Once Minnesota's shining light, the city of Minneapolis is derided at the State Legislature, faces constant budget crunches, and struggles with myriad entrenched constituencies and performance inefficiencies. The city government is a labyrinth of confusing lines of authority and responsibility. In a 2003 city survey, 33 percent of respondents said that 'managing city government' was the second biggest challenge after public safety. How can the city create a balance between citizen access and performance efficiency? The League of Women Voters of Minneapolis chose to study the city's structure as a way of starting the conversation on a meaningful level. The League interviewed many current and former participants and experts in Minneapolis government and studied the key scholarship on city government. This report lays out the issues, the history and research to help start the debate. The report includes a discussion of the pros and cons of various city government forms, including the strong mayor, council-city manager, and mayor-city council systems.

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P2005-3.pdf