ST PAUL, Minn — A new commission will delve into the function and history of the Metropolitan Council, with an eye toward revamping that regional planning agency.
Lawmakers created the Metropolitan Governance Task Force as part of the transportation bill during the 2023 session. The panel, made of a bipartisan group of legislators, local elected leaders, and citizen experts, held its first meeting Wednesday.
"The goal is to really look closely at the Metropolitan Council and its governance and its role in the region, and figure out ways to make this agency more transparent and more accountable to the public," Rep. Frank Hornstein, the Minneapolis Democrat who chairs the new task force, told KARE 11.
It's a story that begins and ends at the state capitol, where in 1967 the Legislature created the Metropolitan Council. The agency has been in the crosshairs of Republican lawmakers for years, but cost overruns in the Southwest Light Rail Project prompted Democrats to consider a change.
"The Met Council was created by the Legislature. If it needs to be fixed, it needs to be fixed by the Legislature," Rep. Hornstein remarked.
The Met Council's most visible role is public transit, which includes Metro Transit buses, light rail trains, and the Metro Mobility ride service for persons with disabilities. But the agency also runs regional wastewater treatment plants, regional parks and provides federally funded affordable housing.
"You can't take a sledgehammer to the Met Council as some people would love to do, you can't just bust it all up. You can't put a pretty band-aide ribbon on it and say everything's perfect either because many disagree with that," Rep. Jon Kosnick, a Lakeville Republican, said during the inaugural meeting.
The Met Council's 16 members each represent different parts of the 7-County Twin Cities Metro area in districts of roughly equal population. They're all appointed by the governor.
The Met Council chairperson is also appointed by the governor and holds a cabinet-level position. Democrats have held the governor's office in Minnesota since 2011.
One option the task force will explore is having all or some of the members elected directly by voters. Some argue that would make the council more responsive and accessible to the public.
"We want to know is it really working to have appointed members? And is the agency accountable to the public in a way that makes sense?"
Myron Orfield, a University of Minnesota Law School professor and former state lawmaker, said it's not completely clear if the Metropolitan Council is a state agency or form of local government that would require elected members.
"It's very deeply embedded in American democracy that the people elect the people that tax and make big decisions. It's not like that in England, in Europe."
The harshest criticism at the first meeting came from Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman.
She said she hears regularly from business owners about troubles they encounter dealing with Met Council regulations.
"The system is just absolutely refusing to deal with the general public because the commissioners don't take constituent calls and the staff often ignore them," Goodman told fellow panel members.
Rep. Ginny Klevorn, a Plymouth Democrat, said the panel should rush to make sweeping generalizations about the council members.
"I can only speak to the Met Council representative that I work with closely, who is incredibly responsive, who shows up all the time and is in community all the time."
The task force's goal is to come up with a set of recommendations for the legislature before the start of the 2024 session in mid-February.
Watch more Minnesota politics:
Watch the latest political coverage from the Land of 10,000 Lakes in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.