Mark Buesgens
"Busing, Flushing And Planning": Met Council At A Crossroads
[This story was originally published in the 4/21/08 issue of The Weekly Report.]
Once again, there's a perennial proposal (HF 2662/SF 2605) to create staggered Met Council terms (retaining some Council members after the Governor who appointed them leaves office), and all the functions of the Council seemed to be on the table at the House floor last Wednesday. Should its members be elected? Is it a villain, an unelected bureaucracy with unchecked taxing powers? Is it an instrument of socialized planning, or a pawn of a right-wing governor? For DFLers, whether or not Pawlenty's Council can advocate a regional transit system has become the key question; the Senate still has to confirm some members this session. The GOP's Council view seems to divide along regional lines.
PIM talked with several legislators looking critically at the Met Council, especially since what chairman Peter Bell called his "number one" priority, the St. Paul light rail line, got vetoed. Sen. Kathy Saltzman (DFL-Woodbury), Reps. Neil Peterson (R-Bloomington), Sandra Peterson (DFL-New Hope), Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan) and Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis) each gave PIM quite a different view about the generally overlooked metro super-agency. Saltzman and Sandra Peterson are carrying different versions of the staggered terms bill.
Who supports staggering? We heard support came from metro cities and counties, but mainly the cities. Saltzman said staggering would provide "a little independence" to work with local communities and the region. With more continuity between governorships, the Council could better focus on developing good regional policy. Saltzman's proposal enters effect in 2009, while the current House version starts after re-apportionment in 2013.
The Central Corridor "is too important to pawn," and everyone wants to be partners in getting it on track again, she said.
Once again, there's a perennial proposal (HF 2662/SF 2605) to create staggered Met Council terms (retaining some Council members after the Governor who appointed them leaves office), and all the functions of the Council seemed to be on the table at the House floor last Wednesday. Should its members be elected? Is it a villain, an unelected bureaucracy with unchecked taxing powers? Is it an instrument of socialized planning, or a pawn of a right-wing governor? For DFLers, whether or not Pawlenty's Council can advocate a regional transit system has become the key question; the Senate still has to confirm some members this session. The GOP's Council view seems to divide along regional lines.
PIM talked with several legislators looking critically at the Met Council, especially since what chairman Peter Bell called his "number one" priority, the St. Paul light rail line, got vetoed. Sen. Kathy Saltzman (DFL-Woodbury), Reps. Neil Peterson (R-Bloomington), Sandra Peterson (DFL-New Hope), Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan) and Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis) each gave PIM quite a different view about the generally overlooked metro super-agency. Saltzman and Sandra Peterson are carrying different versions of the staggered terms bill.
Who supports staggering? We heard support came from metro cities and counties, but mainly the cities. Saltzman said staggering would provide "a little independence" to work with local communities and the region. With more continuity between governorships, the Council could better focus on developing good regional policy. Saltzman's proposal enters effect in 2009, while the current House version starts after re-apportionment in 2013.
The Central Corridor "is too important to pawn," and everyone wants to be partners in getting it on track again, she said.
Her Council proposal has strong bipartisan support (GOP Sens. Chris Gerlach (R-Apple Valley) and Geoff Michel (R-Edina) have signed on), and it feels like a modest and responsible reform, she said. [Update 4/23: To clarify the above paragraph, Sen. Gerlach let PIM know that he is on board with Saltzman's Council proposal, but wanted to add that if anyone got the impression he's advocating the Central Corridor, that's "not the case."]
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