What is the MSRPO Coalition?
MSRPO, the Minnesota Seasonal Recreational Property Owners
Coalition is the only advocacy group representing families who own
cabins, lakeshore, hunting shacks and seasonal property in
Minnesota at the State Capitol.
MSRPO is the only voice cabin owners have at the
legislature, as few pieces of property are located in the districts
in which cabin owners vote.
We work hard for fair and ecologically beneficial property tax
policies with respect to seasonal property owners. We are the
only voice cabin owners have at the legislature, as few
pieces of property are located in the districts in which cabin
owners vote.
MSRPO core tenets
As a group we believe that:
- Cabins should be taxed no differently than any other Homestead
property. We believe a house is a house.
- Minnesota's current system creates destructive disincentives
towards preservation of shoreline, forest restoration, and habitat
protection. We must rewrite the code to assist owners who want to
preserve and protect these vital resources.
- Minnesota can and must Stop the Spread of Aquatic
Invasive Species.
- Minnesota's property tax code is irreparably broken. The entire
state and local fiscal system must be overhauled.
Why does the MSRPO Coalition exist?
MSRPO has roots that stretch way back to 1993 when a seasonal
cabin owner on Lake Vermilion became alarmed at rapidly rising
property tax bills, particularly because he used so few services
(his property is located on an island.) The tax rate on shoreline
was 2.25% of value then, more than twice the rate of a
homestead.
That year, Executive Director Jeff Forester was doing research
for a book about the history of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and
discovered that Minnesota's ad valorum tax - a tax based
on value at the "highest and best use" treated land only as a
commodity, without recognizing it as the basis of our ecological
health. As such the tax code drives the consumption of land rather
than its protection, conservation and stewardship. He decided to
get involved with MSRPO.
Today the tax rate on seasonal property is the same as on a
house, 1%. The rural woodlands class offers a .65% rate on
qualifying forest habitat properties, the Sustainable Forestry
Incentive Act a return of $7 per acre for land with a stewardship
plan.
Who runs the MSRPO Coalition?
The MSRPO Coalition is a non-profit organization with a lean and mean staff
consisting of a part-time executive director and one part-time
executive assistant. With the help of several activist board members
we lead the charge to represent our members' interests at the State
Capitol.
An affiliated, but separately-organized, political action
committee (PAC) pursues MSRPO's goals in the political
arena.
All MSRPO staff and board members welcome your thoughts and
ideas so that they can serve you better.
Annual Meeting
Each fall MSRPO holds an annual meeting featuring guest speakers
that range from subject matter experts to Political Candidates.
These meetings provide an excellent source of information on a wide
variety of issues.
How to contact MSRPO staff or board members
Got something on your mind you want to say to our staff or board
members? Willing and able to contribute not just your money, but
some of your time to MSRPO? Or just want to say "Thanks" to a small
group looking out for your interests?
We're all ears. Send us an e-mail. Give us a call. Drop us a
letter. The more we hear from our members the better able we are to
serve them.
Here's how to reach the MSRPO staff. A complete list of staff
and board members is online.
Executive Director
Jeff Forester
PO Box 50868
Mendota, MN 55150
Office: 952-854-1317
E-mail: jeff@msrpo.org
Executive Administrator
Judy Corrigan
PO Box 50868
Mendota, MN 55150
Office: 952-854-1317
E-mail: judy@msrpo.org