City seeks comments on administrative procedures for project plans

View amendment (pdf, 3 pages)

The City of Minneapolis welcomes comments on a proposed amendment to the Administrative Procedure for Preparing, Approving and Amending Project Plans and Finance Plans. Comments are due by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 16, 2007, and may be submitted electronically to joan.mathieu@minneapolismn.gov, or by mail or telephone to:

Joan Mathieu
Minneapolis Finance Department
105 5 th Avenue South, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2534
(612) 673-5053

The Administrative Procedure was initially adopted by the Minneapolis City Council in 1996, and was revised in 2003. Practices associated with the preparation of plan documents and the transmittal of documents for review and comment have continued to evolve as efficiencies are recognized and as access to technology improves.

The current Administrative Procedure provides for the City Council Ways and Means/Budget (W&M/B) Committee’s early review of proposed plans, followed by a second review after a public hearing conducted by the Community Development Committee. This practice originated prior to the establishment of the Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) department, when collaboration among planning, project management and finance staff did not occur to the extent it does today. The early W&M/B review ensured finance staff involvement in the preparation and review of proposed plans. Since the advent of CPED, proposed project and finance plan documents have been jointly prepared by CPED and Finance department staff. Two W&M/B reviews in a short period of time are now viewed as redundant and unnecessary.

The proposed amendment to the Administrative Procedure: 1) eliminates the first W&M/B review; 2) eliminates a 45-day notice of the City’s intent to prepare a proposed plan (replacing it with a 45-day review period of the actual proposed plan); 3) provides for electronic transmittal and web posting of proposed plans; and 4) makes other minor amendments.

March 1, 2007

Published Mar. 1, 2007