“The Council’s budget increases property taxes for years to come,” said Mayor Jacob Frey. “It cuts essentials like unsheltered homelessness response and recruitment of police, then turns around and uses the money to fund pet projects. Fiscally, times are tight—federal funding will likely be withheld and state dollars are in short supply. We need to be responsible with our tax dollars.”
The City Council’s 78 budget amendments reflect the largest number of changes in recent history—nearly double the number from last year. These amendments represent an alarming trend of prioritizing new, unvetted initiatives over the core functions that keep Minneapolis running smoothly, make our city safer, and maintain equity for all residents. They also largely reduce City departments’ ability to do their important core work on a daily basis, while adding more work to their plate to chase the whims of their unvetted ideas.
Key concerns with the Council’s budget amendments:
- Cuts or earmarks $15.9 million from City departments currently being used for services and programs to go to new or revised programs (some new, some adding overly restrictive direction)
- Adds $6.53 million in new spending using cash balances and additional transfer from the Downtown Assets Fund, depleting the City’s cash balances below financial best practices
- Dismantles City’s comprehensive public safety system, diverting funds from safety beyond policing work to ward-specific pet projects
- Cuts $1.8 million from existing programs in the Minneapolis Police Department
- Eliminates funding to continue the public safety recruitment campaign, which has recently contributed to 47% of new police hires
- Cuts funding for homelessness response initiatives, making it harder for City staff to respond to encampments and provide security to nearby neighbors and businesses
- Provides roughly $6 million dollars for unvetted, short-term projects or outside organizations, many that Council has hand-picked without going through a fair, equitable process
- Removes 22% of the Race, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Department’s staff, directly impacting the department’s ability to manage existing projects and advance gender and racial equity initiatives
- Takes funding from departments that plow snow, fill potholes, repair streetlights, and provide opioid response, delaying how quickly many of these services will get done
“Community safety is my number one priority. It is the mayor’s priority, and it’s the number one concern for our community. My office has been working tirelessly within the enterprise and with our partners to create a community safety ecosystem that draws on a multitude of resources to provide coordinated, comprehensive support to meet the needs of our residents,” said Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette.
“The Council’s budget threatens to make this task more difficult by rearranging services and cutting necessary funding—leaving us unable to plan with certainty for the future as we determine which critical programs and initiatives could be slowed or canceled, while at the same time, evaluating if any new, unvetted allocations can be implemented within the ecosystem alongside existing priorities.”
Impact on financial stability
The Council’s numerous amendments have depleted the City’s cash reserves beyond a smart financial threshold. With uncertainty around financial planning looming, including declining downtown valuations, limited federal funding expected under the Trump administration, and the State’s projected structural budget imbalance, maintaining a strong cash balance is critical—and a healthy reserve is essential for the City’s flexibility and resilience in navigating these upcoming pressures. Unfortunately, the Council’s actions have imprudently depleted these reserves.
“We know there are even harder times ahead, with downtown valuations expected to fall further next year,” said City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher. “Now is the time to make responsible decisions with the City’s reserve funds so that we have the tools to weather the storms ahead and to minimize the tax burden on our residents in the future. Instead, the Council has dipped irresponsibly into reserves to fund one-time programs that will have limited impacts and have no long-term funding source.”
Via City of Minneapolis
