For every dollar in the general fund supported by property taxes, 53
cents goes to public safety.
On August 14, Mayor RT Rybak unveiled his 2009 budget, proposing a 6.9
percent property tax increase. The Council will review the budget for
the next four months, with final adoption scheduled for December 11th.
The proposed budget includes a sweeping $27.5 million transportation
infrastructure package that would repair more than one-third of all the
heavily-traveled streets. The accelerated funding package would also
replace or repair more than 4,700 traffic light and street light poles
and improve city bike paths such as the Midtown Greenway.
To see the roads slated for repair in the next five years, click here.
<http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/ward9/docs/Infrastructure.pdf>
Also in the budget was the Mayor's proposal for the third phase of the
Neighborhood Revitalization Program, with an investment of $80 million
over ten years.
The proposed 6.9 percent tax increase is a slight drop from the 8%
increases approved in the last seven years. The city received $6.6
million more in local government aide from the State of Minnesota for
2009. For more information about the 2009 City of Minneapolis budget,
visit the 2009 budget webpage.
<http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/city-budget/2009recommended/index.asp>
New legislation encourages more pedicabs
Pedicabs are a safe transportation alternative common in many U.S. and
European cities.
Today the City Council passed legislation
<http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2008-meetings/20080822/docs/Ped
icab-Ordn.pdf> authored by Council Member Gary Schiff easing
restrictions on pedicabs. A pedicab is a nonmotorized three-wheel
bicycle used to carry passengers for hire and commonly carry up to two
passengers.
A call from Corcoran neighborhood resident Koa Rosa prompted the
legislation. "Koa operated pedicabs in San Diego
<http://www.startribune.com/local/26936164.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nD
aycUi> when he was in college, but found the Minneapolis rules so
restrictive it made profit impossible. Pedicabs are a locally-owned
green industry that we should encourage," Council Member Schiff said.
The new legislation gets rid of a city-wide ban on night and rush-hour
use of pedicabs and opens up some downtown streets that were previously
off limits, like Nicollet Mall. The new rules substitute a night time
ban with a headlight and taillight requirement.
Click here
<http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2008-meetings/20080822/docs/Ped
icab-Staff-Rpt.pdf> for a peek at pedicab regulations across the U.S.
Breakfast with Gary: Tackling livability crimes
Susan Segal Lucy Gerold Tim Dolan
On Friday, August 29th Breakfast with Gary will feature a discussion
about livability crimes and new strategies to confront prostitution in
south Minneapolis. "We have made progress reducing violent crime in the
past two years, but livability crimes continue to be the greatest
complaint from neighborhoods," said Council Member Schiff. Livability
crimes can include prostitution, drug dealing and aggressive
panhandling.
The new City Attorney Susan Segal, Police Chief Tim Dolan and Third
Precinct Inspector Lucy Gerold will be the guest speakers.
Breakfast with Gary takes place from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. the final Friday
of every month at Mercado Central, 1515 East Lake St. $5 buys breakfast.
Cuernavaca named new sister city
Gary Schiff delivered pen pal letters from South High school to students
in Cuernavaca, Morelos in 2005.
Cuernavaca Mexico was named Minneapolis' newest sister city today, with
the unanimous approval by the Minneapolis City Council. The mayor of
Curenavaca will attend a signing ceremony and celebration open to the
public on Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. in City Hall.
Cuernavaca, Morelos <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuernavaca> is
located in the central highlands of Mexico, about 50 miles south of
Mexico City. Council Member Gary Schiff traveled to Cuernavaca in 2004
to help build ties between the cities, including visiting at a local
school to delivering letters from South High School students to their
Mexican peers in Morelos.
An estimated 30,000 Mexican immigrants from the Morelos area have moved
to the Twin Cities in the past 15 years. Schiff says this is the first
sister city relationship consciously chosen because of immigration
patterns.
"Building ties with a part of the world where a large number of
immigrants come from helps us better understand our own future," said
Schiff, who sponsored the Council resolution to enter into the sister
city agreement. "The relationship between Morelos and Minnesota is going
to last for many generations, and as borders become more fluid and as
the world becomes more flat, it's going to be to our benefit to be able
to understand what's happening with trade and economic issues that are
going to affect us." Click here
<http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2008-meetings/20080822/docs/Cue
rnavaca_Mexico_RCA.pdf> to learn more about the sister city
relationship with Cuernavaca.
New policy eases options for more speed bumps
Speed bumps can be an effective traffic calming technique.
Council Member Gary Schiff is sponsoring a new policy to make it easier
for neighborhoods to pay for speed bumps, a vital tool for traffic
calming. The new policy allows property owners to spread out costs over
time as voluntary assessments. "In the past, speed bumps had to be paid
for up front, which has proven to be a barrier for most neighborhoods,"
Schiff says.
Due to rising oil prices, asphalt speed bumps are costly. A pair costs
$4,500 total, which includes construction engineering, installation and
project administration.
The new policy proposes residents submit two petitions in order to
participate. The first petition must show that 75% of property owners do
not object to the placement of a pair of speed bumps on the block. The
second petition is signed only by property owners who volunteer to split
the cost of the speed bump through a voluntary assessment, spread out
over ten years. The more property owners that agree to participate, the
lower the cost per household. Schiff says the average city block has 26
properties and full participation could result in voluntary assessments
as low as $25 per household.
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