Today Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak signed the ordinance that creates a new Department of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED).
"They said it couldn't be done, but we've done it!" said Mayor Rybak, who has made reform of the City's planning and development functions a centerpiece of his administration. This major reorganization resolves a decade of analysis and debate about the effectiveness of the City's planning and development activities. The City Council earlier today passed the measure, which authorizes the City to transfer the employees of the Minneapolis Community Development Agency (MCDA) to the new department, on a 9 to 3 vote. Mayor Rybak brought in McKinsey and Company when he took office in 2002 to conduct a pro-bono analysis of the City's planning and development functions. This analysis formed the basis of the Mayor's Focus Minneapolis initiative, which was approved by the City Council last September. Lee Sheehy, who was appointed Interim Director of CPED in January, is Director of the new department. Chuck Lutz is Deputy Director. Chuck Ballentine will remain Director of Planning through the end of this year. Lee Pao Xiong and Mike Christenson were recently appointed Director of Housing Policy and Development and Director of Strategic Partnerships. The position of Director of Economic Policy and Development remains open. Laura Sether Office of Mayor Rybak Standish-Ericsson TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
