NEWS RELEASE Contact: Jeremy Hanson December 12, 2005 Mayor Rybak Nominates Steven Bosacker As Minneapolis City Coordinator
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak today announced that he is nominating Steven Bosacker to be the next Minneapolis City Coordinator. Bosacker is widely considered to be an expert in government management and his long career in public service has given him an extraordinary breadth of experience. "Steven Bosacker is an experienced public servant and will be a vital addition to our City's leadership team," said Rybak of the nomination. "Steven has directed some of the state's largest public institutions with complex finance, management and policy issues, and comes well-equipped to help manage Minneapolis for the future." Bosacker's extensive government experience is rooted in Minnesota, but spans the globe. Most notably, Bosacker served as Chief of Staff to Governor Jesse Ventura, Executive Director for the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, and Chief of Staff to Congressman Tim Penny. Bosacker has also incubated international business ventures from Hamburg, Germany and once served the Scottish SDP/Liberal Alliance in Edinburgh, Scotland. "Having worked with Steven, I know firsthand of his ability to bring out the best from the management teams he has led. We are already seeing the results of his talent through his coordination of one of the largest city-wide reform projects ever undertaken with the "One Call 311" initiative," Rybak said. As the City's chief administrator, Bosacker would oversee financial operations, coordinate policies and programs established by the Mayor or City Council, and manage City interests in metropolitan, county, state and federal activities. As a direct report to the Mayor and City Council, the Coordinator supervises city department heads of Communications, Finance, Human Resources, Information & Technology Services, Intergovernmental Relations and Regulatory Services. "Steven's experience with the University Board of Regents in particular prepares him well for the challenges of balancing his service to my office as well as all the members of the City Council," Rybak said. "Steven's broad government background makes him an ideal choice to coordinate inter-governmental relations for the City and his commitment to reform and innovation will help ensure that Minneapolis continues to serve its citizens well." If confirmed by the Council, Bosacker would replace current Coordinator John Moir who has served in the role since 2002. During his time as City Coordinator, Moir oversaw a number of pivotal financial and management reforms, including: * Enacting a 5-year financial direction as a framework for budgeting and linking departmental business planning by to that framework. * Capping City employee wage increases to a limit of 2% per year and imposing a hiring freeze. * Implementing budgetary discipline, which created year-end savings available for one-time expenditures in subsequent years, such as for street maintenance or public safety. * Adopting a plan to stabilize community development funding for the Neighborhood Revitalization Program and the Target Center Arena. * Adopting a multi-year workout plan for the Parking System and Fund designed to return the system/fund to an effective profit center. * Outsourcing computer system support services for the all city departments that reduced annual costs by $2 million and avoided a total of $22 million in future costs. "Four years ago, John was the right person at the right time as we faced tremendous budget challenges and needed a clear focus on long-term business planning. Now, Steven is the right person to direct the next stage of our reform and innovation to further strengthen the relationship between citizens and their government," Rybak said. "I am deeply honored to be the Mayor's nominee and I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve the Mayor and City Council at such an exciting time for the City of Minneapolis," Bosacker said. "I have dedicated most of my professional life to public service and I am thrilled to be able to apply that experience towards meaningful citizen-focused government in the City I love. But first, I look forward to working with the Council in the confirmation process and hearing more about where they want the City to go." Mayor Rybak will formally nominate Bosacker next month and the nomination must be approved by the newly elected City Council when it convenes in January. Forwarded by: David Brauer List manager REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
