converged in St. Paul this week.