Happy New Year!
The Hennepin County Board had its first meeting of the year this week, re-electing Mike Opat as our chairman and making various appointments to committees and boards throughout the county.
I voted for Mike as chairman. Although I frequently disagree with him and believe the county is spending entirely too much money, the reality is that this board is going to elect a democrat as chairman and I am comfortable with that democrat being Mike. I believe he is fair and runs an efficient meeting.
Someone asked me yesterday why I didn’t put my name in for chair. I told them that I would have received exactly one vote (and that vote would have been somewhat dependent on how I felt about myself that morning). Read more…
County Board Raises All Three County Tax Levies - One by 4.95%, One by 114% and One by 176%
The county board adjourned for the year last week by raising every property tax levy we have authority to raise.
The general county operating levy was increased 4.95% (an additional $12.5 million over 2009). The county rail authority levy - used to fund light rail trains - was increased 114% (an additional $8 million over 2009). The county housing authority levy was increased 176% (an additional $2.3 million over 2009).
Commissioner Randy Johnson and I voted against the budget that included the 4.95% levy increase. I was the only member to oppose the other two levy increases. Read more…
County Leading Five-Year Program to Address Availability of Fruits and Vegetables
FOCUS! That’s a frequent directive I give to my two boys after school. They are charged with getting their homework done before they’re allowed to play with friends. And it can be a struggle! “Dad, can I have the TV on while I’m doing my homework?” “How about if I just put it on mute?” “Can I at least listen to my iPod?” “Let me tell you about what happened at recess today.” My response always: “FOCUS! You can watch TV, listen to your iPod or tell me about recess later. Right now we need to get the homework done.”
I assume my sons are pretty typical young boys when it comes to this issue and that it will be a struggle for years to come, but sometimes I think my 8 and 11-year-old boys are much better able to focus than we are in Hennepin County government. Read more…
We are nearing the end of our annual budgeting process on the Hennepin County board, with a vote on the final budget scheduled for Tuesday, December 15. I expect a 2010 budget to pass (although I will not support it) that is slightly smaller than the 2009 budget, but it will contain a 3% increase in the property tax levy. I will post more information on that proposed budget soon.
Today, we had a budget hearing during which commissioners were allowed to propose amendments to the budget the administration has presented to us. There were a couple of amendments to move or restore funding to certain programs that had been cut. I brought in one amendment: To cut our commissioner office budgets by 4% for 2010. It failed 1 - 6. Read more…
Tom Hauser did a great “Tracking Your Money” story on my Lowry Avenue Bridge post last week:
Golden Hydrant goes to Lowry Avenue Bridge
We’re in the midst of budget hearings and property tax discussions on the Hennepin County Board, so it’s been awhile since I last awarded a Golden Fire Hydrant, but I can’t pass this one up. The newest Hydrant goes to the Board’s decision to spend an extra $14 million to make the new Lowry Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis a “signature” bridge - meaning it will look much fancier than most other bridges in Minnesota.
A little background:
The Lowry Avenue Bridge was built in 1905 and spans the Mississippi at Lowry Avenue in North Minneapolis. For over 100 years, the bridge carried motorists over the Mississippi almost uninterrupted until it was closed last year based upon the discovery that one of the bridge piers had shifted.
After that discovery, the county appropriately decided that the old bridge was no longer structurally safe and needed to be demolished and rebuilt. Read more…
“Sorry kids, but we had to mortgage your future. Here, have a bike helmet.”
Yesterday, the Hennepin County Board on a 6-1 vote, requested federal stimulus funds in the amount of $10,000,000 for a program called “Communities Putting Prevention to Work.” Although we have not been granted these funds yet, there was great optimism that we will receive them based upon the strength of our proposed program and the desire of the federal government to fund projects like this.
The funds would be used throughout suburban Hennepin County “to address obesity, physical activity and nutrition through sustainable, proven approaches such as policy, systems, organizational and environmental changes in communities.”
Included in the request: $2.7 million for “subsidized bicycles, helmets, walking shoes and transit passes.” Read more…
County will Count Illegal Immigrants in 2010 Census
Shortly after I took office in January of this year, I had a meeting with a couple of Hennepin County employees who were working on a program to promote the 2010 U. S. Census. Encouraging everyone in the county to fill out the census form was more crucial this year than ever before, I was told, as the population numbers derived from the 2010 Census would determine representation for Minnesota in Congress, and there has been talk that Minnesota could lose one congressional seat after the census numbers come in.
In addition, the census numbers will used to set state legislative boundaries and allocate representation in the Minnesota legislature. Read more…
Board Unanimously Requires Pay-for-Performance Contracts
The County Board last week unanimously passed a resolution I proposed which will require the county’s Human Services Department and Corrections Department to more widely use pay-for-performance contracts with hundreds of county vendors.In essence, this means that many of the organizations hired by the county to provide services will be paid based upon their ability to prove they have achieved measurable, long-term changes for the people they serve. In my opinion, this constitutes basic accountability in government spending.
The county has been using pay-for-performance contracts with select vendors for the past several years. It is not, however, a widespread practice. Many of our contracts are based solely on “outputs” - how many people a particular vendor served. Read more…
On Tuesday, the Hennepin County Board voted 6 - 1 (I was the “no” vote) to set our maximum property tax levy increase for 2010 at 4.95%. This means that when we set our 2010 budget later in the year, we can increase the levy by 4.95% or less, but we cannot go over that amount. In the recent past, the final level has been set at or very near the maximum level nearly every year. I would expect this year will be the same. Read more…
