Council President Jenkins, Council Vice President Palmisano, Council Members, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Superintendent Bangoura, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board President Forney, Board of Estimate and Taxation President Pree-Stinson, Board of Estimate and Taxation Vice President Brandt, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority Executive Director Warsame, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority Board Chair Hoch, City Department Leaders, and our extraordinary community partners…

Good morning and thank you all for being here today.

This budget marks our first, full, two-year budget cycle. The second of any two-year budget cycle is largely geared toward following through on commitments already made. That’s the case here. Multi-year promises we made in 2022, to our constituents, City departments, staff, and Council Members, are kept and reflected in this proposed 2024 budget.

For example, last year, we promised to increase funding for our Behavioral Crisis Response program. We have kept that promise with increased, ongoing funding of nearly $3 million per year. The program is now rightfully housed within our Office of Community Safety, along with other essential safety services. BCR has become a staple in our safety system. It’s here to stay, and we are committed to it.

Last year, we also converted our violence prevention spending from temporary and one-time funding to permanent, ongoing funding. In the new government structure, we have built out a new Neighborhood Safety department – and are keeping our promise to prioritize funding in violence prevention work with a $3.3 million investment.

In terms of housing, we included a promise last year to maintain historic levels of funding in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund – for a total of $18 million in 2024 – to keep up production and leverage the massive State housing resources available this year.

Another promise we have kept? Our anticipated levy increase for this year. Last year, we anticipated that the budget levy increase for this year would be 6.2%. That’s it, no higher. We’ve held firm at 6.2%.

Not only does this budget keep promises… it lays out generational investments in the city we love. A plan for the future.

Making these investments and standing by them for the long haul will take courage, but the ideals set in this budget are more than just courageous… they are realistic, too.

So today, as we complete our first two-year budget cycle, we sit where courage meets reality.

Through this budget, we're positioning Minneapolis for progress on both courageous, new work and bedrock government service. We need to do both – and we will.

Budget process

As I said before, this marks the second half of our first, two-year budget cycle. Last year, I highlighted the importance of this shift, allowing us to effectively plan ahead. This year, I’ll discuss a bit more of the process of arriving at the final proposal.

First, some essential ‘thank yous’… starting with the City’s budget team. Without them and their work, this wouldn’t even be possible. I don’t think anyone can truly appreciate the hard work you put in behind the scenes. But we are lucky you’re here and can do this job for the City and our residents. Thank you.

Chief Financial Officer Dushani Dye, Interim Budget Manager Jayne Discenza, and Andrea Inouye from my office deserve a special shout out here. The three of them led this process. Thank you.

And to my cabinet – the ideals set forth in this budget rely on City leadership to carry out in full. So, an early thank you to City Attorney Kristyn Anderson, Interim City Operations Officer Heather Johnston, and Community Safety Commissioner Cedric Alexander.

Second, there are a whole lot of people who we engage for this budget process each year. I meet with City Council members, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board members, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority leaders, and every single department here at the City. They all provide valuable input, and it results in better decisions.

There are areas where Council Members had unanimous feedback. For example, setting aside direct funding for the Legislative department at the City. So, we’ve done that in this budget. We included investments in constituent services planning, audit and evaluation work, new legislative attorneys, data practices and records, and in the elections division.

Council President Jenkins wanted intentional dollars set aside for planned and future work at George Floyd Square, including art preservation and community engagement. That’s in this budget to the tune of almost $720,000.

Council Vice President Palmisano pushed for a direct investment in neighborhood organizations, the heartbeat of our city. We made sure that $420,000 of new funding for neighborhoods was in this budget, increasing the base budget for each neighborhood across the City from $10,000 to $15,000.

Council Members Payne and Chughtai were vocal supporters of stronger climate action. We’re taking our work to the next level with a $10 million investment in the Minneapolis Climate Legacy Initiative, a historic framework to electrify more Minneapolis buildings and support the next generation of a green workforce.

Council Member Wonsley and I agree on investing in our public housing – Council President Jenkins, MPHA Executive Director Warsame, Board Chair Hoch and I announced last week that we’re adding a historic $4 million of ongoing funding into the budget for MPHA, increasing our ongoing funding amount 5x what it was last year.

Council Member Rainville’s brainchild, Warehouse District Live, was piloted this year to great success where we saw the number of shootings in the downtown entertainment area drop drastically. He wanted to see this investment continue – so we're continuing the pilot with $600,000 in funding next year.

Council Member Vetaw, a former Park Board Commissioner, championed an investment in our parkways, from the Northside to the Southside. I agree with this, and we have included $2.7 million for parkway repairs. Council Member Vetaw also wanted an investment in Turning Point, a non-profit focused on substance abuse on the Northside… we have included $500,000 for Turning Point.

Council Member Ellison has been a long-term partner in our Ownership and Opportunity Fund work and asked for more funding for our small businesses. This fund has been a catalyst for inclusive economic development across our city, and we’ve included another $3 million to carry the momentum forward.

Council Member Osman has been working to fight the opioid crisis within the East African community for quite some time now – he wanted to see that reflected in the budget. This year, we are putting forward almost $3 million to help address the opioid crisis city-wide. The funding will be used for culturally responsive treatment facilities, new programming and staff, and a new medical mobile unit.

Council Member Goodman wants to see the recommendations from the Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup [which she was a member of] come to fruition – over $1 million is in this budget for that ongoing work. We all know the success of our city overall is tied to the success of downtown, so we’re investing in our downtown. Council Member Goodman also insisted that the proposed 6.2% levy in fact stayed at 6.2%… which we made happen.

Council Member Chavez wanted to partner on our ongoing homelessness response – and we have put

$1 million in the budget for additional shelter capacity.

Council Member Koski, our Budget Committee Chair, asked us to lay the groundwork in our capital plan for new, zoned alarm systems in fire stations across the City that will improve both outcomes and firefighter wellness. We have planned for that.

Council Member Johnson wanted to leverage partnerships with state and federal governments. He understands that funding our Intergovernmental Relations department could be a force multiplier and could open us up to opportunities ranging from grants to IRA. With our investment of $100,000 of ongoing funding, we can establish important touchpoints that result in more dollars coming to the City.

So, hopefully you see that this budget is a thoughtful, collective budget – one that includes a great amount of input and feedback from my colleagues and all leaders throughout the enterprise… and one that invests in the long-term future of our city.

Speaking of long-term impact… let’s talk consent decree and community safety.

Police reform & safety

It’s not news to anyone that Minneapolis will be entering into a federal consent decree with the Department of Justice – one that will provide a roadmap for change. Getting this right, truly accomplishing change and reform, is something we all want.

If we all want to see change in our police department, we need to recognize that change isn’t cheap. And change isn’t optional. It’s no longer optional as to whether we have an Early Intervention System or hire compliance positions and use-of-force specialists – we have to. Indeed, the politics of these decisions should be a thing of the past.

Through the consent decree, there will be a shared sense of understanding. Everyone will know what is required of us and the standard we are striving to meet. We can lay the foundation for an entirely new accountability structure… a structure where we have to produce data and overhaul the systems that rely

on that data. We will show our work, and we will have an opportunity to all unite around getting this right.

Here’s what it’s going to take… an investment of approximately $16 million in 2024 and nearly $11 million in 2025 and beyond. This will be a combination of ongoing and one-time funding and will all go toward the implementation of this agreement, meaning the daily work of compliance. Driving this critical work for the City will be a team of at least 34 dedicated staff, including 28 civilian positions in MPD.

This investment will go toward every part of the process to fundamentally change the way policing is done in Minneapolis. We will need new data systems built by our IT department, we’ll need new staff positions not only in MPD, but in Civil Rights and the City Attorney’s Office, we need assessments of our current facilities, we will provide more officer wellness programs and support, and we’re going to need to cover the cost of an independent monitor.

Getting this right will demand every ounce of determination and commitment this local government has across every level of leadership. The urgent mission of reforming the MPD will not be quick … it will not be easy … and if history or learnings from other cities are any guide, we will encounter moments of great frustration together.

But if we all choose to stand united in this work, it will be worth it.

It will be worth it when people on the street feel the change in the interactions they have with officers.

It will be worth it when officers consistently have the support to do their job in full and to provide compassionate and caring public safety.

And it will be worth it years from now when people look to Minneapolis for how to change policing in America.

Not only are we charting a new course for policing, we’re making important investments to improve safety wholesale in our city. That means continuing to build out our comprehensive, coordinated approach.

Remember the Minneapolis Safe and Thriving Communities report we unveiled recently? Well, we are investing in the recommendations and adding three new positions in OCS to oversee the work. This is just the start of implementing the recommendations from this report, and we are committed to continuing safety innovation work, including our safety beyond policing initiatives.

We’re adding $2 million to increase civilian positions within MPD. That means we will hire civilians to fill roles within the department that do not necessarily need to be filled by sworn officers… ensuring that our officers are out on the street providing the services our community needs.

Another way we are innovatively using the resources we have… we’re adding $1 million for portable cameras. These cameras are not only a huge deterrent for crime, they allow us to work with community groups to address crime hotspots across the city. And because they are portable, we can continuously move them to where they are needed most.

A few more OCS investments I want to get in here… As I mentioned earlier, we’re doubling down on our promise to invest in violence prevention with $3.3 million in ongoing funding and adding another $1.45 million for the BCR program, bringing the total ongoing funding to $2.9 annually.

We’re continuing to invest in our emergency management response through the National Incident Management System, adding over $200,000 for continued training for our entire city leadership team. And finally, we’re putting $150,000 into the Fire department to update computers systems in our fire trucks, making sure they are equipped to quickly alert firefighters of priority calls.

All of these investments combined will contribute to the safety and well-being of our residents. But, our safety work isn’t just limited to the Office of Community Safety.

We have departments within the Office of Public Service that work each day to keep our residents safe, too.

Our homeless and highly mobile residents oftentimes have difficulty accessing the services they need. So, with $1 million to our Health department, we’re purchasing and staffing a bus. That bus can literally go to any part of the city and provide on-site services ranging from addiction services to housing and shelter support. This bus will help better coordinate our city services, work alongside our service providers at Hennepin County, and it’s a bus… so it can go anywhere, meeting residents where they are at.

Here at the City, we’re in the business of caring for our residents. Some of our residents… they have four legs. That’s why we’re investing $250,000 into the Minneapolis Animal Care and Control division of Regulatory Services. We need to keep our animal shelters staffed to give our furry residents the care they need before finding a permanent home.

We’re also in the business of enacting laws. Right now, we have immense changes that have been instituted by the state, and that we are charged with implementing at the local level. Big thanks to the State legislature, as of August 1, recreational cannabis is legal in Minnesota. Even before the legislation passed in May, we had organized a multi-departmental staff workgroup with many OPS departments like CPED, IGR, Health, REIB, and Arts & Cultural Affairs to work alongside the City Attorney’s office on regulations, rules, and responsibilities.

The war on drugs did immense damage to people in our country – especially to communities of color. We in Minneapolis will make it our priority to ensure we have the right policies in place to help undo that harm. This work is important to get right, so as we row toward a January 2025 flag the State has put in the ground, we’re investing $315,000 into CPED for planning, programming, and implementation of these upcoming cannabis regulations.

From safety to public health to laws and regulations, the work we do is to ensure residents have their basic needs met.

Another basic need… housing.

Public housing

In every Budget and State of the City address since I’ve been mayor, we have talked about affordable housing. Why? Because it’s the most important foundation from which people can rise… and because Minneapolis is leading the way nationally.

You’ve heard me talk about record amounts of affordable rental housing production – which is leading to more and more residents getting into safe, stable, and permanent housing. It’s true.

You’ve heard me talk about how increased supply, under the 2040 plan, has kept rents down more than any other city nationally. That’s also true, and you can check out the PEW research and data for yourself… and according to Bloomberg last week, this intentional investment in supply and production has also led to Minneapolis effectively managing inflation rates, better than anywhere else.

But one aspect of affordable housing that is in desperate need of improvement and expansion is our public housing stock. Decades of disinvestment from the federal government, going back to the Reagan administration, has left public housing agencies across the country scrambling to do more with less. Do more for the thousands of residents on waiting lists. Do more to help with the substantial backlog of maintenance.

At some point, you can’t do more with less. Cities should not be in the position where they have to fund public housing to the tune of millions of dollars. This is a national issue, one that begs the question of why there hasn’t been more funding at the federal level. But when people need homes, public homes, somebody needs to step up to take action. We are, because it’s the right thing to do.

We are increasing our ongoing investment in public housing from $1 million to $5 million total annually – for preservation and production. This is 5 times more than the previous funding level. I don’t say this lightly – this is historic.

And we’re not just investing millions of dollars into our public housing, we’re investing time and additional resources. This funding, agreed upon with MPHA leadership, will place a newfound focus on MPHA resident security in and around the agency’s 42 high-rises. We will have MPD establish direct lines of communication with MPHA’s security team and commit to regular meetings with MPHA residents to answer questions and hear concerns.

Our historic investments won’t be enough on their own – we need all levels of government investing in public housing to sustain our housing stock for generations to come. That’s why we established the Public Housing Preservation and Expansion Convening, a group of private partners and local, regional, state, and federal officials who are all focused on finding new strategies to preserve and expand public and deeply affordable housing. I am proud that Minneapolis is leading on this work… and I hope others follow suit and follow our lead.

Another area where Minneapolis is leading the way – climate action.

Climate Legacy Initiative

It’s no secret climate change is affecting every corner of our world. From the Southwest to Maui, you’ve seen how heat can contribute to disaster, tragedy, and inhabitable places… and the summer we’re experiencing right now could very well be the coolest one we will experience for the rest of our lives. That should raise alarms for everyone, no matter your political affiliation.

And this isn’t a new issue. We know temperatures are rising, greenhouse gas emissions are increasing, and little by little – we're seeing natural disasters impact more and more communities around the world. In fact, research shows one third of Americans currently live under extreme heat advisories.

So right now, we must think of ourselves not only as the mayors, council members, and advocates of our residents today, but as the mayors, council members, and advocates of those that are not here yet. This is about our collective future, and about acting today to protect it.

The newly announced – in fact, just last month – Minneapolis Climate Legacy Initiative is an innovative way to achieve our City’s accelerated, equitable climate action goals. Through the initiative, I’m adding an additional $10 million into climate action work each year, starting with this budget. This new $10 million triples our investment in climate work, broadening the scale and scope of what we can get done. Here’s where the funding is going…

Through $4.7 million, we will start our journey of weatherizing all homes in Minneapolis – first, prioritizing those in our Green Zones. Our goal is to eventually ensure every home in our city is weatherized.

Weatherizing homes and making our city more sustainable requires a skilled local workforce. It necessitates a deep relationship with labor and trades to help with recruitment, community education, certified trainings, internship opportunities, and job placement. So, we’re investing $1.4 million to get the job done.

When money becomes available from the federal government, we will set ourselves apart by having the trained, union workforce to receive the money and get to work.

But we’re not stopping there… with $850,000 from of our Climate Legacy Initiative, we will increase the number of trees offered in our annual residential tree sale, once again prioritizing Green Zones.

Together with community partners, we will be planting 4 times the number of trees on private property than we did just a few years ago.

Is it a big plan? Sure – but it’s one we are committed to – and one we’re ready for. I’ll tell you this… Minneapolis will lead the nation in climate action, and the Climate Legacy Initiative will help us do it.

And there’s nothing that makes you think of the climate more than being outside in a park.

Parks, parkways, and roads

Minneapolis has a unique relationship with our Park Board. This independent body is a big reason why we have a nation-leading parks system over 100 years after its inception.

However, this independent body also results in occasional confusion. Because Minneapolis residents don’t care whose jurisdiction a parkway is, they just want it fixed. They don’t care who cuts the grass, they just want it cut. And they don’t care who keeps the lakes clean, they just want to enjoy them.

Two years ago, we stepped up to deliver a long-term sustainable funding plan for youth programming in our parks. Six years ago, we stepped up to provide long-term capital for our parks. And today again, we’re stepping up to find a sustainable solution to improve our parkways and the most vital natural assets that our city has become known for – our lakes, creeks, and river.

Potholes on St. Anthony Parkway have been bad this year. Did you drive around Lake of the Isles this spring? It was rough. I think we can all agree that our parkways – and all roads – can use some TLC.

Remember that winter we just had with record-setting snowfall? It was so bad that so far this year, Public Works has needed to fill over 8,000 potholes city-wide. Let’s put that number in context.

It’s the same number of potholes we filled in the previous three years combined, 8,000 over three years… and this year, 8,000 filled just in these first 8 months alone.

So, we’ll step up for the city, and for our Public Works department… and for our parkways.

That means, we’re investing in our long-term street health, ramping up from $750,000 to $2.7 million in ongoing funding for our Park Board and their parkways. And we’re investing $70 million in all other streets throughout the city.

There’s another important aspect we all know and love in our parks. We are the City of Lakes after all.

We’re including an increase of $500,000 annually via our stormwater fee to help analyze our Park Board’s stormwater infrastructure. This will help inform future budget decisions for the health of our public waters.

And that’s where we find ourselves now – making both future projections and current-year budget decisions… decisions that are courageous and realistic.

Conclusion

So, here, today, we stand where courage meets reality… where innovative, bold action meets necessity.

In my State of the City address – I said our city is in a state of rebound. We are, and we’ve had an incredible summer so far to prove it.

Record crowds for Pride weekend and Taylor Swift, the Taste of Minnesota and Black Business Week were hits, violent crime is down, and we are the first city in the country to tackle inflation. By the way, we are increasing funding for Black Business Week next year by $70,000 to total $100,000 in ongoing funding.

I think it’s pretty clear that we’re in a state of rebound. But, we’re also in a state of transition as we roll away from crisis-mode and plan for the realities of our future.

For the most significant items in this budget, I’m hopeful we can achieve a sense of unity. Investments to meet a soon-to-come federal consent decree are not optional. Somebody has step up to deal with public housing deferred maintenance and new unit production. Somebody also has to step up and address the climate crisis. And in Minneapolis, a world-class parks system is not seen as a ‘nice to have’, but as an essential part of our identity.

Those ‘somebodies’ that will rise up to meet the moment… they are right here in our city. We will.

So, let’s find unity where it exists – and it does – and let’s agree to agree on these long-term, generational investments.

To our incredible department heads and City staff: thank you for doing this honorable work for the City of Minneapolis.

To Council Members: thank you for your input and partnership in creating this budget.

And to the people of Minneapolis: thank you for loving our city. These investments, this budget, is for you. For those of you who call Minneapolis home today… and for those who will call it home years from now.

Thank you.

This is the speech as prepared, not a transcript.