The Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association and the North Loop Neighborhood Association are partnering to host a presentation regarding the Charter Commission’s proposed governance amendment to the Minneapolis City Charter on Tuesday, August 24, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.  Please register for the forum via the link below:

Please register via Zoom

The city charter may sound like a real snoozer to many people!  But trust us, just like the federal and state constitutions, the charter deeply affects how services are delivered and power is shared in the city government on which we all depend.  The City’s Charter Commission is proposing that the structure of Minneapolis government be changed from its current form (what some may consider a “shared power” model) to one that more clearly delineates the respective powers and responsibilities of the mayor and city council.  The forum will address questions like:  What is a city charter?  Who is the Charter Commission?  How does the current system work?  How would that change under the new proposal?  Why now?  And what should voters be thinking about as they consider how they’ll vote on this important matter?

Kathleen O’Brien, former member of the Minneapolis City Council and later City Coordinator, along with Jay Kiedrowski, former City Finance Director and now Professor at the U of M Humphrey School of Public Affairs, will present the perspective of Charter for Change, a grassroots citizen effort supporting the proposed amendment.  Following the presentation, DMNA Vice Chair Kevin Frazell will engage O’Brien and Kiedrowski in a brief dialogue about some of the key issues raised by this proposal.  Then we’ll open the virtual floor to questions from you, our audience!

Review the Charter Commission’s proposed amendment, which seeks to clarify the roles of the Mayor as the executive of city operations and the City Council as legislators who are responsible for constituent service, prior to the forum.

Please register via Zoom