Local elected officials would fill Met Council under proposed overhaul

A sweeping plan to reshape the Metropolitan Council heard Monday in a House committee would restructure the powerful Twin Cities planning board to comprise it of local elected officials in place of gubernatorial appointees.

Some state and local officials have long taken issue with the unelected nature of the council, an organization with broad latitude to direct planning of metropolitan area growth, transportation and water issues.

HF828, sponsored by Rep. Tony Albright (R-Prior Lake), would replace the existing 16 members and chair that are appointed by the sitting governor with 23 local elected officials and four transportation representatives.

“I am hopeful for the beginning of a robust conversation,” Albright said.

Rep. Tony Albright

Under the legislation, the board would consist of members appointed from each of the seven county boards in the metro, a local elected official from each of the 16 Metropolitan Council districts, the commissioner of transportation and three other persons appointed by the commissioner to represent different modes of transportation.

HF828 was held over by the House Transportation and Regional Governance Policy Committee for possible omnibus bill inclusion. A companion, SF892, sponsored by Sen. Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake), has been referred to the Senate Local Government Committee.

Dakota County Commissioner Chris Gerlach, a former state legislator, praised the bill, saying that the Metropolitan Council in its current form has become more akin to a state agency than an independent metropolitan planning board.

“There is a very strong disconnect between local governments and the Metropolitan Council,” he said.

Other local officials, however, expressed serious reservations with the bill.

Edina Mayor Jim Hovland said he believes changes to the board are needed, but that filling the council with local elected officials could hurt the regional focus of the organization.

Rep. Sandra Masin (DFL-Eagan), a former city council member who said she had been frustrated by the Metropolitan Council during her time as a municipal official, said that having local elected officials serve as representatives on the Metropolitan Council “totally is a conflict of interest.”

Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey agreed, saying that a Metropolitan Council composed of elected officials could become a more political body. He also questioned whether city council members would, realistically, have the additional time necessary to devote to a Metropolitan Council appointment.

“I have a full-time job outside of being a mayor — which can be a full-time job, frankly,” Bailey said.

Other provisions in the bill include:

• providing for Metropolitan Council members to be paid $20,000 per year in addition to their pay as a local elected official (the chair would be paid $40,000) and specifies the transportation commissioner would not receive compensation;
• elimination of the Transportation Advisory Board; and
• directing the city councils in each Metropolitan Council district to appoint a member to serve on the municipal committee for the council district, which would then appoint one of its members to the Metropolitan Council.