Critics of Met Council are split on how to fix it

Like many local government leaders, Andover Mayor Julie Trude sometimes bristles when the Metropolitan Council hands down mandates and pokes into her city's planning.

She doesn't like it when Anoka County does it, either. That's why she is rejecting a plan to reform the Met Council that was put forth by a coalition of leaders from four suburban counties.

"They looked at us and thought we would nod and smile, and it didn't happen. We feel it needs to be more of a conversation," said Trude, who believes the plan is a bit of a county power grab.

Trude isn't alone. This most recent of several attempts to change the Met Council shows that while cities and counties generally agree that some reform is needed, they're splintered over just what to do and how to do it.

Currently the governor appoints the entire 17-member Met Council, a point of near-constant consternation for some. The county commissioners want to be able to appoint themselves to the regional planning agency. They also want city councils to be able to appoint representatives to the Met Council, and they want staggered terms.

But some municipal leaders are leery of the reform plan, which was proposed by 11 commissioners from Anoka, Carver, Dakota and Scott counties.

Metro Cities, a lobbying group representing 91 cities, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, "strongly opposes" the counties' plan, arguing that it would "create concerns with respect to opportunities as well as fairness and balance."

Calls to change the Met Council, with the goal of making it more accountable at the local level, are not unusual.

Three governors have vetoed Met Council reform bills in the last 20 years: Republicans Arne Carlson in 1997 and Tim Pawlenty in 2008, and DFLer Mark Dayton in 2012. A reform bill already has been introduced this session.

Municipal leaders say they too want change but that the four-county plan could be worse than the current structure. Circle Pines Mayor Dave Bartholomay said that Metro Cities' approach is more reasonable and also more likely to get Dayton's backing.

"Over the last few years I've seen the Met Council work harder to involve cities in their work. They are doing a much better job of asking for our opinions and telling us what they are up to," Bartholomay said. "But the truth is that there will always be some healthy tension about how big of a role a regional level of government has in our communities."

Formed in 1967 to run the regional bus system, the Met Council now approves long-range plans for cities and counties. It oversees Metro Transit, wastewater treatment and a regional housing and redevelopment authority, with the help of a $987 million annual budget which consists of taxes it levies and federal funding.

"You would have a local official serving in both a regulatory and a regulated capacity," Nauman said. "These are incompatible functions."

Reformers counter that a bigger role for counties squares with the Met Council's recent focus on reducing poverty and disparities. That's because counties run programs focused on economic assistance, human services, public health and workforce housing.

Anoka County Commission Chairwoman Rhonda Sivarajah said the county reform plan actually has drawn public support from some cities, including Blaine and Lino Lakes. While mayors from Shakopee, Prior Lake and Chanhassen have aligned with the plan, she said many city leaders are staying quiet for fear that speaking out could have negative repercussions for them in dealing with the Met Council.

"Within Anoka County, we are getting a very good response; in Carver County as well," Sivarajah said. "We had city representation on the group.

"We think it's very important that the region truly have representation and accountability to the citizens rather than accountability to a constituency of one, which is the governor. We are unique in the entire country in not having elected officials serve in that capacity."

Sivarajah dismissed concerns that local officials could not wear multiple hats, arguing they already do. She also said that a newly configured Met Council could more easily avoid duplicating jobs already handled by cities, counties and other state agencies.

"We want to make sure there isn't that mission creep," she said.

Trude said that Met Council staffers seem to have a better understanding of community planning and design than county governments, which focus predominantly on roads.

"We have been able to work with [Met Council] successfully on some of our more complicated projects," she said.

Still, Trude said, Met Council members should be more responsive to the cities they serve. Trude said she's gotten no replies to her e-mails to Met Council representatives.

"We do support the staggered terms. … It would be a good first step," said Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens. "We acknowledge there should be some monitoring and review of the activities of the Met Council. We are always open to ways to improve government."