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From YouTube: February 7, 2018 Intergovernmental Relations Committee
Description
Minneapolis Intergovernmental Relations Committee Meeting
A
Good
afternoon,
everyone
I
am
councilmember
Andrew
Johnson,
chair
of
the
intergovernmental
relations
committee
and
I'm,
going
to
go
ahead
and
call
our
committee
to
order.
Today
we
have
with
us
committees,
members
were
Sami
Schrader,
Jenkins
and
Reich.
We
are
a
quorum
of
the
committee
and
we
have
five
items
today:
one
consent
item
and
for
discussion
items.
Our
consent
item
is
an
amendment
to
the
state,
legislative
agenda
and
policy
positions,
inserting
a
statement
specifically
around
the
Department
of
Transportation
request
for
thirteen
million
dollars
necessary
for
the
rehabilitation
and
preservation
of
the
stone
arch
bridge.
A
This
is
iconic,
landmark
and
destination
for
Minnesotans
and
visitors
alike.
Certainly,
a
project
that
we
support
as
well
I
want
to
recognize
that
we
are
joined
in
the
chambers
today
by
councilmember
Fletcher,
who
has
been
a
strong
proponent
of
this.
It's
in
his
ward
and
certainly
been
an
important
issue
that
he's
been
happy
to
advocate
for
I.
Don't
know
if
you
wanted
to
join
the
committee
or
say
any
words
or
anything
like
that,
but
otherwise,
if
not
we'll,
go
ahead
and
see,
if
there's
any
discussion
on
this
item
for
consent,.
A
Notice,
seeing
no
discussion
all
those
in
favor,
please
signify
by
saying
aye,
okay,
those
opposed,
say,
nay,
so
the
motion
carries.
Thank
you
we'll
jump
right
on
into
our
discussions.
We've
got
some
great
overviews
today,
as
our
new
council
gets
going
great
overviews
of
our
different
partners
across
the
state
and
also
of
the
work
of
the
IGR
committee.
So
we
will
start
there.
We
presentation
welcome
great.
B
Thank
you
very
much.
Mr.
chair
and
members
of
the
committee,
my
name
is
Sascha
Bergman
with
the
city's
intergovernmental
relations
department.
Today
we're
just
going
to
give
you
kind
of
a
brief
presentation
about
the
work
of
the
IGR
department,
what
we
do
and
talk
as
sort
of
a
high-level
about
our
2018
legislative
agenda
items.
If
there
are
any
questions
here
or
offline,
we're
happy
to
discuss
them,
but
because
I
know
you
have
other
presentations
after
this,
we
want
to
make
sure
to
be
respectful
of
your
time
today.
B
So
I
do
our
staff
serve
the
city
of
Minneapolis
by
advocating
before
other
governmental
bodies.
On
behalf
of
the
city,
we
help
to
advise
on
public
policy
related
to
other
levels
of
government.
We
coordinate
and
manage
intergovernmental
relationships
and
funding
opportunities
grants
from
the
federal
government
things
of
that
nature.
We
provide
assistance
to
city
departments,
about
grants,
management
and
resources
and
solve
problems
or
try
to
solve
problems
and
help
to
overcome
challenges
that
arise
in
relation
to
other
levels
of
government.
B
B
Lauren
Olson
on
our
staff
does
monitoring
and
advocacy
at
the
Metropolitan
Council
and
the
Metropolitan
airports
Commission
and
then
in
the
other
category
would
be.
We
represent
the
city
at
the
policy
committees,
for
example,
from
of
the
League
of
Minnesota
cities
and
metro
cities
and
other
coalition's
that
are
that
exist
in
different
areas,
whether
it's
Public,
Safety
or
housing,
and
then
providing
assistance
internally,
including,
but
not
limited,
to
policy
analysis
research,
things
of
that
nature.
So
it's
kind
of
the
scope
of
our
work
at
a
very
high
level.
B
So
the
the
work
that
we
do
is
guided
by
four
documents,
or
at
least
the
policies
that
we
advocate
on
behalf
of
for
the
city.
First,
the
Met
Council
policies,
which
is
a
document
that
was
just
developed,
I,
think
within
the
last
year
to
help
guide
those
efforts.
We
have
a
federal
agenda
with
federal
policies.
We
have
a
12
state
legislative
agenda
and
a
state
legislative
policy
position
document
which
the
policy
positions
is
sort
of
a
library
of
things
to
help
us
react
on
behalf
of
the
city.
B
The
ways
that
we
have
developed.
Those
policies
that
I
just
talked
about,
which
are
adopted
by
the
council,
is
through
an
interdepartmental
policy
liaison
team,
which
is
an
interdepartmental
team
made
up
of
staff
from
across
the
city
Enterprise,
who
help
to
bring
forward
ideas
and
help
vet
them
and
then
make
recommendations
to
the
IGR
committee
of
new
proposals
that
could
be
considered
for
the
following
legislative
session.
B
B
So
if
there
are
no
questions
about
kind
of
what
we
do
and
and
what
informs
our
work,
we'll
talk
just
briefly
about
the
2018
legislative
session,
which
is
set
to
begin
very
soon.
On
February
20th,
some
of
the
key
themes
and
there's
always
other
issues
that
kind
of
sleep
are
issues
that
pop
up
that
we're
not
aware
of,
but
we
do
anticipate
federal
tax
conformity
will
be
a
very
big
issue
that
the
legislature
is
facing.
B
As
you
know,
the
federal
federal
government
passed
a
tax
reform
bill
in
December,
and
the
state's
income
tax
system
is
based
largely
on
that
and
so
to
the
extent
that
they
totally
changed
a
number
of
provisions
in
the
federal
tax
code.
This
is
gonna,
be
a
big
issue
for
the
state
bonding
it's
a
bonding
year
in
theory
and,
in
fact,
seems
like
every
years,
a
bonding
year,
at
least
the
last
few
years,
but
traditionally
even-numbered
years,
our
bonding
years,
and
so
we
anticipate
a
lot
of
work,
probably
will
occur
in
that
area.
B
It's
an
election
year
for
the
governor's
office
and
for
the
whole
House
of
Representatives,
and
so
you
know
that
will
be
something
that's
down
the
pike
that
folks
are
thinking
about.
But
it
also
means
that
there
will
be
a
number
of
our
Minneapolis
delegation
members
who
will
have
already
announced
that
they're
not
seeking
re-election.
So
we
will
see
some
some
change
in
our
delegation
next
session
or
excuse
me
the
2019
session
in
the
upcoming
election
and
then
a
finally
litigation.
I
am
sure.
You've
probably
are
aware
of
the
litigation
between
the
governor
and
the
legislature.
B
Last
year
around
the
line-item
veto
of
the
Legislature's
funding.
More
recently
when
Senator
Franken
resigned
from
his
seat
in
the
US
Senate
and
the
lieutenant
governor
of
the
state,
Tina
Smith
was
appointed
to
fill
his
seat.
That
vacancy
in
the
lieutenant
governor's
office
resulted
in
the
ascendancy
of
the
Senate
President
to
that
office.
Who
is
Michele
Fishbach
from
Janesville
Minnesota?
She
I
think
would
like
to
be
in
both
positions
or
would
like
to
keep
her
Senate
seat
and
I.
Think
there's
some
questions
as
to
whether
or
not
she's
able
to
do
that.
B
So
there
is
a
lawsuit
going
on
right
now
to
try
to
resolve
that
issue.
So
these
are
some
of
the
things
that
we'll
be
feeding
into.
Excuse
me,
the
upcoming
legislative
session,
just
gonna,
take
a
high-level
overview
of
our
legislative
agenda
and
not
go
into
detail
on
all
of
the
items.
Unless
there
are
questions
and
then
I'm
more
than
happy
to
do
so
or
my
colleagues
would
also
be
happy
to
answer
questions
at
the,
but
one
of
the
top
item
listed
on
our
legislative
agenda
is
of
advancing
racial
equity
and
I.
B
Think
you
know,
this
statement
entered
our
agenda
and
policy
positions
within
the
last
couple
of
years,
really
with
the
understanding
that
it's
not
just
in
one
area
or
another,
or
whether
jobs
or
Public,
Safety
or
housing
that
that
we
should
be
focusing
on
things,
but
it's
with
the
whole
lens
of
racial
equity
and
approaching
all
of
the
different
policies
that
we
work
on
through
that
lens.
So
that's
what
our
statement
on
racial
equity
in
our
legislative
agenda
is
representing
there
in
the
area
of
local
government
finance.
B
We
do
anticipate
to
continue
to
work
on
a
broad,
protecting
local
government
aid
and
hopefully
in
seeing
an
increase
in
the
appropriation.
That's
certainly
something
that
is
on
our
agenda
in
the
area
of
our
lodging
tax.
The
city's
local
lodging
tax
has
a
strange
provision
in
law
that
limits
the
total
tax
burden
on
lodging
to
13
percent
and
if
it
exceeds
that
in
the
city,
our
lodging
tax
gets
reduced.
B
So
we
would
like
to
seek
a
remedy
for
that
issue
and
then,
of
course,
supporting
direct
property
tax
relief
for
homeowners
and
renters
through
the
property
or
the
circuit,
breaker
and
renters
credit
in
the
area
of
tax
increment
financing.
There
is
a
clarification
that
we
would
like
to
see
and
we've
been
working
closely
with
the
league
in
Metro
cities,
as
it
relates
to
the
limits
on
TIF
pooling.
B
We
also
will
be
working
on
a
special
legislation
for
the
upper
harbor
terminal
in
North
Minneapolis,
and
that
would
be
in
conjunction
with
our
bonding
request
and
then
supporting
viability
of
long
term
pension
liabilities
and
making
sure
that
they
don't
overburden
local
governments.
I
think
all
of
you
are
probably
aware
of
our
bonding
requests
this
year.
Pepra
Harbor
Terminal
is
our
top
priority
at
fifteen
million
dollars
and
then
we've
got
emergency
operations
and
training
facility,
Central,
City,
storm
tunnels,
upper
st.
Anthony,
Falls
Lock
and
Dam
redevelopment
and
the
family
partnership
in
the
area
of
transportation.
B
This
is
an
area
where
the
statements
that
we've
had
haven't
changed
that
much
there
hasn't
been
sort
of
the
comprehensive
transportation
bill
that
has
passed
at
the
legislature.
So
these
just
really
speak
to
you
know:
funding
for
multimodal
transportation
needs
and
then
providing
cities
with
resources
to
address
our
city
streets
in
the
area
of
Public,
Safety
and
criminal
justice.
B
We
have
policies
that
support
building
trust
between
police
and
community
legislation
and
policies
that
would
reduce
collateral
consequences
for
low-level
driving
offenses
and
making
the
driver
diversion
program,
statewide
and
permanent
and
area
of
municipal
and
the
regional
governance.
Just
to
have
a
strong
statement
in
support
of
local
control
as
I
think
many
of
you
know.
Last
legislative
session
there
were
a
number
of
bills
that
were
introduced
to
undermine
local
decision-making
authority
and
so
seeking
to
preserve.
B
That
is
one
of
our
key
priorities
for
the
session
and
then
supporting
a
strong
and
effective
night
council
for
regional
planning
in
affordable
housing
and
homelessness
prevention,
supporting
housing,
infrastructure
bonds
and
geo
bonds
for
public
housing,
rehab
and
then
ongoing
and
sustainable
state
state
funding
for
affordable
housing
across
the
state
and
in
the
city,
of
course,
in
the
area
of
Public
Health.
Just
making
sure
that
we're
preserving
resources
that
our
Public
Health
Department
relies
on
we're
one
of
the
only
cities
that
has
a
Community
Health
Board
and
a
health
department
in
the
state.
B
And
so
there
are
some
resources
that
our
health
department
relies
on
for
their
for
their
functions
on
a
daily
basis
and
then
supporting
increased
funding
for
youth
employment
programs.
And
with
that
I
will
conclude.
And
if
you
have
any
questions
about
any
of
those
things,
we
are
all
happy
to
answer
any
questions.
You
have
excellent.
A
A
B
You
mr.
chair,
you
know
I
think
if
there
are.
This
is
an
issue
across
the
state
in
in
different
pockets
of
the
state,
and
so
I
would
I
think
there
is
some
some
common
ground
that
could
be
found
there
in
the
last
couple
of
years.
I
don't
think
in
this
last
legislative
session,
but
in
the
last
couple
of
years
there
have
been
subcommittees
and
committees
sort
of
focused
on
racial
equity
and
advancing
that.
So
that's
something
that
we
would
continue
to
work
on
and
seek
partners
at
the
legislature
to
work
on
initiatives
that
come
forward.
B
C
Now
for
almost
27
years,
so
I've
been
working
on
city
issues
for
the
vast
majority
of
my
career.
Let
me
tell
you
a
little
bit
about
the
League
of
Minnesota
cities.
We
are
an
organization
that
was
formed
in
1913,
so
we
just
celebrated
our
100th
anniversary
in
2013
and
we
started
as
an
adjunct
to
the
University
of
Minnesota,
but
we
started
as
a
an
initiative
by
a
lot
of
city
officials
to
try
to
more
professionalize
the
operations
of
cities
throughout
the
state
of
Minnesota.
C
So
we've
been
around
for
a
lot
of
years,
I've
been
around
for
about
a
quarter
of
that
of
that
time.
It's
hard
to
believe
that,
but
we
do
have
833
member
cities
in
the
state
of
Minnesota.
There
are
853
cities
in
the
state
and
those
20
cities
that
are
not
members
are
all
very,
very
small
communities
and
if
they
give
us
a
call,
ask
us
a
question
want
to
use
our
parking
lot
to
go
to
the
Capitol.
We
always
invite
them
to
come
down
to
the
st.
Paul.
C
So
just
to
give
you
an
idea
of
how
our
our
membership
varies
quite
dramatically,
we're
governed
by
a
board
of
directors
that
includes
seventeen
officials
from
cities
around
the
state
that
are
elected
by
our
membership.
Just
this
last
month,
council
member
Ellison
joined
our
board
of
directors.
He
he
took
over
for
council
member
Glidden,
who
was
on
our
board
for
for
several
years.
St.
Paul
also
has
a
designated
seat
as
well,
as
does
the
next
organization.
Metro
cities
has
a
designated
seat
as
well.
C
On
that
board,
the
rest
of
the
officials
are
from
cities
ranging
from
Rochester
to
Ely
Minnesota.
We
have
members
from
all
over.
Our
current
president
is
the
mayor
of
the
city
of
White,
Bear
Lake,
Joe,
Emerson
and
she's
been
on
our
board
for
a
number
of
years
as
well,
but
that's
really
the
governance
structure
and
they
meet
once
a
month
and
they
give
us
direction
on
legislative
issues
and
other
things
that
we
work
on
at
the
lead
a
little
bit
more
about
the
league.
We
we
do
have
a
lobbying
arm.
C
That's
what
I
do
that's
what
my
department
does,
but
we
do
a
lot
of
things
in
addition
to
representing
cities
at
the
Capitol
one
of
the
things
that
we
do
regularly
as
we
hold
conference
and
training
events
for
city
officials.
Just
this
last
month
we
had
our
newly
elected
official
conference,
where
we
basically
allow
city
officials
to
meet
with
longtime
council
members
and
and
legal
staff
to
really
understand
all
of
the
role
and
responsibilities
of
being
a
council
member.
As
many
of
you
are
brand
new
to
the
serving
on
the
council.
C
You
know
that
the
state
of
Minnesota
has
very
complex
laws
like
the
Open
Meeting
Law,
the
data
practice
laws.
All
these
things
are
state
laws
that
you
have
to
abide
by.
As
you
run
your
city,
and
we
spend
time
at
that
newly
elected
conference
Britt
basically
imparting
the
wisdom
of
senior
city
officials
to
those
that
that
attend
that
conference.
We
also
do
an
annual
conference,
and
this
year,
I
think
we're
in
Saint
Cloud.
Is
that
right
we're
up
in
st.
cloud
this
year?
We
try
to
hold
that
in
Duluth,
st.
cloud,
Minneapolis
and
Rochester.
C
That
annual
conference
usually
involves
five
to
six
hundred
city
officials
that
get
together,
and
we
have
various
breakout
training
sessions
that
that
try
to
cover
issues
of
concern
or
emerging
issues
that
cities
are
facing
throughout
the
state
of
Minnesota.
In
addition
to
conference
and
training,
we
have
a
communications
arm
that
basically
puts
together
social
media
posts
about
events
at
the
Capitol
and
other
things
going
on
in
the
city
community.
C
We
have
a
weekly
bulletin
that
covers
legislative
events
that
are
that
are
occurring
that
that
my
staff
work
on,
and
then
we
have
a
monthly
bullet
or
a
monthly
magazine
that
we
put
out
that
it
really.
It
tries
to
look
at
issues
from
a
broader
longer-term
perspective,
looks
at
emerging
issues
that
are
confronting
cities,
so
you
can
get
copies
of
those
those
reports
as
well,
and
if
you
want
to
get
a
get
on
our
mailing
list,
I
can
certainly
help
you
do
that.
C
We
have
a
human
resource
department
that
it
gives
advice
to
cities
about
various
human
resource
issues.
Human
resource
law
is
very
complex
and
hiring
firing
employing
people
takes
a
lot
of
energy
and
time,
and
our
human
resource
department
will
help
cities
puzzle
through
any
human
resource
related
issues
that
they
have.
We
have
a
group
of
city
attorneys
that
really
basically
respond
day
and
day
out
to
questions
from
cities
across
the
state.
How
do
we
draft
an
ordinance?
C
How
do
we
have,
or
do
you
have
a
model
ordinance
that
we
can
adopt
or
use
as
a
template,
as
our
City
Council
considers
a
new
ordinance?
We
have
the
biggest
part
of
what
we
do.
This
is
kind
of
a
surprise
to
many
people,
as
we
are
an
insurance
business
and
back
in
the
late
1970s
right
around
1980
cities
were
very,
very
bad
risks
for
insurers.
They
didn't
want
to
insure
us.
We
had
lots
of
claims
against
us.
C
State
law
was
such
that
it
was
very
easy
to
sue
a
city
and
out
of
the
the
challenges
that
our
cities
faced
and
even
getting
insurance
coverage,
they
decided
to
form
an
insurance
business,
basically
under
the
League
of
Minnesota
cities
umbrella.
Since
then,
I
think
almost
every
state
in
the
country
has
a
city
insurance
operation
that
provides
insurance
coverages
for
their
members.
We
work
on
workers,
compensation,
insurance
and
property
casualty
insurance.
C
We
don't
do
medical
insurance
anymore,
but
we
do
provide
those
and
tailor
those
insurance
coverages
to
cities
themselves,
and
most
every
city
is
a
member
of
that
now.
Minneapolis
is
largely
self-insured
because
of
your
size,
so
you
don't
really
take
advantage
of
those
services,
but
we
do
a
lot
in
the
insurance
business
related
to
workers,
compensation
and
property
casualty.
C
Just
mention
a
few
other
things
before
I
talk
about
what
my
department
does.
One
of
the
things
that
that
we
do
is
we
get
very
involved
in
appellate
legal
or
pellit
litigation
in
the
state
of
Minnesota
whenever
a
lawsuit
arises
or
gets
up
to
the
appellate
level
or
this
the
state
supreme
court
level.
We
have
a
part
of
our
board
of
directors
that
evaluates
those
lawsuits
and
decides
when
we
should
get
involved
to
help
defend
cities.
C
I
think
one
of
the
most
recent
cases
that
was
involving
Minneapolis
that
we
got
involved
with
was
surrounding
the
issue
of
whether
you
had
to
take
your
minimum
wage
ordinance
to
the
voters
to
the
ballot,
and
we
supported
the
city
in
saying
that
it
wasn't
necessary
under
state
law.
So
we
do
get
involved
in
a
lot
of
lawsuits.
C
That
way,
we
have
one
attorney
that
works
basically
full-time
in
helping
defend
cities,
as
some
of
those
lawsuits
get
up
to
the
to
the
appellate
level
in
the
Minnesota
court
system,
then
a
little
bit
about
the
the
well.
Let
me,
let
me
mention
I,
think
we've
handed
out
to
you
a
copy
of
our
annual
report,
and
this
just
highlights
some
of
the
initiatives
that
the
League
of
Minnesota
cities
undertook
this
last
year.
Everything
from
a
race,
equity
project,
lots
of
work
on
technology,
services
and
Finn
is
joining
me
today.
C
She'll
talk
more
about
the
whole
plethora
of
legislation
dealing
with
or
affecting
local
control
that
we
got
involved,
and
we
really
appreciate
all
of
the
work
the
city
of
Minneapolis
did
to
help
us
on
trying
to
combat
some
of
that
legislation.
So
you
can
look
at
that
at
your
leisure,
but
let
me
mention
to
you
a
little
bit
more
about
what
I
do
and
what
my
staff
does.
C
We,
we
basically
work
with
your
IG,
our
staff.
We
work
st.
Paul
and
all
of
our
cities
to
formulate
legislative
policies
each
each
summer,
city
officials
gather
we
have
about
a
hundred
and
seventy
five
city
officials
that
volunteer
serve
on
our
committees,
discuss
issues,
formulate
policy
positions
that
are
ultimately
adopted
by
our
board
of
directors,
and
that
gives
us
our
marching
orders
at
the
State
Capitol
the
issues
we
cover.
You
saw
how
many
issues
your
staff
cover.
C
We
cover
those
issues
with
them
as
well
on
a
broad
basis,
but
we
we
also
get
involved
in
a
whole
breadth
of
issues
that
probably
no
other
local
government
in
and
of
itself
would
want
to
get
involved
in
everything,
from
economic
development
to
zoning,
to
annexation,
to
tax
policy
issues,
human
resource
related
issues,
labor
management
issues,
transportation,
I,
could
go
on
and
on
housing.
So
our
booklet
that
this
defines
our
policy
positions
is
ridiculously
complex
it.
It
does
cover
all
of
the
issues
we
work
on.
It
has
discussions
of
those
issues.
C
C
I
did
give
you
a
copy
of
the
government
relations
staff
listing,
and
this
also
talks
about
the
seven
members
of
my
department
that
work
on
your
behalf
at
the
state
capital
and
the
issues
that
they
cover
and
you
can
see
the
breadth
of
those
issues
there.
I
won't
get
into
that
much
more,
but
with
that
I
guess
I
I
guess
I
would
first
ask
if
there
are
any
questions.
I
could
answer
as
I
tee
up
what
the
league
is
and
then
I'd
like
to
turn
it
over
to
and
fin.
So
are
there
any
mr.
chair.
C
Seeing
any
okay
well,
let
me
turn
it
over
to
Anne
Finan
and
without
getting
into
too
many
details
about
the
breadth
of
issues.
We
cover
there's
one
issue
that
we
noticed
as
a
trend
this
last
legislative
session,
and
that
is
this
whole
breadth
of
legislation
introduced
that
would
preempt
our
ability
you
I'm
gonna.
Let
her
up
here.
Excuse
me,
sir,
and
so
I
would
like
to
turn
it
over
to
miss
Finn.
Sorry
about
that.
To
talk
more
about
the
work,
we
did
this
last
legislative
session
that
we
we
know
will
continue
in
the
2018
session.
C
D
Chair
members,
thank
you
so
much
for
having
us
today,
before
I,
get
going
I
wanted
to
just
offer
that
we
really
enjoy
working
with
your
team
at
the
Capitol.
They
make
a
really
big
difference
in
the
work
that
we
do
for
all
of
our
cities
and
they
represent
me
really
well
so
hats
off
to
them,
and
we
look
forward
to
working
with
them
again
in
this
upcoming
legislative
session.
I
want
to
spend,
as
Gary
mentioned,
a
little
time
on
a
statewide
issue,
and
the
reason
for
this
is
it.
D
It
helps
illustrate
the
relationship
between
the
legal
lobbyists
and
the
IGR
folks
at
Minneapolis,
but
it
also
illustrates
how
cities
statewide
can
make
a
really
big
difference
when
they
work
together
at
the
Capitol
on
an
issue,
and
that
issue
is
Erie
mentioned.
Is
local
control
in
the
book
that
that
you
saw
earlier
that
mr.
Carlson
showed
you.
The
very
first
policy
in
this
book
is
local
control
and
that's
kind
of
what
we
take
over
to
the
Capitol.
D
This
past
session
in
2017,
we
saw
a
very
robust
agenda
at
the
Capitol
of
bills
that
were
aimed
at
taking
away
local
decision-making
authority.
We
actually
working
with
your
staff
compiled
a
list
of
more
than
30
bills
that
were
introduced.
That
did
everything
from
regulating
your
ability
to
implement
employment
ordinances,
but
also
going
as
far
as
requiring
reverse
referendums
or
things
taking
away
the
authority
to
implement
franchise
fees.
You'll
know
that
many
of
these
did
not
pass.
D
There
were
very
few
that
actually
became
law
last
session
and
that
was
I
believe
the
direct
result
of
all
of
us
work
together
over
at
the
Capitol.
We
met
with
your
staff
and
other
city
lobbyists
on
a
very
regular
basis
throughout
the
session
to
come
up
with
strategies
to
combat
these
bills,
and
one
of
the
things
we
did
that
I
think
was
particularly
helpful.
Was
we
asked
our
cities
statewide
to
pass
resolutions
demanding
that
the
legislature
not
pass
legislation
that
would
take
local
decision-making
authority
away?
D
We
had
almost
100
cities,
passed
resolutions
and
they're,
probably
some
cities
that
you've
never
heard
of.
In
addition
to
Minneapolis,
we
had
cities
like
climax
and
curry
and
Deer
River,
who
had
city
officials
that
were
absolutely
incensed
at
the
volume
of
bills
and
I
think
that
really
got
the
attention
of
legislators.
It
came
up
in
in
town
hall
meetings.
It
was
a
subject
of
conversation
when
they
ran
into
their
legislators,
both
back
in
the
district
and
when
they
came
to
their
day
on
the
Capitol
a
day
on
the
hill.
D
So
I
just
wanted
to
share
that
with
you
and
and
as
I.
Guess
in
conclusion
would
ask
for
you
to
remain
vigilant
on
that
issue
with
us,
because
it
is
important
to
our
city
statewide,
and
we
think
that
having
you
all
at
the
table
and
talking
with
your
local
legislators
is
very
helpful.
Having
your
staff
working
on
these
issues
is
imperative
and
we
hope
that
we
can
pull
back
more
of
these
bills
that
are
sure
to
be
introduced
when
the
legislature
reconvenes
in
2018,
so
I
will
stop
there.
Well.
Thank.
A
Thank
you.
Any
questions
from
committee
members,
not
seeing
any
I'll
just
make
a
quick
comment
that
I
have
really
appreciated
the
resources
and
briefings
that
the
League
of
Minnesota
cities
provides
sometimes
what
I'm
looking
for
an
issue
and
I'm
just
googling
on
it.
Your
guides
and
briefings
pop
up,
and
it's
very
helpful
and
detailed,
yet
also
succinct
and
easy
to
digest
for
policy
makers.
So
it's
greatly
appreciated
the
resources
you
put
out,
I
neglected
on
our
last
item
to
move
receiving
and
filing,
and
normally
we
do
that
after
these
presentations.
So
I'll
do
that.
E
You
mr.
chair
I
just
wanted
to
underscore
your
comments
and
just
note
how
important
our
relationship
with
the
League
of
Minnesota
cities
has
been.
We've
had
a
lot
of
turnover
in
our
council
for
the
last
couple
of
terms,
and
so
I
know
we
have
appointed
new
council
members
to
both
the
league
and
to
the
Metro
city's
boards,
but
we're
confident
that
comes
when
were
Ellison
and
councilmember
Fletcher
who'll
be
in
the
Metro
city's
Board
will
represent
the
city
well
and
carry
on
the
great
work
that
comes
when
we're
Glidden
and
myself
did
on
those
bodies.
E
A
F
Mr.
chair
and
members,
thank
you
very
much
for
the
opportunity
to
present
some
information
to
do
today
about
Metro
cities.
Metro
cities
is
also
formally
known
as
the
association
of
metropolitan
municipalities.
That's
still
our
legal
name
ramm,
but
a
few
years
ago
we
did
a
branding
change,
so
we
go
by
Metro
cities
because
it's
easier
to
say
and
it
doesn't
get
lost
in
the
sea
of
acronyms
that
they
at
the
state
legislature.
F
So
just
to
give
you
some
very
brief
information
about
the
organization
Metro
cities
does
represent
the
shared
interests
of
cities
in
the
metropolitan
area,
at
the
legislature,
executive
branch
and
Metropolitan,
Council
and
I'll
get
more
into
that.
In
a
minute
we
have.
We
are
governed
by
a
19
member
board
of
directors
and
I.
Do
want
to
thank
council
member
bender
for
her
service
on
the
board
and
to
welcome
council
member
Fletcher
who
will
join
the
board
and
to
certainly
think
melissa
leche.
F
Who
also
is
a
metro
cities
board
member
the
city
because
of
its
size,
has
two
seats
as
opposed
to
a
one
for
most
other
cities,
with
the
exception
of
st.
Paul
on
the
Metro
city's
board.
We
are
a
four-person
staff.
Three
of
us
do:
government
Relations
works
over
very
small
team,
but
we
like
to
consider
ourselves
an
extension
of
your
staff
in
terms
of
the
work
that
we
do
at
the
state
capital
and
the
Metropolitan
Council.
The
organization
has
91
members.
Currently
it's
a
it's.
A
member
based
organization.
Membership
is
voluntary.
F
We
have
91
member
cities
in
the
southern
County
metropolitan
area,
and
that
includes
the
core
cities
of
Minneapolis
and
st.
Paul,
as
well
as
entering
suburbs,
developing
suburbs,
small
cities,
large
cities,
medium-sized
sort
of
all
over
the
map
in
terms
of
the
metro
area.
So
it's
a
very
large
and
diverse
membership.
Again,
the
city.
F
The
organization
does
represent
the
shared
interest,
so
it
is
about
finding
those
commonalities
and
then
bringing
forth
those
policies
to
our
work
at
the
capital
in
the
Metropolitan,
Council
and
I
just
want
to
say
again
a
word
of
about
the
Metropolitan
Council
and
our
work
there.
The
metro
cities
organization
is
unique
in
the
local
government
advocacy
community,
in
that
we
are
the
region-wide
entity
for
cities
representing
cities
at
the
Metropolitan
Council,
and
basically
how
we
characterize
that,
as
we
are
the
watchdog
for
cities
at
the
Met
Council.
F
So
that
means
we
have
an
entire
slate
of
policies
that
relate
to
you
know
the
funding
and
policy
making
of
the
Metropolitan
Council
metro
cities
does
take
a
metro,
centric
view
of
the
world.
Our
vision
is
for
a
strong
and
vibrant
region
made
up
of
strong
and
successful
communities,
and
the
organization's
philosophy
is
essentially
that,
in
order
to
have
a
strong
and
vibrant
region,
you
need
successful
communities
when
we're
working
at
the
state
capital.
F
F
And
then
those
policies
are
forwarded
to
the
Board
of
Directors,
approved
by
the
board
and
then
forwarded
to
our
full
membership
where
they
are
approved
based
in
November
of
each
year
and
currently,
I
think
we
have
about
75
plus
policies,
everything
again
running
from
transportation,
to
economic
development,
to
taxes
and
revenues,
housing,
etc
and
certainly
a
whole
again
a
whole
section
relating
to
the
work
of
the
Metropolitan
Council.
A
strong
thread
that
runs
runs
through
metro
cities.
F
Policies
similar
to
what
ms
been
mentioned
is
the
notion
that
you
know
sort
of
appropriate
local
control
that
if
you
were
to
read
through
our
policies,
I'm
not
asking
to
do
that
right
now,
of
course,
but
if
you're
to
read
through
all
the
policies,
they
wrote
there
the
thread
there.
The
common
theme
is
certainly
about
maintaining
that
local
control
and
authority
making
sure
there's
a
strong
state
and
local
partnership
and
making
sure
that
there
are
adequate
resources
for
cities
to
do
the
jobs
that
they
are
tasked
with
doing.
F
In
addition
to,
certainly
you
know
we're
a
government
relations
lobbying
organization,
the
primary
means
of
communication
with
our
members
is
through
a
regular
newsletter.
We
also
provide
legislative
action
alerts.
We
do
emails,
come
out
and
see
you
personally
and
we
do
encourage
you
as
well
as
other
city
officials
to
participate
in
the
work
of
the
organization
and
largely
that
is,
is
done
really
directly
through
our
policymaking
process.
In
addition,
Metro
cities
does
make.
F
Has
the
statutory
authority
to
make
appointments
to
the
metropolitan
councils,
transportation,
Advisory,
Board
and
technical
advisory
committee
to
the
tab,
as
well
as
the
Metro
GIS
board,
and
that
is
those
are
statutory
authorities
I
just
want
to
maybe
close
it
or
maybe
just
add
a
couple
of
pieces.
You
know
this
year.
We
look
forward
to
working
with
your
team
and
I'll
echo.
What
miss
been
said
that
we
rely
on
your
team.
We
work
very
well
with
them.
They
are
very
important
partners
for
our
work
and
we
hope
that
the
same
is
true.
F
There
are
many
legislative
issues
that
we'll
work
jointly
on
those
include
items
like
local
government
aid,
certainly,
funding
for
housing,
metro
cities
we'll
also
be
seeking
bonding
monies
for
cities
in
the
metropolitan
area
to
deal
with
local
sewer
infrastructure
issues
and
many
other
items,
certainly
the
local
control
and
authority.
Those
bills
are
very
key
and
front
and
center
for
us
as
well,
and
we
are
anticipating
more
of
those
bills
to
come
forward
this
year.
F
A
You
committee
members,
who
have
any
questions
well,
we
appreciate
all
of
your
work
advocating
on
behalf
of
the
metro
region.
Thank
you.
I
will
go
ahead
and
move
that
we
receive
and
file
this
presentation.
All
those
in
favor,
please
signify
by
saying
aye
all
right.
Those
opposed
that
motion
carries
and
finally,
we
just
have
a
quick
federal
state
and
local
updates.
G
Mr.
chairman
and
members
I'm
gene
Lanier
evening,
our
department,
we
just
heard
recently
that
the
Senate,
the
United
States
Senate
leadership,
has
agreed
to
a
deal
for
a
two-year
budget.
It
increases
funding
for
defense
and
increases
also
funding
for
domestic
programs.
The
details
have
to
come.
It
also
that
has
no
resolution
to
the
debt
limit,
so
that
would
have
to
be
done
again
or
it
could
be
added
on
the
floor
of
the
Senate.
That
does
not
include
any
immigration
or
daca
solution
this
bill.
G
However,
the
Senate
is
supposed
to
start
next
week
on
our
discussion
of
immigration
and
daca.
The
House
speaker
just
announced
that
he
would
be
starting
a
depth
of
a
discussion
on
immigration
and
daca,
maybe
next
week.
Also,
so
we're
not
sure
if
the
house
will
buy
this
deal
because
it
does
increase
funding,
and
there
are
some
folks
in
the
house
who
don't
like
spending,
so
we
will
need
to
stay
tuned.