Noah L. asks:
>How would the city go about annexing? Would we need a charter amendment?
I believe it would take a standing army!!
I, too, have wondered about this on slow days. I'm sure both Minneapolis and
the affected suburb would have to vote to do this, though I'm not sure of
the mechanism.
I've always believed that if this was ever to happen, it would be with a
relatively commercial-property-tax poor first-ring 'burb. (No reason Edina
would want to boost their property taxes or combine their schools - though I
guess you could maintain a separate school district.) Would St. Louis Park,
with a relatively locked-in commercial tax base, want to hitch their star to
Minneapolis? As diversity within their schools increases dramatically, would
they want to tap into the experience of the Minneapolis district? (No, I
don't think so, either...)
I've often thought Richfield was a likely candidate, since they were
commercial property-poor and otherwise a lot like far south Minneapolis.
Now, with Richfield redeveloping like crazy (Lyndale Hardware, Walser/Best
Buy), that's probably moot.
Of course, the interesting thing is how people in the city would feel about
it. For example, would North Minneapolitans want the southsiders to get more
powerful by adding a Richfield? Would southsiders have questions about
Columbia Heights or St. Anthony?
And then there's the whole racial angle. Would minority Minneapolitans feel
their influence was being further diluted by an attempt to annex a mostly
white 'burb? What about poor wards losing clout if middle-class 'burbs are
added?
Maybe Mr. Metro, Sen. Myron Orfield, can give us his insights/predictions!
David Brauer
King Field - Ward 10
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