Jill Schwimmer: Vote yes on Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation amendment

I've served on the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation for four years -- this past year as its president. I realize that if the proposed charter amendment shifting the board's powers to the City Council had been approved four years ago, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to serve. But as one who understands firsthand the value and pitfalls of this board, I urge citizens to vote for the change. Fairness, accountability and good government are more important than my position.

First, fairness. In Minneapolis, the Board of Estimate and Taxation, and not the City Council, sets property taxes. (If you didn't know that, you're not alone.) Since only two of 13 council members also serve on the BET, that means 11 council members don't have a vote on property taxes. To give every part of Minneapolis an equal voice, all 13 need a vote.

Second, accountability. Rarely has anyone complained to me about property taxes during my years on the board, even though I'm one of the six people to set them. People assume the City Council sets taxes, because that's how it works in nearly every other city. If this charter amendment passes, city government will work the way the people think it already does. Knowing whom to hold accountable for taxes, or levels of service, is necessary for democracy. This holds true as well for the other functions of the board: to issue bonds and to oversee the internal audit function.

Third, good government requires that the same people who make spending decisions also make taxing decisions. That's not the way it works here. The mayor votes on the BET, so he or she does both. But 11 of 13 City Council members and eight of nine park commissioners get to spend money without having to make all the taxing decisions. That's not right. Everyone who spends money should feel the full weight of any decision to raise taxes.

Let's remember that the current mayor and City Council inherited large debts that took years to accumulate -- and years to pay off. Such debts will be less likely to pile up again if all 13 council members are accountable for both spending and taxing.

I hope people won't allow past controversies to create fear about this amendment. Dramatic charter amendments offered earlier this year included one to eliminate the Park Board and another to give the Park Board unlimited power to raise taxes. But those amendments are dead. The first was overwhelmingly defeated by the Charter Commission. The second was dismissed by a judge as unconstitutional.

If those more radical amendments were not clouding this debate, the common-sense amendment that is on the ballot would pass easily.

So don't believe that "you have to save the BET to save parks." If our parks are endangered, it's not because of this amendment, but because of state cuts and skyrocketing pension and health care costs -- the same things that threaten other services, such as police and fire.

Parks are incredibly popular among voters. Politicians who neglect them risk their careers. The best protection for our beloved parks is clear accountability for taxing and funding decisions.

No doubt, the Park Board will lose one vote (out of six on the BET). But this loss is more than outweighed by giving the City Council the authority -- and the responsibility -- to levy taxes and allocate them appropriately.

I ran for the BET believing that my financial background could be of service to my city. I've supported policies to pay off debt and challenge excessive pension costs. I'm glad I served, but I have chosen not to run again because it turns out the political office I hold is, well, political. Those politics should not play out in a back room. Rather, they should be out in the open in the most fair and accountable forum possible.

Voting for this amendment will ensure that your council representative, when asked about property taxes, will truly be accountable for his or her actions. I, along with the League of Women Voters, 13 of 15 members of the Minneapolis Charter Commission, Mayor R.T. Rybak, and 22 current and former City Council members -- Democrats, Republicans and independents -- urge you to vote yes.

Jill Schwimmer is president of the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation. To see the full list of those endorsing the charter amendment, visit www.VoteYesForMpls.org.