opinion

The Board of Estimate and Taxation is one of two independent boards in Minneapolis, the other being the Park and Recreation Board. The Board of Estimate is composed of the mayor; the City Council president; the chair of the Ways and Means Committee; a representative of the Park Board, and two citizens. It sets the maximum property tax and issues bonds for the city and Park Board. This "council of governments" structure is very common where multiple jurisdictions need to coordinate.

There was a proposal last year to eliminate the two independent boards. The arguments were that it would be cheaper to have fewer boards and that we would have a better democracy with simpler lines of accountability. Star Tribune editorial writer Jill Burcum calls the Minneapolis governance structure "Byzantine" and a "more expensive, layer-filled and tradition-bound form of government." She then argues the financial problems facing our city could be resolved with a change in governance.

Burcum argues that the results of the vote sent a message "to any official weighing serious structural changes to enhance efficiency." Again, this is simply not true. We have been working hard at change. In 2003, the city of Minneapolis had 6,000 employees. In 2010, it has 5,000.

The real issue facing Minneapolis is not whether there is too much citizen input but that the partnership between Minneapolis and the state is evaporating. The city is asked to be the economic engine of the state; to house the majority of the region's poor; to be an entertainment and recreation center, and to carry the impacts of being the core of the region for 150 years. All of these things cost money, which Minneapolis taxpayers provide.

Carrying these burdens previously did not bother me, because the state was a financial partner through local government aid. But now, LGA is evaporating. The real question is not about governance but about how we, as a city, survive with this new financial reality. This will take all the citizen input, all the discussion and debate, and all the best thinking of our diverse communities that we can muster. It is a time for more voices, not fewer.

Carol Becker is a member of the Board of Estimate and Taxation in Minneapolis.