Wrong answers in Minneapolis -- by the folks who supposedly know

Don’t believe the first answer you get, or the second. In fact, you probably want to get at least three answers. That’s what I have learned after a few dealings with the city of Minneapolis.

Let me tell you: I am not impressed. In fact, so far I think the city of Minneapolis is pretty ineffectual and definitely too big for its own pants.

It took me two calls to get a garbage can. I’m still waiting for my recycling bins.

My street wasn’t plowed for three days after the big storm in December.

And that ridiculous 311 system. Just send me to the correct department, please. I’m tired of getting answers that are wrong by people who shouldn’t try answering them because they don’t know what they’re talking about.

First example:

I called to see if I could get a dumpster and leave it on my street during snow emergencies. I didn’t want to pay the cost of having the dumpster company come back after the road has been plowed, of course. I wanted to leave it there until my home improvement project is done — which might not be until spring.

The first answer was exactly what I wanted to hear: Oh, it’s no problem. Just park it on the odd side of the street (luckily that’s our side), and shovel around it when it snows. You won’t need to move it during the snow emergency. After I spoke to my contractor and he spoke to the dumpster guy, I called back. The dumpster company has been having lots of problems in Minneapolis this winter.

The second answer was the one I didn’t want to hear, and so I figured must be true: No, you can’t just leave a dumpster in the street when there’s a snow emergency. You have to move it, and the city of Minneapolis doesn’t care how much extra money that incurs for you. They need to plow the street. All right. We put the dumpster behind the house instead. I can understand having a cleared off street (especially in light of my earlier complaint that the city didn’t plow me out until three days after a snow storm!).

Second example:

Yesterday, I called 311 to see if I needed a demolition permit to tear out the crappy stuff inside my house. My contractor warned me I probably needed it. But the lady who answered my call, who said she was authorized and knowledgeable about permitting, told me that no, of course I didn’t need a demolition permit unless I was demolishing the entire house. I checked online, and the information on the city’s web site about permits agreed with that answer.

I called again in the afternoon to see what I could learn from a second person. After I repeated my story about what I wanted to do in the house, she also told me I was just fine.

To be on the safe side, I asked that someone from the permit department call me back. I gave my number and got ready to wait one to three days.

A man from the permit review department just called me back. Yes, I do need a permit to remove interior stuff, he told me. WHAT?! He got annoyed when I was obviously annoyed at having been told the exact opposite by two other city employees. Whatever.

Needless to say, I am not impressed by the city of Minneapolis. It’s about time they start sending people to the correct city department again instead of using some ridiculous answering service that isn’t even based at city hall. And that’s what I plan to say on my comment card when I visit the zoning department. Wonder if they’ll bother listening to the people they serve... I won’t be holding my breath.