Enclosed is a letter Senator Ranum recently received from the Mayor and Jackie Cherryhomes. Please note the establishment of the "NRP Community Development Work Team," and the scheduling of a joint meeting of the Ways and Means Committee and Community Development Committee for the afternoon of July 9. > Dear Senator Ranum: > The City of Minneapolis supports tax reform. As you know, City officials have > been working tirelessly with Senator Pogemiller and others to ensure the tax > bill would protect the interests of the people of Minneapolis and continue state > support for community development investments. > > However, with the passage of the 2001 tax bill, funds for affordable housing, > small business development, pollution cleanup, and most importantly, our > Neighborhood Revitalization Program, were drastically reduced starting next > year. > > Our work to build strong neighborhoods has been handed a real setback by a few, > short sighted Republican legislators who don't value investment in our > neighborhoods and citizen involvement. > > We thank the Minneapolis legislators, especially Senator Larry Pogemiller, who > worked so hard to head off these unwarranted and unwanted impacts on our > neighborhoods. > > We continue our commitment to community development, the NRP and neighborhood > planning. We have realized substantial gains and have worked too hard to lose > momentum now. > > We have taken the following actions today: > 1. Created a NRP Community Development Work Team consisting of City Coordinator > Kathleen O'Brien, MCDA Executive Director Steve Cramer, Planning Director Chuck > Ballentine, Finance Director Pat Born and NRP Executive Director Bob Miller. > The charge of this task force is to identify strategies to continue our > neighborhood community development commitments. 2. Directed Cramer to update the > Agency's 10 year financial projection to include the effect of the 2001 tax bill > by July 9, 2001. 3. Directed Cramer and Born to prepare a preliminary report on > implications of the tax bill for the Minneapolis NRP program by July 9, 2001. > 4. Requested that Ways and Means Chair Joan Campbell and Community Development > Committee Chair Jim Niland schedule a special joint meeting for the afternoon of > July 9 to receive information from the NRP Task Force on community development > resources. -2- > > > 5. Requested that NRP Policy Board Chair County Commissioner Mark Stenglein > convene a special meeting of the Policy Board to receive this same report and > provide appropriate direction to NRP Director Bob Miller. > > We will build a new NRP for our city with neighborhood empowerment as our core > belief and neighborhood action as our core strength. The new NRP starts today. > It is Our NRP. We will be calling on the thousands of citizens of Minneapolis > who built Phase I of NRP to join us. > > Sincerely, > > > > Sharon Sayles Belton Jackie Cherryhomes > Mayor President, Minneapolis City Council Cindy Conley Office of State Senator Jane Ranum _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
