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8/16/2016 Citizens League plan would bring more transparency to Met Council appointments - StarTribune.com <br />Commissioners from Anoka, Carver, Dakota and Scott counties have pooled resources <br />and offered a plan that would require the governor to appoint elected county and city <br />officials to the Met Council. A reform bill in the House calls for that. <br />"Personally, I do not believe it's enough," Anoka County Board Chairwoman Rhonda <br />Sivarajah said about the Citizens League plan. "We would encourage the House and the <br />Senate to be bold in their reform instead of nibbling around the edges." <br />The four counties have hired D.C. lobbyists to tell federal authorities that the Met <br />Council lacks legitimacy and should no longer be eligible to receive federal <br />transportation dollars. So far, the U.S. Department of Transportation has rejected that <br />argument. <br />And the four counties have their own critics. <br />Metro Cities, a lobbying group that represents 91 cities, including Minneapolis and St. <br />Paul, strongly opposes the four -county plan, fearful that it would create conflicts of <br />interest for elected officials who would have to wear two hats. <br />Metro Cities Executive Director Patricia Nauman said the Citizens League's position is <br />closely aligned with that of her organization. <br />"I would view those changes as good government," she said. <br />Met Council Chairman Adam Duininck has met with Citizens League officials about <br />their plan. <br />"I think they did a great job of putting together a diverse group of people," Duininck <br />said. "I am not surprised where they landed." <br />Kershaw said that, with feuding over the Met Council pitting cities against counties and <br />reaching as far as Washington, the time has come for change. <br />"There is a lot at stake here if it goes bad," he said. <br />Shannon.Prather@startribune.com 612-673-4804 ShannonWrather <br />http://www.startribune.com/citizens-league-offers-com prom! se- proposal-for-met-counci I-reforms/374768531/ 212 <br />