NRP leaders defy Minneapolis city directive

By Cynthia Frost (TC Daily Planet) | January 5, 2011

In a bold move December 20, the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) Policy Board defied a directive from City Hall to freeze certain NRP funds, and withdrew its cooperation with the city’s newly created Department for Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR).The Policy Board approved action plans of three neighborhood groups at 100 percent of their NRP Phase II allocations in defiance of the City Council-passed Staff Direction to freeze unallocated funds in excess of 50 percent of Phase II allocations.  The Direction was passed by City Council at the urging of Mayor Rybak in a late-night December 13-14 session as part of the annual budget process.Full disclosure: Cynthia Frost serves, in a volunteer capacity, on the Board of Directors, Land Use and Transportation Committee, and Housing Committee (chair) of Corcoran Neighborhood Organization in Minneapolis.The Neighborhood Revitalization Program was authorized by the State Legislature in 1990 as a 20-year program funded by tax increment financing (TIF) in two phases through 2009.  (See sidebar for description of TIF financing.)  The NRP Policy Board has been responsible for distributing funds to neighborhood organizations as they present plans for revitalization and development projects.  In order to receive funds, neighborhood organizations must engage residents in identifying priorities, goals and strategies for their action plans. What is Tax Increment Financing (TIF)?The Minnesota legislature has a discussion of TIF and how it works. Part of the explanation:Tax increment financing (TIF) uses the increased property taxes that a new real estate development generates to finance costs of the development. Continue Reading