State-Local Governmental Interactions by Joseph Zimmerman

Author:Joseph Zimmerman [Zimmerman, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, American Government, State, Local
ISBN: 9781438441702
Google: _4CmAQAACAAJ
Goodreads: 17122362
Publisher: SUNY Press
Published: 2013-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

Twin Cities Metropolitan Council

The most important and innovative state-initiated organizational response to growing areawide problems during the past five decades is the Metropolitan Council established for the seven-county Twin Cities area by the 1967 Minnesota State Legislature.81 The structuring of the council reduced much of the political opposition typically associated with the proposal to create a metropolitan governance body. The council's chairperson, who serves at the pleasure of the governor, and sixteen other members—each representing a geographic district—are appointed by the governor for overlapping six-year terms with the advice and consent of the senate.

The governance model initially was a federated one with powers divided between the council, counties, municipalities, and metropolitan special districts. The council assumed the functions of the abolished Metropolitan Planning Commission, and was granted authority to review and indefinitely suspend plans of each metropolitan special district in conflict with the council's development guide. A district could appeal the suspension of its plans to the state legislature. The council is authorized to review and suspend for up to one year proposed local government projects. The Metropolitan Land Planning Act of 1976 required each local government in the seven-county area to develop comprehensive plans consistent with the regional airports, parks, sewers, and transportation plans developed by the council.82 The act established July 1, 1980, as the deadline for the preparation of local plans.

The council acts as a housing authority, appoints one of its members as a nonvoting member of the board of each metropolitan special district, conducts research, operates a data center, and intervenes in annexation and incorporation proceedings before the Minnesota Municipal Board, created by the legislature in 1959, but abolished in 1999 when its functions were transferred to the state Office of Strategic and Long-range Planning.83

One of the early council's actions was the signing of contracts with the state Highway Department and Metropolitan Transit Commission providing for the council's assumption of responsibility for transportation planning in the area. The council also has been designated the Criminal Justice Planning Agency by the Governor's Crime Commission. Furthermore, the council appoints and provides guidance to a health board responsible for coordination of planning for health facilities, workforce, and services. The council finances its activities by levying a tax not exceeding seven-tenths of one mill on each dollar of assessed valuation of taxable property.

The council was designed to be a policy-forming and not an operating agency. Nevertheless, in 1969, it assumed responsibility for overseeing the performance of two service functions. Responding to a council request, the 1969 state legislature created two seven-member functional service boards and authorized their appointment by the council. The Metropolitan Sewer Board and the Metropolitan Park Reserve Board were designed to be operating bodies executing council policies in their respective area.84 The Park Reserve Board's role as an operating service body was terminated in 1970 by a Minnesota Supreme Court decision invalidating statutes enacted on the 121st day (one day beyond the constitutional limit) of the 1969 legislative session.85 The council retained the board and renamed it the Metropolitan Parks and Open Spaces Commission.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.