The task force came together after two bills to change the Met Council's structure failed to draw bipartisan support during this year's legislative session. "Based on what we've seen and based on the structure that we have for funding and building, I'm not convinced that Met Council is the right entity to be the responsible authority for those projects," Randall said at a June hearing. But the project is nearly a decade behind schedule and more than $1 billion over budget.Įven Legislative Auditor Judy Randall has weighed in on the Met Council conundrum. The council, which oversees Metro Transit, is building the Southwest line, an extension of the Green Line that will connect downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie. Momentum for an elected Met Council reached a crescendo in recent months after the ongoing troubles of the $2.7 billion Southwest light-rail line were explored in great detail during a series of hearings by the Office of the Legislative Auditor. The thinking is that would make the council more responsive to the electorate. Then it will be up to lawmakers to decide what to do with the task force's recommendations, which could significantly change the council's structure and mandate.įor some, that road map would call for the Met Council's 16 members and chair to be elected, rather than appointed as they currently are by the governor. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, who will serve on the task force. "The goal is that we will have a road map for a very different Met Council governance structure" by the time the Legislature convenes next year, said Rep. A newly launched task force could help reform the Metropolitan Council once and for all.Ĭreated during this year's legislative session, the Metropolitan Governance Task Force now has 17 members and is ready to begin an intensive review of the Met Council, the powerful but beleaguered regional planning body that oversees public transportation, wastewater treatment, land-use regulations, affordable housing and public parks in the seven-county metro area.
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