Empowerment Zone Governance Board, Minneapolis

www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/ez/

Purpose	The Minneapolis Empowerment Zone (EZ) Governance Board makes recommendations on the use of EZ funds and other leveraged resources to the Mayor and City Council. The Minneapolis EZ (1999 – 2009) is a federally funded holistic economic development initiative designed to help develop sustainable communities in the City's most economically distressed areas. The EZ has 2 primary goals (economic development and housing) and 3 support goals (community-based services, education, and safety). The Governance Board makes decisions as well as recommendations to the City Council on the use of EZ funds and monitors the development of funded project. Funding decisions are based on HUD Renewal Community program goals, the EZ Governance Board approved strategic plan, annual city goals, staff recommendations and citizen recommendations.
Meeting Schedule	Quarterly (4 times a year), 1:30 – 3:30pm
Department	Empowerment Zone
Phone Number	612-673-5017
Number of Members	30 voting members + ex-officio members
Appointment Process	13 of the 30 members are appointed by the City Council, using the open appointment process. Of the 13 members appointed by the City Council, 7 must be EZ residents and 6 must be EZ business persons. One EZ resident appointed must also be a young person (age 14-20). The Governance Board is also made up of 6 mayoral appointments, 6 council president appointments and 5 agency appointments.
Term of Appointment	3 years
Compensation	None
Residency Requirement	Empowerment Zone resident representatives on the board (7 positions) must be residents of the Minneapolis Empowerment Zone. There are no other residency requirements for other board members.