Reorganization Community Development•
[Clerk
Reception
Proposed reorganization of the
Community Development
and
City Clerk's Department
Community
Services
Assessing
Inspections
I City Manager
New Assistant
Planning
Housing
1
Planning and
Economic
Development
Public
Housing
Economic
Development
•
BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
ASST CITY MGR.
/CITY CLERK
-I ELECTIONS]
-1 INFORMATION
RECORDS
I FINANCE
FIRE
ACCOUNTING
PAYROLL
UTILITY
BILLING
POLICE
CITIZENS
CITY COUNCIL
CITY
MANAGER
ADMINISTRATION
-I OPERATIONS
PUBLIC WORKS
- ENGINEERING
CITY ATTORNEY
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
ASSESSING
INSPECTIONS
H PLANNING
- BUILDING MAINTENANCE
EQUIPMENT SERVICES
PARKS & FORESTRY
PAVILION /ICE ARENA
-I STREET/TRAFFIC /REFUSE
-] WATER & SEWER
CITY OF
MINNETONKA
RECREATION
ACTIVITY
CENTER
or
•
Duties
ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
o Special Projects Coordinator:
- Arts Facility - lead staff
- Strategic Plan for Economic Development, lead staff on some initiatives
- Projects such as: ABM, Depot Coffee House, youth and senior issues
- Team leader on projects which require coordination between departments
- Grant writing
o Administrative Projects, research for Manager's office and City Council
- Cost of Services Study
4/9/96
o Collaborate with Planning and Economic Development Division to reduce
workload
- Neighborhood Contact Committee
- Economic Development projects
o Legislative Initiatives and Relations
o Intergovernmental Projects
- Lead staff on collaborative efforts with surrounding cities, School District, and
County
•
•
Effects of Reorganization Plan
o Reduction in number of supervisory staff by one.
(Supervisory duties will be absorbed by existing management staff)
o Flexibility in job description of new assistant to the City Manager.
(Will allow person to be used where needed without regard to department
boundaries)
o Saves dollars.
(New employee will be hired at a lower wage)
4/9/96
o Improves the connections between front desk personnel by putting inspections,
assessing and clerk/receptionist under one department head.
o Will require greater efforts of planning/economic development and inspections to
coordinate activities.
o Assistant City Manager /City Clerk duties to be re- assessed. Will require some
off- loading of current workload to subordinates (Le., clerk duties to deputy clerk,
etc.).
o Emphasizes the customer service nature of divisions within the new Community
Services Department.
Proposed
I y6lH
V/N
ZO 6 `0t7$
V/N
ZOL`£E$
V/N
288'09$
$134,686
MO1
V/N
$38,467
VIN
ZOL'E8$
V/N
$58,552
1 ZL'9Z L$
Range /Step
b/N
C L - V 9
YIN
D9
V/N
10E -10F_
Current /Budget
e6em
Egz`09$
r t//N
b ZZ`ZE$
V/N
$57,429 J
V/N
906`6£1.$
Range /Step
9 06
V/N
ate
VIN
06
V/N
L _ uo ;
'CD Director*
'New Assistant
'Deputy Clerk 1
City Clerk 1
Senn /Novi
IACM /CS Director
I
CD
Nr
O
N
C
*Harmening wage in 1996 would have been $60,882 ($10,629 higher than '96 budget)
FINANCIAL IMPACT OF REORGANIZATION
CITY OF HOPKINS
MEMORANDUM
DATE: April 11, 1996
TO: 11 The Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Or "Jim Kerrigan, Director Planning & Economic Development
SUBJECT: Organizational Structure of HRA
PURPOSE OF MEMO
During the most recent election there were questions raised about
having the City Council also serve as the HRA board. This memo
provides an overview of this matter and a basis for discussion.
Detailed are both a background on the Hopkins HRA and a brief
discussion of relevant issues concerning this matter.
OVERVIEW
The Minnesota State Legislature has granted cities authority to
establish HRAs. The main purpose of an HRA is twofold:
• Address housing needs within the community, and most
specifically, low to moderate income needs
• Undertake various redevelopment and economic development
activities
The Hopkins City Council originally established an HRA in the
late 1960s. At this time it was formed as an independent body,
which seemed to be the trend at that time. In fact, until a
statutory change in 1979, it was unclear whether a Council member
could serve as an HRA commissioner without creating a conflict of
interest. Over the next several years, this group was involved,
really, in two major activities:
• Construction and management of 86 units of public housing
• Implementation of a large scale downtown urban renewal project
In the mid 1970s, this group and the City Council began to
disagree about the implementation of specific economic
development projects, as well as the overall future vision for
the City. As this polarization intensified, the Council made a
decision to undertake an effort to have the Council serve as the
HRA board. After what was a rather unpleasant process, they were
JK04116A
Memo to HRA, April 11, 1996 - Page 2
able to convince the existing HRA members to resign their
appointments. Since that time, the Council has served as the
HRA.
ANALYSIS OF ISSUES
• Since 1979, Minnesota statute has clearly allowed City Councils
to also act as the BRA to represent the municipality. It
appears that the empowering statute originally envisioned that
this group would be a separate body; however, over time, cities
have found it beneficial and efficient for the Council and HRA
to be one group. Overall, in the state of Minnesota, it
appears that the majority of cities that have HRAs have moved
in this direction.
• An HRA, by statute, is not advisory to the City Council. It is
an independent group that has the ability to take action and
make many decisions without any approvals by the City Council.
• HRAs for municipalities are limited by statute to five members.
If the City Council wished to add one or two "citizen members,"
a like number of Council members would need to be removed from
the board.
• Board members to an HRA are appointed by the mayor and City
Council, but the HRA is an independent body, each member serves
for five years. Once appointed, prior to expiration of their
five -year term, these individuals can only be removed from
their position for inefficiency, neglect, or misconduct in
office, or if they volunteer their resignation.
• Besides redevelopment and economic development, the Hopkins HRA
is responsible for the following:
• Management of HRA -owned property
• Management and operation of HRA's public housing program
(with creation of an independent HRA, these responsibilities
would be transferred to that body)
• The following is a comparison of the makeup of some
metropolitan cities that have HRAs:
City Membership
Andover City Council
Anoka Citizens
Champlin City Council
Fridley Citizens
Golden Valley City Council
New Hope City Council
Oakdale City Council
J1C04116A
•
•
Memo to HRA, April 11, 1996 - Page 3
Clearly, the trend over the past several years has been for City
Councils to assume the responsibilities of the HRA. On the other
hand, once a City Council has become the HRA, there has been no
move back to a separate body at a future date.
CONCLUSION
The City Council has served as the HRA board for several years.
During that time, the Council has been able to guide and control
development. Overall, I think the majority of residents feel
that during this time a number of successful projects have been
completed. Creation of an independent HRA is a major policy
change that needs to be given very careful consideration as
relates to the impact.
Housing and development are two activities that cities can
undertake that have a strong impact on the future direction of
the community. Due to this fact, the trend has been for City
Councils to take control of these decisions. If there were an
independent HRA, they would have the responsibility for making
decisions on these matters, and may or may not have the same
thinking as the Council on the implementation of certain projects
and activities, i.e., City Council supported construction of
movie theater, but the project is not undertaken because the HRA
does not like it. Even if such conflicts did develop, the
Council would be, in essence, forced to live with the decisions
of commissioners until their terms of office expired and
replacements could be appointed.
As the Council is aware, housing and economic development
projects and issues can be very controversial. There will always
be those individuals for and against a project. An argument for
those individuals opposing a specific action will be that it does
not represent the thinking of the community. Such accusations
will take place no matter what type of body is making such a
decision.
The City Council has made a strong effort in the past to solicit
public input on major housing and economic development matters.
The Economic Development Strategic Plan was formulated by a group
supposedly representative of the community, with input from the
neighborhood and business communities. Furthermore, the Council
has held a number of public meetings on the more controversial
redevelopment projects, i.e., arts facility, theater /restaurant.
The City Council is placed in office through a city -wide election
and is both the most representative organization within the
community and the most accountable public body. As previously
stated, members of an independent HRA board would be appointed by
the mayor and City Council. This results in a situation in which
you have a group of individuals making major decisions for the
City without any ability for residents at large to decide who
these individuals are, based on their backgrounds, positions on
JKO4116A
•
Memo to HRA, April 11, 1996 - Page 4
various matters, and overall competencies, or to remove them from
office for "poor" decisions.
Also, members of an independent body may tend to have a fairly
narrow focus, as they are not exposed to all activities that are
occurring in the City. City Council members are usually the most
knowledgeable about various aspects of the City, as they are
directly involved in all areas of decision making and are
responsible for working with a number of groups and committees.
If the City Council is interested in creating an independent HRA
board, it should be based on the following determinations:
• A feeling that the Council members do not have the background
and expertise to deal with housing and economic development
issues
• The Council is too busy with other activities to dedicate
sufficient time to HRA activities
If the Council did desire to establish an independent HRA board,
it should be made up of individuals with the following
qualifications:
• Knowledgeable in the areas of housing and /or economic
development, i.e., banker, local developers, real estate
consultants, etc.
• Past record of strong dedication and commitment to the
community
• Well informed about City issues
Finally, staff feels that the new Council members need to first
have sufficient time in office to get familiar with how economic
development /housing issues are presently addressed. This will
allow for a more educated decision on this matter.
Attachments: Letter from Steve Bubal, Kennedy & Graven, dated
January 9, 1996
Letter from Sid Inman, Ehlers /Publicorp, dated
January 16, 1996
• KO4116A
•
STEPHEN J. BUBUL
Attomey at Law
Telephone (612) 337
Direct Dial (612) 337 -9228 Facsimile (612) 337 - 9310
January 9, 1996
Mr. Jim Kerrigan
City of Hopkins
1010 South 1st Street
Hopkins, MN 55343
RE: HRA Composition
Dear Jim:
KENNEDY & GRAVEN
CHARTERED
470 Pillsbury Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
The following will serve to comment on the advantages or disadvantages of appointing non -
Council members as housing and redevelopment authority commissioners. At the outset, it needs
to be understood that an HRA is a separate political subdivision. It is not an advisory body to
the City, but rather has substantial powers of its own. With certain exceptions, it can enter
contracts, spend money and acquire land without approval of the City Council.
Under Minnesota Statutes, Section 469.003, a city HRA consists of five members appointed by
the Mayor and approved by the City Council. Any council member may be appointed as an
HRA commissioner, and that member's HRA term may be set to coincide with the
commissioner's term of office as a council member. Non - council members must be residents of
the City, and have five -year terms.
Whether a city chooses to appoint its council or other citizens as the HRA board depends on
several factors. In our experience, cities that have historically appointed their council have seen
several advantages This option ensures that public development and redevelopment decisions
are made by elected officials who are directly accountable to the residents of the community.
It also allows the HRA to act quickly when needed; there is no need to convene two different
bodies when both the HRA and City Council need to take an action. Also, even with some
council membership, a separate HRA may tend to develop its own policy agenda. In that
situation, redevelopment efforts can be hampered by conflicts and diffused focus.
Another factor is simply the benefits of past experience. When the City Council itself has served
as the HRA board for many years, experience is lost when a separate board is created. New
members, who are not council members, sometimes lack the perspective on how the HRA got
where it is today, and how current issues are affected by past decisions.
SJ598775
HP110 -1
•
Jim Kerrigan
Page 2
January 9, 1996
This same factor works the other way in some cities that have traditionally appointed non -
Council members to the HRA. In those cities, the separate body has developed its own expertise
and experience that is lost if the board is entirely replaced by the Council.
In my experience, the overall trend among HRAs is probably moving toward the Council -as-
commissioner option. There are some exceptions, particularly where the City has a long tradition
of separate commissioners. However, because of the advantages detailed above, I am aware of
very few instances where the Council has served as the HRA board and a change was made to
a non - Council board.
If you have further questions about this issue, please let me know.
Very truly yours,
Stephen J. Bubu
SJB:gak
SJB98775
HP110 -1
1
' SAN 26 '96 12:53PM EHLERS & ASSOCIATES
MEMORANDUM
P.2 /2
TO: Jim Kerrigan - City of Hopkins
FROM: Sid Inman - Ehkas/Publicorp Inc.
DATE: January 26,1996
RE: Organizational Structure of HRA
You have asked us to review our experience with cities and HRA's and to comment on how financing may
effect their structure.
Historically, HRA's were first used primarily for housing, and the financial relationship between the city and
the HRA were limited. Therefore many HRA's were established without city council representation.
As HRA's became more involved in economic development, redevelopment and tax increment, the
interrelationship became far more important. With the current TIF laws, many councils have determined that
they have a large financial vested interest in projects. Therefore, most HRA's now created have boards that
are the city council.
For example, all new TIF districts have the option of the city paying a local match or losing LGA/HACA.
The issue of LGA/HACA has no impact on the HRA, but has great impact on the city.
Additionally, many TIF projects are funded by bonds issued by the city. The entire due diligence as it relates
to risk and impact on the taxpayer is of great interest to a city council.
Please let me know if you have questions or comments.
N ;WPDATMHOPWNS aatA EMO.
from the desk of.
Sid Inman
Development Consultant/Financial Advisor
Fublicorp Ine./Ehlers and Associates, Inc.
2980 Aeneest Center
90 South Seventh Street
lainnsapolls, S 05402
(61?J 339$291
FAX: (612) 3394854
Dear City of Hopkins Customer:
Thank youfor taking the time to give us your opinion.
Steven C. M ieike
Hopkins City Manager
BUSINESS REPLY MAIL
FIRST -CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO 364 HOPKINS MN
POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
CITY OF HOPKINS
1010 1ST ST S
HOPKINS MN 55343 -9933
1
Thank you for taking the time to review and complete the survey on this
card. We certainly hope that all of your contacts with. the City of Hopkins
meet your expectations.
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
NO POSTAGE
NECESSARY
IF MAILED
IN THE
UNITED STATES
It Ls our goal to handle each and every contact in a tivnely and professional manner. Please Let
us know h.ow we are doing by commenting on your most recent contact with the city.
f we have achieved our goal and met goal' expectations, we would Like to hear from you. If for
some reason you were not satisfied with the service you received, we also would Like to know.
After completing this card, ptease deposit it in the nearest drop box or give it to a receptionist at
any City of Hopkins facility; or dip or tear at the perforation, and drop it in the mail. We assure
you that your comments will be reviewed.
• O
_ T
U
N
r2
0
N
0
O
0 O
as
'O U 5
'a d
N
U
a) 0
3 E
0 0 o
_ ° . c
C
O ,p
N
E L
E
U
N N
N N
0
a
a
4
a
N
tir-
o
(n
City of Hopkins
1010 1st St. S.
Hopkins, MN 55343
N
c T
3 o
3 _A o. .c
L A
,,a NN N
ER N co T 3
N oo? c 0 a
3 re, a -
t0 To
N , 5-
N N
m
co 0 LL O c
co •
O
x •
111
N
cc
w
>
c o
co
co N T
c g
cE 2
N N
Li O N
co •
c
a
0
2
O
U
N
L_
0
L
0
0
0
N
m
C N co
v O
N N co
y A O
3 N y
z<O
E
E
U
0
0 0
N i5 O
c
0
a
E
co
z