Finding a Green Way to Govern

A resolution, "Supporting Equity in Employment in Minneapolis and the Region," that I am co-authoring will be coming for approval to the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Health Committee tomorrow, on August 22 at 1:30pm. Time for a public comment will be provided. The resolution declares that racism, discrimination and racial employment disparities in Minneapolis are serious problems that must be solved. It commits the City government to lead by example and better incorporate racial equity into City policies and, if approved, it would direct the City Coordinator, Community Planning and Economic Development Director and the Civil Rights Director to engage with other department heads, staff and our Workforce Council to develop and implement an Equity Assessment Toolkit to inform city decisions including those related to the budget, hiring, promotion, contracting and purchasing. It also directs staff to assess and implement where appropriate, the other recommendations of the E...

The Civil Rights Department, in conjunction with the Police and City Attorney’s Office, have proposed a major change  (scroll to item 9) to the Civilian Police Review Authority (CRA).   If passed, the CRA would essentially cease to exist, and be replaced by an advisory board to the Police Department.   Internal Affairs and the Civilian Review investigatory functions would basically be merged.    The current CRA board is not supportive of this proposal, and has recommended its own improvements to the civilian review process.   Though I understand the problems this proposal is attempting to solve – including the Legislature and Governor’s recent terrible decision to prohibit our CRA from making findings of fact, and the fact that the CRA cannot communicate its disposition of complaints – I have serious concerns about merging the police department’s internal affairs with the civilian review authority and making the citizen/civilian component adviso...

In case you missed it, the Star Tribune has run a very good article by Eric Roper on the Unisys contract.  I have been very troubled by the close relationship between past leadership in the City's BIS (now called IT)Department and Unisys, and those concerns are confirmed by the information Eric has dug up. The bottom line, for me, is that for too long we have accepted the conservative, Reagan-era lie that government can't do things well.  We have outsourced essential City functions in ways that I don't think those who came before us would have been quite so eager to accept.  Small and underutilized local firms are crowded out by this one large, powerful corporation, undermining the City's efforts to create jobs, especially for women and people of color.  We're giving tens of millions of dollars to Unisys, without adequate oversight for me to be confident that we're getting our money's worth.  Remember, we're in a time of limited resources, and the Cit...

People in Minneapolis can now request City services any time of day through a free application on their smartphone and similar devices. So far ten common service requests are available, including those related to folks will be able to report issues to Minneapolis 311 related to abandoned vehicles, graffiti, parking meters, parking violations, potholes, traffic signals and broken street lights. More will be added soon. The Global Positioning System (GPS) will provide the location of the service request and people will also be able to submit a photo to add more detail to their request.

The Council took a strong position earlier this year opposing the Republican attempt to write bigotry into the Minnesota Constitution through the anti-marriage amendment. Today, the Council had to respond to an open-ended fishing expedition for all communications having anything to do with the effort to defeat that terrible ballot measure, by none other than erstwhile Michele Bachmann staffer Andy Parrish . Here's just one of the narrowly tailored requests our office spent an hour and a half of taxpayer-funded time responding to: "Any communication or contact between any combination of the following individuals, their staff, and the identified organizations (including officers and staff) that relates to the proposed constitutional amendment to recognize marriage: Mayor, all current City Council Members, the City Administrator, County Administrator, the City Attorney's Office, and any city established Human Rights Committee or other committees, Project 515, Minnesotan...

The Council has passed an ordinance, supported by the Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee, which bans coal tar-based sealants from being sold or used on any driveway or parking lot in Minneapolis.  The purpose of this ban is to keep Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons – toxic chemicals present in coal tar sealants but not alternative sealant products – out of our lakes, streams and river.  I enthusiastically supported this ordinance, and commend Council Member Colvin Roy for taking the lead on it.

The Council has voted to require all large block events and all parades and races on Minneapolis streets to recycle. The changes are designed to reduce the amount of trash being generated at these events. Beginning next year, organizers of any block event with more than 2,500 in attendance and any parade or race that uses City streets will need to have a written recycling plan for the collection of all paper, cardboard, and plastic, glass and metal containers. I was very supportive of this initiative by Council Member Betsy Hodges .  I see this as a continuation of the City's work to increase waste diversion, including our requirements that multifamily housing and commercial properties have recycling.  It's tremendously important that we continue to reduce the amount of recyclable (and organic) material going into landfills and the garbage burner.

Xcel Energy, the electrical utility for Minneapolis, has submitted a new Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) document that would do away with their Solar Rewards program.  Thanks to some good work by our Sustainability Director Gayle Prest and Regulatory Energy and Environment Chair Elizabeth Glidden , the City is now on record opposing this change. Here's a little bit about the program Xcel wants to dismantle.  The Solar Rewards program offers a financial rebate for qualifying small / medium sized solar photovoltaic (pv) installations.  It is fully subscribed and has been successful.  For example, from our comments, " In 2011, within the City of Minneapolis geographic area, there were 30 solar projects totaling 216 kW that received Solar Rewards rebates compared to only two solar installations in 2009, the year prior to the start of the Solar Rewards program." As we try to build a robust, self-sustaining solar industry, rebates are essential. ...