Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)

The Met Council has 17 members, 16 of whom 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.^[2] The Minnesota Senate may confirm or reject each appointment.

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 Met Council employs about 4,300 people, and their wage data are publicly accessible.

The Council delivers regional services to communities and the public through these divisions and operating areas:

• Regional Administration/Chair's Office – Generally sets the goals and direction the Council will take with the metro area. It also manages finances and makes budget decisions on how shared funding and grant programs are distributed amongst the region.
• Community Development – The majority of land use, regional, urban, and community planning occur with this division. It also develops and administers regional and municipal frameworks as well as the long-range vision plans. This division includes the housing authority through which the Council provides housing for people in Anoka and Carver counties and the suburban portions of Hennepin and Ramsey counties.^[3] The Council is also responsible for overseeing the development of regional parks and trails.^[4]
• Transportation – Two divisions support transportation. The largest is Metro Transit, the authority that provides most bus service and operates light rail and commuter rail lines. The second is Metropolitan Transportation Services (MTS), which includes the staff that support the Council's role as the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the region as well as an operations department that supports Metro Mobility (paratransit service for the region for people who can't use fixed route transit) and contracted services. It also analyzes and develops future transportation options. However, road and street corridor planning is left to county and city governments. The metropolitan highway system is planned in coordination with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Additional public transit agencies also exist under an agreement in state law that allows them to "opt-out" of Metro Transit service. The largest agencies are Southwest Metro Transit in the west and Minnesota Valley Transportation Authority in the south.^[5][6]
• Environmental Services – MCES is mandated to address water quality, water supply, and sewage treatment. It also has full jurisdiction of the wastewater treatment system (within the MUSA boundary). This includes maintenance and construction of wastewater interceptors and operation of seven wastewater treatment plants throughout the metro area. Treatment of drinking water and storm run-off water management are left to municipalities. Water rates for the metro area are about 40% lower than other rates nationwide due to the effectiveness of this system.^[7]
• Municipal Urban Service Area (MUSA) – While not a division, the MUSA is an urban growth boundary which instead of limiting development, limits the services and infrastructure needed for development. Its most important service is the sewage treatment system. Growth is controlled because state law prohibits septic tank systems, and most cities require development to be connected to a system.

The council's most distinctive authority is its ability to tax and share the tax revenue between municipalities through the Minnesota Fiscal Disparities Program.^[8] This program, first implemented in 1975, made the Twin Cities region the first region to attempt tax-base sharing in the country.^[9] The funds are then largely redistributed back to the localities with lower than average market value of property per capita.^[9]

In 1967 the Minnesota Legislature created the Metropolitan Council in response to growing issues of septic tank wastewater contamination.^[2] At the time, the region consisted of "172 cities, 97 townships, and 76 school districts".^[2] The region also faced issues with a deteriorating privately owned bus system.^[2][10]

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.^[2] The Met Council also gained the authority to approve or disapprove of municipal development plans and to manage the region's affordable housing programs.^[2]

Current efforts are ongoing to transfer responsibility of the METRO Blue Line extension, a light‑rail project connecting Minneapolis to the suburbs of Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Brooklyn Park from the Met Council to Minnesota's Department of Transportation.^[11] The council has controversially overseen the almost $3 billion project while it has been delayed an additional four years and as costs rose $450 million to $550 million.^[11]