I want to echo Terrell Brown's comments that the uncoated language from these three council members is necessary at this juncture. One thing I found interesting is the reminder that: > the purpose of NRP was to provide service re-design and to > better integrate neighborhood planning into all City planning > and development decision making. Now NRP has become more > about the money, not the planning, and that's unfortunate.
I'm not quite sure this was the overall specific purpose of NRP, but the trend away from straight out funding of NRP neighborhoods to integration of city planning through neighborhoods is a trend that is well on its way to reality. I have a few questions that I hope can be answered: 1. I was unaware that we were running a deficit through NRP funding, which appears to be related to the bonds issued to fund NRP. Could we get more specifics on this? 2. I assume the Chapter 595 Levy is the one also called the HRA Levy that in part funds housing creation. True? Sorry if this is a rather stupid question. Along those lines, I assume that the "competition" between general tax revenues that fund police, fire, etc., and the HRA Levy that funds housing/community development is a "competition" necessitated by the overall 8% tax ceiling. That is, if we retain the HRA/Chapter 595 Levy, we must cut back the property tax rate so that the overall rate is 8%. Just need clarification on this, as I wade through the intricacies. One suggestion: why not pool available funds for NRP and establish more of an RFP approach to distribution of funds to neighborhoods, taking into account City priorities, and also rewarding collaboration between neighborhoods? We did this already in some way with the NRP's Affordable Housing reserve fund. Involve neighborhood groups in the determination of priorities and development of an RFP process, thereby creating a gateway for communities to provide direct input to the city planning process. Gregory Luce/Project 504 St. Paul TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
