Diversifying Neighborhood Associations More Challenging Than Assumed

The schedule for the Neighborhoods 2020 initiative in Minneapolis has been pushed as neighborhood organizations have pushed back on the city's efforts to remake the system in a more representative form.

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September 20, 2019, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


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Jessica Lee reports on the city of Minneapolis' ongoing process of reforming its neighborhood association system:

After heated meetings that exposed Minneapolis residents’ opposition to the city’s goal of asserting greater control over neighborhood associations this spring, city staff told Minneapolis City Council members Monday that they need more time to research the city’s current relationship with the organizations before making any changes.

The Neighborhoods 2020 program will miss its October 28 deadline to produce specifics on how to diversify the city's 70 neighborhood associations, reports Lee, sharing details of a statement by David Rubedor, director of Minneapolis’ Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR).

"The project has moved more slowly than the city originally expected. Rubedor released recommendations for Neighborhoods 2020 in January, with the intention of establishing a new program by the end of 2019, when the mechanism that funds the groups, a tax district, dries up," according to Lee.

"Under the new timeline, the city is planning to release a draft of the new rules and accountability metrics in January."

Tuesday, September 17, 2019 in MinnPost

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