As negotiations continue on how to transition community engagement from the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) to the City of Minneapolis Neighborhood and Community Relations department (NCR), the directors and management of both organizations have agreed that the timeline dates in the con- solidation plan are to be considered “targets.”
The public input gathered on the plan drafts was incorporated into some new lan- guage in the draft and sent to the NRP Policy Board for their review and approval. The Policy Board made two amendments to the plan and approved the revised docu- ment at its September 27 meeting.
The adopted 8-page document titled “NRP and NCR: Collaboration, Cooperation and Consolidation Plan (Final Draft)”, available at www.nrp.org, includes new language that sets a number of wind-down steps in motion when the end of fiscal year NRP balance in two key funds totals $5 million or less. At that milestone, responsibility for NRP’s proprietary database, PlanNET NRP will be transferred to NCR, the “Neighborhoods” section of the NRP website will be trans- ferred and the future of PlanNET and NRP website functions will be determined. Both programs have been very useful to neighborhoods in keeping track of their activities and comparing and communicat- ing with other neighborhoods.
The NRP Policy Board is expected to approve at least eight Phase II Neighborhood Action Plans in 2010 and at least 12 in 2011. That will leave 7 plans that will still need to be approved. Those plans, along with the disbursement of monies for implementation of Phase II contracts, must be approved and imple- mented under the laws governing NRP, whether it is a small NRP office doing the work, or NCR staff contracted by NRP to carry out NRP’s enabling legislation.
Who will be my neighborhood’s staff go-to person? It is planned that some NRP staff will be transitioning to NCR in 2011. Those staff members will be taking their current NRP neighborhood assignments with them. The approved plan calls for filling a minimum of four permanent neighborhood support staff positions that include support for NRP Phase I and II activities in 2011. Both NRP and NCR directors are committed to there being no gaps in support, but also no duplications of workload or overlap in staffing. Neighborhood leaders will know who “their person” is and where they office.
One NRP staffer, Robert Thompson, has been on “detail” part-time to NCR since February 2010. Another NRP staff mem- ber will be detailed later this year.
NCR will join NRP in a three-party mem- orandum of understanding for services from the City’s Development Finance Division. NCR will take over responsibili- ties and costs for the neighborhood audit support functions of NRP in 2011 and provide independent audit and financial management review services to neighbor- hood organizations.
NCR will also be taking over responsibility for the Directors and Officers insurance and liability insurance functions that NRP now performs for neighborhoods. These events are targeted to take place late in 2010 (DFD) and early in 2011.
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