Minnesota Session Laws - 1998, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 381-S.F.No. 535 
                  An act relating to the metropolitan council; providing 
                  for service improvement and employee compensation for 
                  demonstrable reduction in the cost of service; 
                  establishing a pilot project for greater efficiency in 
                  the provision of metropolitan council services; 
                  modifying the scope of the council's review of 
                  metropolitan airports commission capital projects; 
                  amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 473.621, 
                  subdivision 6; proposing coding for new law in 
                  Minnesota Statutes, chapter 473. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  [473.1295] [METROPOLITAN COUNCIL SERVICE 
        IMPROVEMENT.] 
           (a) The council may select an area of council service 
        currently provided by its employees and may utilize the process 
        in this section for service improvement.  Service improvement 
        for the purposes of this section means changes or improvements 
        in the methods or means by which employees of the council 
        provide the selected service which results in a demonstrable 
        reduction in the cost of the service or reduces the projected 
        increases in the cost of such service, while maintaining the 
        quality of the service. 
           (b) For the selected service, the council, in cooperation 
        with those employees of the agency who provide the service, may 
        develop a service improvement plan.  The plan must establish 
        objective performance and cost measurements to be used to 
        determine the success of the plan and must provide for annual 
        audits of both the performance and the cost measurements.  The 
        plan may provide compensation to the employees for any 
        demonstrable reduction in the cost of service.  The total 
        compensation for a plan paid to one or more employees must not 
        exceed the actual reduction in the cost of service for a period 
        of one year.  The compensation must be negotiated with the 
        exclusive representative of the employees under chapter 179A. 
           (c) To be implemented, the service improvement plan must be 
        approved by the governing board of the council.  An approved 
        plan may be terminated at any time by the governing body of the 
        council.  However, a negotiated agreement for compensation with 
        the exclusive representative of the employees, entered into in 
        connection with the plan, may provide for payment of agreed-upon 
        employee compensation, in whole or in part, if the plan is 
        terminated pursuant to this paragraph. 
           (d) This section does not require the council to carry out 
        service improvement under this section or to develop a service 
        improvement plan or to guarantee employment to employees while 
        such a plan is being developed or implemented.  This section 
        does not affect matters of inherent managerial policy or 
        diminish any rights in collective bargaining agreements under 
        chapter 179A. 
           Sec. 2.  [METROPOLITAN COUNCIL SERVICE EFFICIENCY PILOT 
        PROJECT.] 
           Subdivision 1.  [SUNSET OF PROVISION.] This section expires 
        on June 30, 2002. 
           Subd. 2.  [DECLARATION OF POLICY.] The state of Minnesota 
        recognizes that the provision of the best possible services to 
        the public may be attained through governmental entities 
        maximizing the efficiency of their operations.  Such efficiency 
        may be improved through a pilot project by the metropolitan 
        council that allows for the sale of council service capacity to 
        other governmental entities or the private sector in order to 
        maximize the efficient use of existing public resources. 
           Subd. 3.  [EXTERNAL USE OF EXISTING SERVICE CAPACITY.] For 
        purposes of this subdivision, "service capacity" means an 
        existing service or operation carried out by the council as 
        authorized by law, or existing council real or personal 
        property, for which the council on a temporary basis has 
        capacity available for use outside the council.  Notwithstanding 
        other law, the council may enter into arrangements to provide 
        service capacity to other governmental entities or the private 
        sector on the terms and conditions it considers appropriate.  In 
        providing service capacity, the council:  (1) may not commit to 
        providing the service capacity for a period in excess of two 
        years; and (2) must receive compensation for providing the 
        service capacity in at least an amount sufficient to recover the 
        actual costs of providing the service capacity including, but 
        not limited to, the costs of materials and supplies, employee 
        salaries and benefits, and administrative overhead.  The council 
        must annually evaluate whether any temporary service capacity 
        should be eliminated in place of selling that service capacity 
        to other governmental entities or the private sector. 
           Subd. 4.  [REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.] The council must 
        evaluate the external use of council service capacity and report 
        the results of the council's evaluation to the legislature by 
        January 15, 2002.  The report must include information on 
        estimated cost savings and efficiencies recognized through the 
        efficient use of existing public resources. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 473.621, 
        subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 6.  [CAPITAL PROJECTS; REVIEW.] All Minneapolis-St. 
        Paul International Airport capital projects of the commission 
        requiring the expenditure of more than $5,000,000 shall be 
        submitted to the metropolitan council for review.  All other 
        capital projects of the commission requiring the expenditure of 
        more than $2,000,000 shall be submitted to the metropolitan 
        council for review.  No such project which that has a 
        significant effect on the orderly and economic development of 
        the metropolitan area may be commenced without the approval of 
        the metropolitan council.  In addition to any other criteria 
        applied by the metropolitan council in reviewing a proposed 
        project, the council shall not approve a proposed project unless 
        the council finds that the commission has completed a process 
        intended to provide affected municipalities the opportunity for 
        discussion and public participation in the commission's decision 
        making process.  An "affected municipality" is any municipality 
        that (1) is adjacent to a commission airport, (2) is within the 
        noise zone of a commission airport, as defined in the 
        metropolitan development guide, or (3) has notified the 
        commission's secretary that it considers itself an "affected 
        municipality."  The council must at a minimum determine that the 
        commission: 
           (a) provided adequate and timely notice of the proposed 
        project to each affected municipality; 
           (b) provided to each affected municipality a complete 
        description of the proposed project; 
           (c) provided to each affected municipality notices, 
        agendas, and meeting minutes of all commission meetings, 
        including advisory committee meetings, at which the proposed 
        project was to be discussed or voted on in order to provide the 
        municipalities the opportunity to solicit public comment and 
        participate in the project development on an ongoing basis; and 
           (d) considered the comments of each affected municipality. 
           Sec. 4.  [APPLICATION.] 
           This act applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, 
        Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington. 
           Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           This act is effective on the day following its final 
        enactment. 
           Presented to the governor April 10, 1998 
           Signed by the governor April 20, 1998, 11:25 a.m.