Lawmakers say "No" to Neighborhood cuts proposed by Mayor, City Council

Media release from the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization, image from www.nrp.org.  Editorial note:  This post is the press release, largely unedited, from before last night's council meeting.  Results of that meeting may differ slightly from some claims made below.

Emergency meeting draws 65 including 9 lawmakers, 2 City Council members

Find video and plicy analysis by the University of Minnesota further below

Minneapolis MN - 65 people including neighborhood leaders, 9 state lawmakers, and 2 City Council members from Minneapolis turned out to a meeting at Corcoran Park on Sunday, Dec. 12, despite a weekend snowstorm that buried cars, crippled transit, and collapsed the Metrodome.

The meeting was called to discuss a recent proposal by Mayor R. T. Rybak and the City Council to re-purpose Neighborhood Revitalization funds as "tax relief," a move that would require approval by the Legislature.  The City Council voted on the proposal on Monday, Dec. 13, less than one week after the proposal was first made known to the  public by an article in the Star Tribune.

Senator Ken Kelash, Chair of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) policy board, explained that while past mayors and city councils have tried to take control of Neighborhood funding, "this is the first time we've been ambushed, aand that's what this is--it's an ambush."  Representative Joe Mullery called the City's proposal "improper and illegal," adding...