public relations
just a question I want to toss out for people's brains to work over. it relates to the some of the things talked about vis a vis the library referendum but has wider implications for city governance, property taxes etc. As i write there is a presentation being made to the ways and means/budget committee by the GmCVA, that's greater mpls convention and visitors assn for those of you unfamiliar with the acronym. I wanted to hear the presentation but frankly i hate these sorts of things. anyway, i looked inside the committee room door, thinking i would venture in, and saw a stack of box lunches. now the meeting is being held over the lunch hour rather than at its customary time of 9am. i'm not quite sure but i suspect that GMCVA wanted to provide a free lunch in a convivial setting, that is as convivial as city hall can ever be. see how cynicism, bred by a steady stream of public relations, has made me. this past friday, i attended a meeting of the near northside development implementation committee. well over ten minutes of the meeting time was taken up watching a video compilation of tv news report of the recent groundbreaking ceremony. now these were all people i presume were on the guest list and attended the ceremony to watch jackie c. and ssb turn over shovelfuls of dirt. my time and theirs i'm sure could have been spent in better ways than reading their reviews. then dawn hagen from mcda passesd out a piece of full color fluff and chuck lutz of mcda passed out the final full color implementation plan. I wondered how many plans had preceded it. now the plan, like others, is necessary as a working document but as most of us have come to understand they are oftentimes more articles of fiction than fact. one document is no big thing; multiply it by what seems an infinite number, looking at the stacks in the city hall municipal library, and it becomes quite another thing. then factor in color versus black and white copier costs... well you can see where i'm going with this. We should study issues. we should turn them over and over and imagine consequences, weigh costs, look before we leap. all that is valid expenditure. but then after we have made decisions do we then need color brochures? i don't know the answers to all these questions. I see the efficacy in promotion but so much of what I see is smoke and mirrors meant to draw attention away from the reality of the situation which is often that what has been arrived at is not what it is purported to be and little more than justification and rationalization. Steve Cramer was quoted in the Strib within the last several months as saying "you can hardly expect us to know where every dollar goes in these large projects." That may not be an exact quote but it's damn close, within a penny or two, certainly not even a dime's difference. I can tell him where some of the dollars went. They were handing it out at the meeting I attended. If it were only a penny, a dollar that would be one thing. that is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg. let's talk about $18 million to connect the near northside with Kenwood Parkway. It would be nice to have but when we lack for so many other things in the city we can do without it til a much later date. I apolgize for the disjointed nature of this ramble. It's how my mind works. Oh! the question! do you think there is a lot of needless fluff generated by city hall aside from the obvious campaign posturing? Tim Connolly Ward 7 __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/
Library Referendum
In an exchange over the weekend, it was said that only residents would pay for the library referendum. This is not the case. The referendum will affect ALL property owners, whether the property is residential, commercial or industrial, and it will affect them equally. The cost for every $100,000 of property will be $5.07 in the first year, increasing to $56.71 in the fifth year, at which point it remains constant for the duration of the referendum. Additional revenue will be raised through TIF, a private capital campaign, and state funding (for the planetarium, which is not included in the referendum). Colin Hamilton Executive Director Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library 612/630-6172 612/630-6180 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MCDA
Certainly. The survey was put together after hearing many accounts of MCDA's riding slipshod over the people who have had contact with them. Accounts range from unscrupulous deals with persons having an undue influence in MCDA affairs, all the way to ignoring complaints from persons who have used their services. On this level, my interest is in the effectiveness of the program. I am struggling to understand the relationship between MCDA and its commissioners (city council) and other agencies as it relates to projects involving all three. The use of public funds requires certain elements accompany each project in which they are involved: other agencies funded by tax dollars have a responsibility to the public but, in at least one instance, neglected to perform their task, putting individuals at monetary, and physical risk. The intent of the survey is to determine their services overall and the effectiveness of the agencies providing oversight. It will also give some idea of the number of persons affected. Robert Anderson Minneapolis IP Candidate, House 61B
referendum taxation
Somebody posted the information attached below over the weekend. It's incorrect. Businesses will pay $57 annually per $100,000 of valuation if the library proposal passes. Steve Brandt Star Tribune the tax bite from referendums like this is entirely on the residents; business property is completely exempt from these additional taxes.
Re: Not too busy are ya....................
If we are going to make the school systems "more accountable" then we should compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. Comparing Edina to any inner city school should be done on the basis of how well Edina does in educating their South East Asian students to Minneapolis South East Asian students. (Substitute every economic class and ethnicity there). In addition to that, how does the suburban school system deal with students who are Autistic, Dyslexic or other problems? About 10 years ago I know of one parent who had to leave the Edina school system because their idea of how to deal with dyslexia was to have the student retake second grade. That parent found another school system with a program to help dyslexic students. So if a suburban school has a failure when their only second grade student of recent Ethiopian extraction fails reading and math, then we should defund ALL of their programs because they are obviously failing a whole group/class of students right? You mentioned all sorts of reasons why parents, teachers and students couldn't be held accountable (sarcastically I assume). What is your reason for not making yourself accountable? How do you escape this particular "passing of the buck"? While I so enjoy being chided by snotty liberals who disagree with my opinion, I do have to ask: where, in your world, does the accountability lie then??? Certainly the students can't be held accountable; they're just children! And the teachers? Impossible. Too under paid! The School District or School Board then! But there's too many kids to keep track of and some of them don't even speak english!! The parents? They're just working stiffs. Any other suggestions out there rather than the almighty buck in this discussion?? Rich McMartin snotty liberal living in Bryant Neighborhood.
Re: Ramp meters sucking the life out of Mpls?
It's not the meters that encourage sprawl and subsidize exurban development, it's the road system itself and the continuing belief that the solution to traffic congestion is more roads and wider freeways. The state legislature needs to understand smart growth and spend transportation dollars accordingly, but, even that isn't enough for Minneapolis. When traffic reaches the joking point and people start locating jobs and housing closer together, Minneapolis will still be competing with the suburbs for jobs and residents and businesses will continue to locate where employees live. Lacking a unified vision, we too often look for a single solution (turn off the meters, build a downtown entertainment center, build light rail, increase affordable housing) to a complex set of issues that together determine our collective "quality of life." In truth, it's a complex issue that requires a clear vision and a multi-layered solution. The solution is not affordable housing or market rate housing or light rail or bike paths or new development or housing rehabilitation programs or better schools or better parks. It's all of the above.
Re: park board and dog parks
Actually, I think Dave asked some really pertinent questions, and it would be nice to get answers to those. I also appreciated the humor in the post. It won't bore me in the least to see a point by point answers to Dave's questions. Maybe issue FAQs might help relieve people like Lisa of having to deal with taxpayers who pay her salary like me. The answers to these questions would be a good start on a Dog Park issue FAQ Eva Eva Young Central
Re: Library Referendum
Yes, well, this makes much more sense. Andy Driscoll St. Paul [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.driscollgroup.com From: "Hamilton, Colin J" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 13:39:33 -0500 To: "Multiple recipients of list" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Library Referendum In an exchange over the weekend, it was said that only residents would pay for the library referendum. This is not the case. The referendum will affect ALL property owners, whether the property is residential, commercial or industrial, and it will affect them equally. The cost for every $100,000 of property will be $5.07 in the first year, increasing to $56.71 in the fifth year, at which point it remains constant for the duration of the referendum. Additional revenue will be raised through TIF, a private capital campaign, and state funding (for the planetarium, which is not included in the referendum). Colin Hamilton Executive Director Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library 612/630-6172 612/630-6180 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: Not to busy are you ... MN Education
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --=_NextPart_000_005A_01C03D18.796140A0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Here are some links to studies done in regard to education reform. =20 In 1991, the Office of Educational Research and Improvement funded 12 = studies to examine various aspects of reform, from assessment of student = performance to the uses of technology. Each study has produced = cumulative findings that provide a basis for forming broad and = generalizable perspectives on reform. A thirteenth study called Fitting = the Pieces looks across the 12 major studies to identify the essential = elements of planning, implementing, and sustaining reform. Taken = together, these lessons emphasize a comprehensive, strategic, and = common-sense approach to school reform - one too often overlooked as = reforms are rushed from design to implementation. = http://www.ed.gov/pubs/SER/ In addition, here is a hotlink that may assist you in making your views = count: This comes from the Dept of Ed's "Topics from A to Z" list of = education related addresses. These that follow relate specifically to = parent involvement: Family Involvement in Education=20 --Guide to the Internet=20 --Internet Resources=20 --Involvement in Education=20 --National Parent Information Network (NPIN) http://www.ed.gov/topicsaz/topicsip.html#P Finally, the following hotlink will guide you to the Education Minnesota = site. They also have a forum specific to education and education = reform. http://www.educationminnesota.org/forums/index.cfm Hope this helps. Ron Makaruk S. Lyndale --=_NextPart_000_005A_01C03D18.796140A0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable !DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" HTMLHEAD META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dwindows-1252" = http-equiv=3DContent-Type META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=3DGENERATOR STYLE/STYLE /HEAD BODY bgColor=3D#9a9a9a DIVFONT color=3D#80STRONGEMHere are some links to studies = done in=20 regard to education reform.nbsp; /EM/STRONG/FONT/DIV DIVFONT color=3D#80STRONGEMFONT color=3D#00 = face=3DArial size=3D2In=20 1991, the Office of Educational Research and Improvement funded 12 = studies to=20 examine various aspects of reform, from assessment of student = performance to the=20 uses of technology. Each study has produced cumulative findings that = provide a=20 basis for forming broad and generalizable perspectives on reform. A = thirteenth=20 study called Fitting the Pieces looks across the 12 major studies to = identify=20 the essential elements of planning, implementing, and sustaining reform. = Taken=20 together, these lessons emphasize a comprehensive, strategic, and = common-sense=20 approach to school reform - one too often overlooked as reforms are = rushed from=20 design to implementation. A=20 href=3D"http://www.ed.gov/pubs/SER/"http://www.ed.gov/pubs/SER//A/FON= T/EM/STRONG/FONT/DIV DIVnbsp;/DIV DIVFONT color=3D#80STRONGEMIn addition, here is a hotlink = that may=20 assist you in making your views count:nbsp; This comes from the Dept of = Ed's=20 "Topics from A to Z" list of education related addresses.nbsp; These = that=20 follow relate specifically to parent = involvement:/EM/STRONG/FONT/DIV DIVSTRONGEMFONT face=3DArial size=3D2A = href=3D"http://pfie.ed.gov/"Family=20 Involvement in Education/A BR--A=20 href=3D"http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/internet/"Guide to the = Internet/A=20 BR--A href=3D"http://www.ed.gov/dirs.html"Internet Resources/A = BR--A=20 href=3D"http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/getpubList.idc?L1=3D80amp;L2=3D0"I= nvolvement in=20 Education/A BR--A href=3D"http://npin.org/"National Parent = Information=20 Network (NPIN)/A/FONT/EM/STRONG/DIV DIVSTRONGEMFONT face=3DArial size=3D2A=20 href=3D"http://www.ed.gov/topicsaz/topicsip.html#P"http://www.ed.gov/top= icsaz/topicsip.html#P/A/FONT/EM/STRONG/DIV DIVFONT color=3D#80STRONGEM/EM/STRONG/FONTnbsp;/DIV DIVFONT color=3D#80STRONGEMFinally, the following hotlink=20 willnbsp;guide you to the Education Minnesota site.nbsp; They also = have a=20 forumnbsp;specific to education and education=20 reform./EM/STRONG/FONT/DIV DIVSTRONGEMFONT color=3D#80A=20 href=3D"http://www.educationminnesota.org/forums/index.cfm"http://www.ed= ucationminnesota.org/forums/index.cfm/A/FONT/EM/STRONG/DIV DIVSTRONGEMFONT color=3D#80/FONT/EM/STRONGnbsp;/DIV DIVSTRONGEMFONT color=3D#80Hope this = helps./FONT/EM/STRONG/DIV DIVSTRONGEMFONT color=3D#80Ron = Makaruk/FONT/EM/STRONG/DIV DIVSTRONGEMFONT color=3D#80S. LyndaleA=20 href=3D"http://www.educationminnesota.org/"/A/FONT/EM/STRONG/DI= V/BODY/HTML --=_NextPart_000_005A_01C03D18.796140A0--
Questions regarding risk to Triple-A bond rating
Forwarded on behalf of Wally Swan -- In answer to the statement in the Star Tribune that adding debt load from the Library Referendum would not have an effect upon the city bond rating: According to Standard and Poor's (January 2000), the average net debt per capita for 32 AAA rated cities is $1,750, although some latitude is granted based upon the other major factors that go into making up a bond rating (e.g. larger cities may have a bit more debt based upon other major rating factors such as administration, economy and finances, with an average of $1,883 per capita for larger communities). The direct indebtedness per capita for general obligation bonding in Minneapolis will be $2,948.34 (for all year 2000 sales as of December 31, 2000). Neither the use of debt scheduling (adding segments of the $140 million Library Referendum over a multi-year period to the aggregate debt of $1,131,118,438 as of the end of year 2000) nor the designation of the $140 million Library Referendum as "infrastructure" will prevent insightful rating agencies from looking at their usual ratios and numbers regarding per capita level of debt and the aggregate total of debt .By way of comparison, one might compare the end of year 2000 Minneapolis general obligation debt (plus the $140 million Library Referendum debt) to the Hennepin County general obligation debt of $1,610,553,000 (Fitch, July 29,1999). Hennepin County has three times the population of the city of Minneapolis, has considerably more resources, and its per capita debt load is clearly dramatically lower. Wally Swan Board of Estimate Taxation Forwarded by David Brauer, List manager, Minneapolis-issues
Re: Not too busy are ya....................
So, if some guy on this list is a "snotty liberal" then you are, presumably, a what? Condescending conservatiuve? Adenoidal archconservative? Just plain twit? You could start with yourself and be accountable for your mouth--or fingers in this case. Wizard Marks, Central j burns wrote: While I so enjoy being chided by snotty liberals who disagree with my opinion, I do have to ask: where, in your world, does the accountability lie then??? Certainly the students can't be held accountable; they're just children! And the teachers? Impossible. Too under paid! The School District or School Board then! But there's too many kids to keep track of and some of them don't even speak english!! The parents? They're just working stiffs. Any other suggestions out there rather than the almighty buck in this discussion?? J Burns Cleveland From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Not too busy are ya Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 15:36:05 -0500 It is a shame we can't deprive those stupid little bastards of those sweetheart jobs at SA, where their indecision over the cash register costs hard-working folks like us at least 15-20 seconds of precious time per day. Maybe if we turn off the funding spigot and class sizes grow, they'll be forced to spend more time at home studying, especially if we rachet up the test regimen--accountability, don't cha know. With friends like J. Burns, the Boy Scouts don't need any enemies. Britt Robson Lyndale _ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.
RE: Not too busy are ya....................
For newer members (and old ones who need a reminder) - Two of our most important list rules state: 4. No insults, threats, and inflamed speech for the sake of personal argument are allowed. 5. One-on-one arguments, disagreements, and disputes of a personal nature must be taken off list. Please, everyone, cease the name-calling NOW or risk getting expelled from the forum. And even if someone else starts it, it's YOUR responsibility not to continue it. David Brauer List manager, Minneapolis-issues PS It's everyone's responsibility to read the full rules at: http://www.e-democracy.org/mpls-issues/ -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of wizardmarks Sent: Monday, October 23, 2000 9:07 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: Not too busy are ya So, if some guy on this list is a "snotty liberal" then you are, presumably, a what? Condescending conservatiuve? Adenoidal archconservative? Just plain twit? You could start with yourself and be accountable for your mouth--or fingers in this case. Wizard Marks, Central j burns wrote: While I so enjoy being chided by snotty liberals who disagree with my opinion, I do have to ask: where, in your world, does the accountability lie then??? Certainly the students can't be held accountable; they're just children! And the teachers? Impossible. Too under paid! The School District or School Board then! But there's too many kids to keep track of and some of them don't even speak english!! The parents? They're just working stiffs. Any other suggestions out there rather than the almighty buck in this discussion?? J Burns Cleveland From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Not too busy are ya Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 15:36:05 -0500 It is a shame we can't deprive those stupid little bastards of those sweetheart jobs at SA, where their indecision over the cash register costs hard-working folks like us at least 15-20 seconds of precious time per day. Maybe if we turn off the funding spigot and class sizes grow, they'll be forced to spend more time at home studying, especially if we rachet up the test regimen--accountability, don't cha know. With friends like J. Burns, the Boy Scouts don't need any enemies. Britt Robson Lyndale _ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.
Re: Questions regarding risk to Triple-A bond rating
In a message dated 10/23/2000 8:11:36 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] forwards the following on behalf of Wally Swan: In answer to the statement in the Star Tribune that adding debt load from the Library Referendum would not have an effect upon the city bond rating: According to Standard and Poor's (January 2000), the average net debt per capita for 32 AAA rated cities is $1,750, although some latitude is granted based upon the other major factors that go into making up a bond rating (e.g. larger cities may have a bit more debt based upon other major rating factors such as administration, economy and finances, with an average of $1,883 per capita for larger communities). The direct indebtedness per capita for general obligation bonding in Minneapolis will be $2,948.34 (for all year 2000 sales as of December 31, 2000). Neither the use of debt scheduling (adding segments of the $140 million Library Referendum over a multi-year period to the aggregate debt of $1,131,118,438 as of the end of year 2000) nor the designation of the $140 million Library Referendum as "infrastructure" will prevent insightful rating agencies from looking at their usual ratios and numbers regarding per capita level of debt and the aggregate total of debt I find Wally Swan's post referencing SP avg. net debt per capita for 32 AAA rated cities very interesting. His point is well taken. However, I'd be interested in seeing such data for cities with a population the size of Minneapolis ( say within +/- 20 percent of our population) for a better comparison. I'd also be interested in relevant details/insight concerning other major rating factors (i.e. strength of local/regional economy, diversity of local economy, commercial vacancy trends, operating revenue ratios,etc.) that are also considered when determining a municipal bond rating. I always want to be sure I'm comparing apples with apples and oranges with oranges. I think it only fair that the City, maybe the acting Finance Director, have an opportunity to respond to Mr. Swan's posted data and shed some added insight on the situation. Any municipal bond analysts in the audience? Thanks in advance. M. Hohmann 13th Ward
