Deciding stimulus spending in Anoka County

When Anoka County targets $300,000 in stimulus funds for housing redevelopment projects, the county will partner with its cities to determine how the money is spent. But some county officials wish the cities would handle it themselves.

"It was never our intent to force cities to choose whether they wanted to be part of our HRA," County Board Chairman Dennis Berg said Wednesday, referring to the county's Housing and Redevelopment Authority that helps provide affordable housing.

"We want all of our cities to benefit, but some of those cities already have their own HRAs," Berg said. "By getting involved, I feel like, in some cases, we're violating a trust."

The last of the metro area counties to get involved with the Metropolitan Council's HRA, Anoka County decided at the outset that it would help only communities that sought HRA assistance, said Tim Yantos, Anoka County HRA executive director. But an outside law firm hired by the Anoka County attorney's office recently determined that the county should be involved with all of its cities on HRA matters.

"This opinion is troubling to us," Berg said of Faegre & Benson's decision. He said he has no problem with the county attorney's selection of Faegre & Benson, which handles county bonding issues.

"We're happy to work voluntarily with our cities, but my own opinion is that HRAs belong to the level closest to the people as possible," Berg continued. "But we're dealing with neighborhoods that cities know better than the county. We never intended to take over. We don't want to be overbearing."

More than a dozen years ago, when Anoka County initiated its HRA -- with a commitment to assisting low-income seniors, disabled people and others in need -- some of the large communities preferred handling things themselves. The county was glad to keep out of the way, Berg said.

"If you're going to levy and involve the HRA, you have to levy countywide," Yantos said. "The law says you have to levy equally.

"Some cities used to say, 'We have our own HRA and we want it that way,'" said Yantos.

But Yantos says the county's involvement favors the cities.

"Times have changed and so have the cities," he said. "The foreclosure market tells us that."

Berg agrees, saying that many cities that once thought they could handle HRA matters themselves are now seeking county help.