The Metropolitan Council or Met Council is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. The Met Council is granted regional authority powers in state statutes by the Minnesota Legislature. These powers can supersede decisions and actions of local governments. The legislature entrusts the Council to maintain public services and oversee growth of the state's largest metro area. This agency is similar to Metro in Portland, Oregon in that both agencies administer an urban growth boundary.
The Council's role in the Twin Cities metro area is defined by the necessary regional services it provides and manages. These include public transportation, wastewater treatment, regional planning, urban planning for municipalities, forecasting population growth, ensuring adequate affordable housing, maintaining a regional park and trails system, and "provides a framework for regional systems including aviation, transportation, parks and open space, water quality and water management."[1]
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The Met Council currently has 17 members, 16 of which represent a geographic district in the seven-county area with one chair who serves "at large." All members are appointed by the Governor of Minnesota and are reappointed with each new governor in office. The Minnesota Senate may confirm or reject each appointment. In 2007, Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed the Council Chair to Peter Bell and the Regional Administrator to Tom Weaver.
The seven counties in the Council's Twin Cities Metropolitan Area are Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties.
Geographic districts vary in characteristics but were historically drawn by population percentage and the presence of major natural resources. Districts near the downtown core are much smaller while the edge districts encompass large amounts of rural land. For example, District 3 contains almost all of Lake Minnetonka and its tributaries and watershed.
The Council delivers regional services to communities and the public through these divisions and operating areas:
In 1967 the Minnesota Legislature created the Metropolitan Council in response to growing issues of septic tank wastewater contamination. During that time, it was recognized there were systematic problems which transcended coordination of any one agency. There were more than 200 municipal agencies in existence then.
Additional acts of the legislature passed in 1974, 1976, and 1994 expanded the role and powers of the Met Council, merging it with transit and waste control commissions to become a unified regional authority.
| Chair | Term | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|
| James L. Hetland Jr. | 1967 – 1971 | Harold LeVander |
| Albert Hofstede | 1971 – 1973 | Wendell Anderson |
| John E. Boland | 1973 – 1979 | Wendell Anderson |
| Charles R. Weaver Sr. | 1979 – 1982 | Al Quie |
| Gerald J. Isaacs | 1983 – 1984 | Rudy Perpich |
| Sandra S. Gardebring | 1984 – 1986 | Rudy Perpich |
| Steve Keefe | 1986 – 1991 | Rudy Perpich |
| Mary E. Anderson | 1991 – 1992 | Arne Carlson |
| Dottie Rietow | 1992 – 1995 | Arne Carlson |
| Curtis W. Johnson | 1995 – 1999 | Arne Carlson |
| Ted Mondale | 1999 – 2003 | Jesse Ventura |
| Peter Bell | 2003 – 2011 | Tim Pawlenty |
| Susan Haigh | 2011- | Mark Dayton |
Shortly after the Minnesota elections, 2010, Minnesota Legislative Auditor James Nobels recommended on 21 January 2011 that "the Legislature should restructure the governance of the Metropolitan Council" (page 41)[4]. The Legislative Auditor continued stating that "Maintaining an appointed Met Council would continue the Council’s accountability problems ... Because Council members are appointed by the governor, however, they are not directly accountable to the public for (their) decisions." This lack of credibility and accountability was reported on by newspapers such as the Pioneer Press[5], the Star Tribune[6], and even online editorials like Politics In Minnesota[7].
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