Agenda - Council - 05/12/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITIZENS LEAGUE 530 Syndicate Building Minneapolis, MN 55402 338~791 April 27,1981 STATEMENT CONCERNING PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE STUDY OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL RENEWED ATTENTION TO TIlE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL IS ENCOURAGING. The Legislature this year is expressing a renewed interest in the Metropolitan Council. The Legislature, which created and has nurtured the Council over the 14 years of its exis- tence, may this year undertake a formal review of further steps it needs to take to fulfill its commitment-greater than that of any other Legislature in the nation-that this major metropolitan area have an effective system of govern- A CENTRAL ROLE FOR THE LEGISLATURE IN RE- VIEWING THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL IS ESSEN- TIAL. .. For the last quarter century the Legislature has been the central body in the evolving system of metropolitan gover- nance. Many persons may not be aware that it was state government in Minnesota, not the national government, which established the predecessor to the Metropolitan Council, the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) in. 1957. Ten years later the Legislature built upon that earl- ier legislation and established the Metropolitan Council. In years since then the Legislature has passed several acts building upon this fonndation. Perhaps most significant among these were the Metropolitan Reorganization Act of · 1974, which spelled out the relationship between thc Council and its subordinate agencies, and the Metropolitan Land Planning Act of i976,' which instructed the Council to assure that new growth within the seven county area takes place in those locations which have the necessary ur- ban services. ~ The L.?gislature seems to ne giving more attention to gov- ernment structure at the metropolitan level than at the other levels of government. We are encouraged by the continued commitment by the Legislature.in 1981 to play the central role in looking at metropolitan government.: Although in April 1981 action on a legislative interim study still was pending, one of the first amendments adopted to a bill for the study was to lim- it its membership exclusively 1o legislators. When intro- duced the bill provided mainly for membership fiom local Since its creation in 1967 and on through today the Metro- politan Council has continued to receive national acclaim. It has been cited repeatedly by the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations as an example of appropriate and effeclive metropolitan governance. SEVERAL ISSUES NEED ATTENTION IN A LEGISLA TIVE REVIEW. We believe legislative review presents an excellent oppor- tunity to address several questions which have concemcd us in recent years. Our interest in the Council goes back t, the years prior to its establishment, when we began to see the need for more effective arcawide action on problems such as sewage disposal and transit. We advocated the creation of the Metropolitan Council. Two features of the Council, that its members be elected from districts of equal population and that the Council not engage in direct operational res- ponsibility, have been central to our ideas about thc Coun- cil from the outset. Following are several issues that are present today, including our own positions on those issues: Whether the Council is adequately fultilEng its responsibili- ties as policy advisor to the Governor and Legislature. We believe the Council should take more policy initiatives. In recent years, the Council's work program seems to have been made up primarily of assignments given to it by the state and federal governments. The Council's work program is extensive. It has played a central role in implementing the 1976 Metropolitan Land Planning Act. It reviews requests for federal funds from local governments and agencies in the metropolitan area. It regularly updates chapters in its metropolitan development guide. It has ongoing planning respons~ility in a host of areas, inclgding aging, arts, air quality, health, housing, transportation, parks and open space, public safety, solid waste and water quality. I~ oversees the activities of several metropolitan commissions. including parks, airports, sewers, and transit. "It is being overwhelmed by large numbers of individual applic:~tinn~ -!-