OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

October 20, 2025 Audit Committee Meeting Summary

City Council — Monday, October 20, 2025
BodyMinneapolis, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, October 20, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:47:51

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

Welcome to the regular meeting of the audit committee for October 20th, 2025.

0:13

I am Elliot Payne and I am the chair of this committee.

0:17

I want to offer a friendly reminder to all members, staff, and the public that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation.

0:24

These broadcasts include real-time captioning as a further method to increase the accessibility of our proceedings to the community.

0:31

Therefore, all speakers need to be mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully capture and transcribe all comments for the broadcast.

0:40

We ask all speakers to moderate the speed and clarity of their comments.

0:44

At this time, I will ask the clerk to call the role so that we can verify a quorum.

0:53

Abene.

0:54

Here Chucktai.

0:57

Present.

0:59

How's been present?

1:01

Omar.

1:02

Present.

1:04

Williams.

1:05

Present.

1:06

Vice Chair Singleton.

1:08

Present.

1:09

Chair Payne.

1:10

Present.

1:10

There are seven members present.

1:13

Let the record reflect that we have a quorum.

1:15

Colleagues, our agenda is before us.

1:17

May have a motion to adopt the agenda.

1:20

So moved.

1:21

Second.

1:23

All those in favor say aye.

1:25

Aye.

1:26

Opposed say nay.

1:27

Ayes have it.

1:29

The next next we have the acceptance of minutes from our August 18th, 2025 meeting.

1:34

May I have that motion, please?

1:36

So moved.

1:37

Second.

1:38

All those in favor say aye.

1:40

Aye.

1:40

Those opposed say nay.

1:42

That carries in the June 2nd minutes are accepted.

1:46

And before we begin, I would like to note notice the changes in membership on the committee.

1:51

Due to Becca Thompson's resignation from the park board, she also leaves a vacancy on this committee.

1:57

The park board has filled that vacancy with Commissioner Kathy Abene.

2:01

She comes back to us after serving with us from 2022 to 2024.

2:07

So we are pleased to welcome her back.

2:09

Welcome back.

2:10

Thank you very much.

2:13

We have five items in new business today.

2:15

We'll begin with item three, which is an update report from the police department on actions related to recommendations from the 2024 MPD fleet management audit.

2:29

But my understanding is that they are not here this morning.

2:33

So I will recognize City Auditor Timmer Timmerman.

2:37

Thank you, Council President.

2:45

In the auditor update that we'll go through here in a little bit, we'll discuss the efforts that the Office of City Auditor has made over the last two to three months to get them to participate and come before this body.

3:08

And then if we could move we'll skip the second MPD item because they have not provided updates.

3:16

And then if we could move into the city auditor updates, then I can talk a little bit about the efforts that our office has made to get them to appear before this body.

3:28

Okay, so just to confirm, we are going to get this update on item number three and then skip item number four.

3:35

That's correct.

3:36

And then if we can move the auditor updates to replace item number four.

3:40

Okay, I can do without objection.

3:42

Let's go ahead and do that.

3:45

Um so I will recognize Mr.

3:47

Ken.

3:48

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Audit and Oversight█████████████████████████████████████████████71%
Public Safety███████████17%
Procedural███4%
Personnel Matters███4%
Budget Management██3%
Racial Equity█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Audit Committee Meeting - October 20, 2025

The Audit Committee convened to address the lack of cooperation from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) regarding historical audit findings, review the status of in-progress audits, and discuss structural changes to accountability mechanisms. The committee unanimously approved a formal motion to draft and send a letter to MPD and city leadership demanding charter compliance, while also adopting a new benchmarking study and initiating a review for an independent high-impact public safety review function.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from the August 18, 2025 meeting.
  • Adopted the agenda by voice vote.
  • Noted membership changes: Commissioner Kathy Abene returned to the committee following Commissioner Becca Thompson's resignation.
  • Adjusted the agenda to replace the MPD fleet management audit update (Item 4) with the City Auditor's general update (Item 8) due to MPD's absence.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • The committee heard presentations from Auditor Timmerman regarding the lack of MPD attendance and the challenges faced during after-action reviews.
  • Member Bene highlighted the broader context of public safety, noting the withdrawal of the federal consent decree and the need for independent oversight resources, specifically criticizing the mayor's budget proposal for reducing auditor staffing.
  • Member Williams suggested that the committee should create an environment where auditors feel empowered to publicly explain roadblocks and delays in other audit topics beyond the current MPD incident.

Discussion Items

  • MPD Non-Cooperation and After-Action Reviews: Auditor Timmerman reported that MPD failed to attend the meeting despite twelve prior attempts to reach them. The auditor detailed coaching received from the Police Federation that impeded interviews for the Lucher and Maturi reviews. Timmerman proposed that the Office of City Auditor requires resources to operationalize audit recommendations, noting that the Mayor's budget proposal threatens independence by removing FTEs.
  • Open Audit Issues: Director Pudial provided statistics on open issues, noting 24 overdue and 35 total open issues. Specific updates were given on the 2019 MPD off-duty work audit (3 open issues), 2024 MPD fleet management audit (9 open issues, 2 open and 7 overdue), and 2022 hiring/promotion audit.
  • Workforce Optimization Benchmark Study: The committee discussed the need to compare Minneapolis department staffing against peer cities to identify cost savings. The auditor confirmed support from the City Operations Officer and noted the study would use remaining budget to fund FTE transfers.
  • Independent Review Function for High-Impact Public Safety Cases: Council President Payne and Auditor Timmerman discussed the need for a systematic approach to investigating high-profile cases (e.g., Lucher, Maturi, Samuels) that exceeds the capacity of current Internal Affairs or OPCR. The proposed function would be independent, resource-heavy, and potentially housed within the City Auditor's office or as a charter-established Office of Inspector General.
  • Audit Charter Amendments: The committee reviewed proposed updates to the audit charter, including a new mission statement focused on "strengthening public trust" and expanded standards (USGAO Yellow Book). Key amendments discussed included a new requirement for the Auditor to report if an auditee fails to cooperate, allowing the auditee to appear before the committee to explain delays, and clarifying authority for scope changes and position appointments.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion Passed (Vice Chair Chucktai): The committee authorized the Chair and Vice Chair to work with the Auditor to draft a formal communication letter to the MPD, Mayor, and City Council demanding strict adherence to the City Charter and clarifying expectations for cooperation and truthful testimony. (Vote: Ayes 5, Abstentions 1).
  • Audit Plan Amendment: Approved the addition of the "Workforce Optimization Comparative Benchmarking Study" to the 2025 risk-based integrated audit plan.
  • Independent Review Study Approved: Directed the City Auditor to establish a review function to recommend an independent mechanism for high-impact public safety cases, to be potentially included in the 2026 audit plan.
  • Charter Review: Accepted the draft charter updates for further refinement by the City Attorney's Office, with a final version to be presented in December. The committee agreed to add language requiring notification of non-cooperation and established an intent to define an "escalating scale" of remedies for such non-compliance in future discussions.
  • MPD Fleet Management Audit: Removed from the current agenda for future review pending MPD attendance and resource allocation.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the regular meeting of the audit committee for October 20th, 2025. I am Elliot Payne and I am the chair of this committee. I want to offer a friendly reminder to all members, staff, and the public that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation. These broadcasts include real-time captioning as a further method to increase the accessibility of our proceedings to the community. Therefore, all speakers need to be mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully capture and transcribe all comments for the broadcast. We ask all speakers to moderate the speed and clarity of their comments. At this time, I will ask the clerk to call the role so that we can verify a quorum. Abene. Here Chucktai. Present. How's been present? Omar. Present. Williams. Present. Vice Chair Singleton. Present. Chair Payne. Present. There are seven members present. Let the record reflect that we have a quorum. Colleagues, our agenda is before us. May have a motion to adopt the agenda. So moved. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Ayes have it. The next next we have the acceptance of minutes from our August 18th, 2025 meeting. May I have that motion, please? So moved. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed say nay. That carries in the June 2nd minutes are accepted. And before we begin, I would like to note notice the changes in membership on the committee. Due to Becca Thompson's resignation from the park board, she also leaves a vacancy on this committee. The park board has filled that vacancy with Commissioner Kathy Abene. She comes back to us after serving with us from 2022 to 2024. So we are pleased to welcome her back. Welcome back. Thank you very much. We have five items in new business today. We'll begin with item three, which is an update report from the police department on actions related to recommendations from the 2024 MPD fleet management audit. But my understanding is that they are not here this morning. So I will recognize City Auditor Timmer Timmerman. Thank you, Council President. In the auditor update that we'll go through here in a little bit, we'll discuss the efforts that the Office of City Auditor has made over the last two to three months to get them to participate and come before this body.

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