Finding a Green Way to Govern

This morning, the Council adopted a policy on creating new Self-Managed Special Service Districts in Minneapolis .   This will allow business districts to form special service districts that they manage and control, if they want.    My office worked to ensure that this policy works as well as possible for existing neighborhood business associations that may want to manage special service districts.    The Council voted to create two governance models, at the request of business stakeholders.   One allows a Downtown Improvement District-style “Management Entity” that decides on budgets, services to be provided, and assessment models, while also providing services.   The other model would create a new City Advisory Board for the district that decides on budgets, services, and assessment models, and allow an existing nonprofit to provide the services and day-to-day management. I offered a successful amendment to clarify that there could be ...

I have recently been getting a number of questions and concerns about a new project I am working on that would formally permit and regulate Trap Neuter Return programs in Minneapolis. Under the proposal, nonprofit groups working with individual residents would be allowed to conduct what are called “Trap Neuter Release” or “Trap Neuter Return” (TNR) or, more accurately, Trap Neuter Vaccinate Return programs in Minneapolis. The City itself would not be conducting the programs. This proposal would add an additional tool or practice and would not eliminate any of the other policies or practices currently in use by Minneapolis Animal Care and Control staff. Some TNR programs have already been operating in Minneapolis but some of the practices involved conflict with current law. I believe there will be benefits to better regulating them. I am working on this because I believe that feral cats pose a significant health, safety, livability and environmental concerns in some areas of th...

The Star Tribune has run the op-ed I authored defending ranked choice voting, which had already been posted on the SecondWard blog here .

The 2012 resident survey results conducted by National Research Center, are available online and were presented at the City Council’s Feb. 20 Committee of the Whole meeting. The survey helps me understand the concerns and opinions of residents, in general, and also identify potential needs and priorities for the future. I read through the report carefully and look at trends and changes over years, how respondents from different areas respond and also how we compare with other cities across the nation. I also always look especially carefully at the areas I serve as Council Member. Generally the survey results mesh well with what I hear in my day to day work.   The survey indicated, for example, that the people generally like the direction the city is going and that snow plowing and park and rec services are of high priority. I was struck, although perhaps not too surprised, by how different views were between different parts of the City. The s...

There is quite a lot of misinformation swirling around regarding Ranked Choice Voting.  I have tried to bust some of these myths in the memo I circulated to legislators and through an op-ed that I submitted to the Star Tribune and posted earlier on this blog.  This is a 'utility post' for RCV myth-busting, bringing together as many of the commonly-repeated myths as I can, and providing a counterpoint from reality.  I'll note that I'm not the only one who has had this idea - FairVote Minnesota has also put out a very useful " Myths Vs. Facts " document.  Read more below the fold.