The Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities.

The recent reorganization of the regional planning agency for the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is working to achieve greater efficiencies by integrating planning and operations.

The Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minnesota enjoys a high quality of life and healthy rate of growth: the result of a beautiful natural setting, good planning, and a long-standing tradition of civic involvement and public initiative. From this public spirit was born the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities. Now popularly known as "the Council," it was created in 1967 as a regional planning agency charged with overseeing growth and development in a seven-county area that includes Minneapolis, St. Paul, and 187 cities and townships, and a population today that totals nearly 2.4 million.

For nearly 30 years, the organization served as a researcher and planner of the region's transportation, aviation, sewer, and park systems. Guided by policy decisions of a governor-appointed board, the Council was a problem solver, shaping solutions to issues confronting all metro-area communities. For example, the Council created a centralized sewer system in the 1970s, managed by the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission, to fend off water pollution problems stemming from inadequate septic systems. The Council was also a partner with local units of government, with authority to ensure consistency between city and regional development plans.

The "New" Metropolitan Council

In 1994, however, came sweeping change, when the Minnesota legislature passed the "Metropolitan Reorganization Act," merging the Council with the Metropolitan Transit Commission, the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission, and the Regional Transit Board. The goal was to increase regional government efficiency and accountability. As a result, the Council virtually overnight on July 1, 1994, became not only the planner and policy maker but also responsible for operating the region's wastewater treatment and transit systems. The Council work force jumped from 150 to more than 3,700, and the annual operating budget climbed from $13 million to $275 million.

Prior to the merger, the structure of regional government was extremely complex with varying appointment and reporting relationships. The governor-appointed Council, for example, appointed the Waste Control Commission and the Regional Transit Board, which in turn appointed the Metropolitan Transit Commission. By eliminating the three governing boards and consolidating the regional agencies, the legislation did away with an appointment process that diluted accountability. Proponents of the change, including the Council, are hopeful it will improve regional government accountability to the governor, legislature, and the public. A second goal is better integration of planning and operations for more coordinated decision making and less bureaucracy.

The Reorganization Act also changed Council administration and the role of Council members, who each represent one of 16 districts, with the chair appointed at-large. Though there was a legislative initiative to make the Council elected, the proposal was defeated, and Council members continue to be appointed by the governor. Members, however, now serve at the will of the governor rather than staggered four-year terms.

Another significant change was creation of the regional administrator position to manage the Council's day-to-day operations, a responsibility previously relegated to the chair. The role of the chair in the new organization is to provide policy direction and leadership, engage the public, and serve as the agency's chief spokesperson at the legislature and among local units of government.

The Reorganization Act also defined the Council's basic organizational structure. The Council is organized into four divisions, including administration, community development, environmental services, and transportation, as shown in Exhibit 1. Most of the planning functions of the former Council, as well as the activities of the Council's Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), are now housed in the community development division. Planning for water quality and supply, wastewater treatment, transportation, and transit are done within the environmental services and transportation divisions.

At the same time the legislature was revamping Council organization and structure, however, the Council was making some changes of its own. In September 1994, the Council adopted the Regional Blueprint, a policy document that outlines strategies for shaping growth and development in the Twin Cites and creating a strong and vital region. The Blueprint is part of the Metropolitan Development Guide and will be used...