# Metropolitan Council members *Sixteen district members and a chair of the Metropolitan Council, all appointed by the governor, in the Minnesota record.* No voter elects any member of the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]]. Under [[Minn. Stat. § 473.123]], the [[governor]] appoints sixteen members from districts of substantially equal population. The governor also appoints a chair, who sits as the seventeenth voting member with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members' terms end with the governor's term.[^1] The Council's own membership page lists current terms running from July 3, 2023 to January 4, 2027.[^2] Seven of the Council's sixteen districts contain Hennepin County territory. Five of them, Districts 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8, lie entirely within the county.[^3] In January 2011 the [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]] reported that the Council's regional transit planning role "has been hampered by how members are appointed." It recommended a Council with both appointed and elected members.[^4] The statute as currently published by the Revisor still provides for a wholly appointed membership.[^1] In March 2023 the Auditor reported that construction costs for [[Southwest Light Rail]] had risen from $2.003 billion (2019) to $2.767 billion. It also found that the Council "was not fully transparent about the project's delays and cost increases."[^6] ## Who - **Appointing authority.** The governor appoints all sixteen district members and the chair. The chair's appointment requires the advice and consent of the Senate.[^1] - **Electorate.** None. The statute provides no election for any seat.[^1] - **Funding partners.** The Auditor's 2023 report named Hennepin County as a funding partner in the Southwest Light Rail project with limited oversight of it.[^6] ## What - **2011 findings.** The Auditor's 2011 review, *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region*, reported that stakeholders "did not think that Met Council members are sufficiently accountable for their decisions."[^4] It recommended appointed and elected members serving staggered terms. It also concluded that "the structure of the Met Council must be addressed before other aspects of transit governance can be corrected."[^4][^5] - **2023 findings.** The Auditor's 2023 report, *Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Decision Making*, described a "mismatch between the entities that fund" the project and the entity that builds it. It found that a $92.7 million [[corridor protection barrier]] contract was let without competitive bidding. It also found that the Council "did not hold its civil construction contractor accountable for repeated failures to provide an acceptable project schedule."[^6] ## When - **January 2011.** The Office of the Legislative Auditor published *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region*, recommending a mix of appointed and elected members.[^4][^5] - **March 2023.** The Auditor published its report on Southwest Light Rail construction and Council decision making.[^6] - **July 3, 2023 to January 4, 2027.** These are the current members' terms, as listed by the Council.[^2] - **Term structure.** Under § 473.123, members' terms end with the governor's term.[^1] ## Where - **Hennepin County districts.** Districts 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 lie entirely within Hennepin County. Districts 2 and 3 contain Hennepin territory alongside [[Anoka]], Ramsey and Carver counties.[^3] - **Boundaries.** Current district boundaries are set under Council plan MC2023-2.[^1] ## How much - **Project cost.** Southwest Light Rail construction costs rose from $2.003 billion (2019) to $2.767 billion, as reported by the Auditor in March 2023.[^6] - **Barrier contract.** The corridor protection barrier contract was let without competitive bidding at $92.7 million.[^6] ## How many - **Voting members.** There are seventeen: sixteen district members and one chair, all appointed by the governor.[^1] - **Elected members.** Zero.[^1] - **Hennepin districts.** Seven of the sixteen districts contain Hennepin County territory, and five lie entirely within the county.[^3] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue entry, [[At issue 050 - Metropolitan Council members' terms expire with the governor's]] (records AI-Hennepin-050 and AI-050), states that Metropolitan Council members' terms expire with the governor's term.[^7] Section 473.123 provides for that term structure.[^1] The entry further states three propositions: - the Council levies across Hennepin County; - the Council binds the county's municipal plans; and - the Council turns over with a statewide election in which its own governed districts cast a minority of the votes. The sources cited in this article do not document those three propositions.[^7] The entry names as its anchor the White House presidential action *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025).[^7] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 473.123* — sixteen members appointed by the governor from districts of substantially equal population; a governor-appointed chair as seventeenth voting member with Senate advice and consent; terms end with the governor's term; boundaries under Council plan MC2023-2; no member elected. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/473.123 [^2]: Metropolitan Council, *Council Members* — current membership and terms, July 3, 2023 – January 4, 2027. https://metrocouncil.org/About-Us/TheCouncil/CouncilMembers.aspx [^3]: Metropolitan Council, *Council Districts Map: District 1* (and parallel district pages) — Districts 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 lie entirely within Hennepin County; Districts 2 and 3 contain Hennepin territory alongside Anoka, Ramsey and Carver. https://metrocouncil.org/About-Us/Who-We-Are/CouncilMembers/Council-Districts-Map/District-1.aspx [^4]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region* (summary, January 2011) — planning role "hampered by how members are appointed"; stakeholder accountability finding; recommendation of appointed and elected members on staggered terms; structure "must be addressed" first. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2011/transitsum.htm [^5]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region* (full report, January 2011) — the report from which the summary findings are drawn. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/transsum.pdf [^6]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Decision Making* (March 2023) — costs from $2.003 billion (2019) to $2.767 billion; funder–builder "mismatch" naming Hennepin County as a funding partner with limited oversight; $92.7 million corridor protection barrier let without competitive bidding; contractor-accountability and transparency findings. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/swlrtcd.pdf [^7]: Minnesota wiki, *At-issue record AI-Hennepin-050 / AI-050* (Hennepin package, Block E) — pair text on terms expiring with the governor's term and on turnover with a statewide election; anchor cited by the record: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (March 2025). https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/