What is the MSRPO Coalition?

MSRPO is the Minnesota Seasonal Recreational Property Owners Coalition. We're the only advocacy group representing families who own cabins, lakeshore, hunting shacks and seasonal property in Minnesota at the State Capitol.

We work hard year 'round and especially when the legislature is in session to seek tax fairness with respect to property taxes for 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.
• Cabins owners should receive all refunds, buy-downs and discounts applied to Homestead property.
• ALL stakeholders and that includes seasonal property owners are entitled to vote in local elections.
• Minnesota's property tax code is irreparably broken, and property tax reform is desperately needed.

Why does the MSRPO Coalition exist?

MSRPO has roots that stretch way back to 1993 when Dick Wray, a seasonal cabin owner on Lake Vermilion, became annoyed at rapidly rising property tax bills, particularly because he used so few services (his property is located on an island.)

When county assessors and state representatives turned an unsympathetic ear to his problem Wray took action. Read the full story here.

Who runs the MSRPO Coalition?

The MSRPO Coalition is a non-profit organization with offices in Bloomington, Minnesota, at 2 Appletree Square #235, Bloomington, MN 55425, Phone: (952) 854-1317. An affiliated, but separately-organized, political action committee (PAC) pursues MSRPO's goals in the political arena.

Our lean and mean staff consists of a part-time executive director and one executive assistant. With the help of several activist board members we lead the charge to represent our members' interests at the State Capitol.

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. The 2006 MSRPO Coalition's annual meeting, with the theme "Seeking Solutions," on October 4th was the largest to date, with 300 members in attendance. All the gubernatorial candidates save Tim Pawlenty spoke, as well as Sen. Bill Belanges, ranking Republican on the Senate Tax Committee and Rep. Ann Lenczewski, who may well be the next House Tax Chair. Video clips from the 2006 annual meeting are available online.

A record of the minutes from the 2005 annual meeting is also online.

Committees

The MSRPO Board chartered several committees to work on projects in four areas essential to the long term success and growth of MSRPO during the next few years.

Committee membership is open to ANY member of MSRPO willing to share their expertise on topics that advance MSRPO's goals. If you're interested contact Jeff Forester at 952-854-1317, or jeff@msrpo.org.

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 2 Appletree Square #235 Bloomington, MN 55425 Office: 952-854-1317 Fax: 952-854-7953 E-mail: jeff@msrpo.org

Executive Administrator Judy Corrigan 2 Appletree Square #235 Bloomington, MN 55425 Office: 952-854-1317 Fax: 952-854-7953 E-mail: judy@msrpo.org