Good evening.

My name is Aisha Chugtai and I'm the chair of the budget committee.

I'm going to call to order our adjourned meeting for Wednesday, November 19th, 2025.

Before we begin the meeting, 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'll ask the clerk to call the roll to verify the presence of a quorum.

Councilmember Payne. Present. Wansley is absent. Rainville. Present. Vita. Present. Ellison is absent. Osmond. Absent. Cashman. Present. Jenkins. Absent. Chavez. Present. Chowdhury. Present. Palmasano. Present. Vice Chair Kosky. Present. And Chair Chukty. Present. That is nine members present.

Let the record reflect that we have a quorum.

I will also remind my colleagues that we are using speaker management today, so please make sure to sign in.

We have one item on our agenda this evening, which is to receive public comments on the mayor's recommended 2026 budget.

Mayor Fry presented his budget on August 13th this fall, providing a proposed fiscal plan for the city's operations in 2026,

totaling just over $2 billion with an increase to the city property tax levy of about 7.8%.

The Board of Estimate and Taxation voted to authorize a tax levy of up to 8%

with that increase from 7.8% being to pay for some services for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

A copy of the mayor's recommended budget is posted to the city's website

which is available at minneapolismn.gov slash budget. A PDF version is also available on LIMS.

Since the mayor presented his recommended budget, the budget committee received a series of

presentations to examine the details of each department's budget requests. These meetings

are available on demand on the city's YouTube channel. This evening's public hearing is the

third of four the council will conduct on the proposed 2026 budget. Our fourth and final public

hearing, which will be the statutorily required truth in taxation hearing, is scheduled to take

place in a meeting of the city council on Tuesday, December 9th at 6.05 p.m. And now before we open

the floor to public comments, I will ask staff from the budget team to provide a brief summary

of the proposed budget. For this, I will invite Budget Director Jane DeCenza to come and join us

and begin the presentation. Welcome, Director. Good evening, members of the committee. Thank

you for having me. Jane DeCenza, Budget Director of Finance and Property Services. I'm here today

to provide just a brief overview of the resources that are available to all of you and to members

of the public, as well as to highlight some key milestones remaining in this calendar year before

we adopt the 2026 budget. There are just a few opportunities left to benefit from community

engagement in the budget process and for individuals to make their voices heard, one of which is

tonight. As noted, we've had previous conversations about the 2026 recommended budget. For those

who are interested in hearing more about the mayor's recommended budget, there was a more

robust presentation of that information on September 8th and that is available on YouTube.

So today I will give just a brief presentation. We'll start with an overview of the 2026 budget

document highlighting some key sections that will help all of you identify changes within the budget.

Following that I will present the maximum property tax levy as adopted by the board of estimate and

taxation and provide a demonstration of the levy impact estimator.

And then finally, we'll conclude with the timeline as noted by the budget chair.

The budget team works hard to publish the budget book annually, and

we strive to make refinements each year based on feedback from members of the public and

from all of you.

The goal is to present a readable document that explains the frequently asked questions

as it relates to finance and policy decisions.

So each page is designed to answer those key questions.

This year, there is more detail on each department page

about staffing in particular.

It was information that we had available in the system last year,

but it was a little bit more difficult to find.

So now it's directly on the page.

There is also a section in each department page

about the budget changes that are recommended for 2026.

That will narrate the funding reductions

and the limited increases as well as transfers between departments.

We have a PDF version of this document available on the limbs file for the 2026

budget. Please note that we will be transitioning systems in 2026.

So that PDF version is what we'll be directing folks to next year as we're

setting up the new system.

The link on this slide as well as that QR code will take you to the budget page of the city website where you can find the 2026 mayor's recommended budget alongside the current year budget and a budget archive.

So that's a great resource. When you get into the budget book you will see a

navigation pane, instant translation options, and then a clear table of

contents that gives you budget summary information as well as those deep dives

on departments. This is a preview of those budget book sections. For most

readers the budget in brief in the 2026 budget summary section is going to be a

great place to start where you get a general overview of the expenses and

revenues of the city and the key trends the operating department sections would

then be the most frequently visited where if you're curious about a

particular department's budget and changes you can see thorough discussions

in each of those there's also a capital program section where each of the capital

projects and their funding are described.

Moving on to the maximum property tax levy, as I mentioned, there is a property tax levy

estimator impact tool that the assessing department presents, so we'll show that.

But first, this is the maximum property tax levy summary.

So you'll see the 8% levy increase in the green box for 2026.

That is the percent change in the dollar amounts that we're collecting, that we're authorized to collect as a city for all of the levies that are listed above.

So the general fund, as well as the park board, the public housing authority, and other pension retirement funds.

While the approved growth in 2026 is higher than that of 2025, you'll note that the financial direction shows those percent changes decreasing in the out years, moderating a bit as we move through the long range financial plan.

The levy impact estimator is a tool that's available to anyone on the city website and is a visualization of what these property taxes might mean for individuals or property owners in the city.

You can select a property group, residential, commercial, industrial, as well as a ward to see what that impact might be for the particular home values.

The image on this slide shows a gradient of blue with the deepest blue meaning the largest percent change and the dollar amount of taxes paid.

As noted by the budget chair, we have just one more public hearing after this, which is the same night as budget adoption on December 9th.

And with that, I'll conclude.

Thank you for that presentation, Director DeCenza.

Do my colleagues have any comments or questions related to the director's presentation?

I'm not seeing any.

I will note that we have been joined in this meeting by Council Member Jenkins.

So before I proceed to open the public hearing, I want to review a few procedural matters.

If you have written comments or materials to submit, please give those to the clerks either outside at the registration table or at the end of the dais.

We also have printed comment forms available at the registration table if you would like to submit a comment on the proposal and have that included in the public record of this 2026 budget.

I also want to encourage everyone to take advantage of submitting your comments about the budget in other ways.

The easiest way to submit your comments and ensure they are added to the public record is to send those to the city's website at minneapolismn.gov slash public comment.

All submitted comments will be included in the public record related to the 2026 budget.

If you are someone who runs out of time while you're offering your testimony today, I would highly encourage you to submit written comments to the clerks.

If you are someone that ends up needing to leave before your speaker number is up, in addition to being welcome to join us at our final public hearing on Tuesday, December 9th, also at 6.05 p.m. in these chambers,

you are also welcome to submit your comments and writing we want to make sure that we're hearing

from you we will be taking speakers in the order that they are registered if you would like to

testify i invite you to register your name with the clerks at the table in the hallway outside

this chamber or you can you can do so with the clerks to my right and your left at the end of

this dais. Each speaker will have an assigned number. We will be calling speakers by number

in the order that you are registered. Because we are limited on available seating in this room,

there is an overflow room where the public can monitor this meeting. I understand we actually

have a lot of participants here today. That is really exciting. I know there are people that

are gathered on the second floor right below the escalators as well. If you are registered to speak

but aren't able to sit in the chambers,

please head toward the chamber

as we get close to your speaker number.

Please let the security personnel

know that your number is being called up

so that you have an easy time getting in.

Each registered speaker will be given

two minutes to address the committee.

We have a timer available to my right and your left

that helps speakers monitor the use of their time.

We ask you to wrap up your comments when your time has expired

so that we can accommodate all speakers today and be fair to every person.

We also ask that everyone be respectful of all speakers and of all opinions offered.

We have arranged for interpretation for those who may need that assistance

to participate in tonight's hearing.

If you require assistance from an interpreter, please let the clerks at the registration table know.

We have interpreters available for those needing Spanish and Somali translation services.

For those utilizing an interpreter, the speaker time will be adjusted to four minutes to address the committee.

I understand there's also other interpreters that are here with organizational partners that are here to offer testimony for folks that would prefer to have a city interpreter assist you.

You can do that or you can work with whoever you feel most comfortable with, honestly.

I understand that we have about 37 people who have signed up to speak already.

Again, before I open the floor, I want to invite anyone who hasn't already registered

but wishes to speak to register with the clerks at the table in the hallway outside of these

chambers.

And we'll ask each speaker to self-identify for the public record before you begin your

comments.

That looks like just sharing your name, your ward, or your neighborhood, or generally the part of the city that you live in, and organizational affiliation if that applies to you or you would like to share.

I will also note that any person who wishes to sign up to speak can do so at any point before we close the public hearing.

So that will continue to ask you and remind you of that.

The last thing I will note before we open this hearing is related to the mic.

So if you're coming up and you want to adjust your mic to be up higher or lower, depending on your height,

please be sure to move the mic from the bottom where you see the green light and not by the blue tape at the top.

and if you are someone who is coming up here to testify and you have an interpreter with you

both to you and to the interpreter I'd ask that you speak clearly into the mic so that we can

capture and transcribe your comments for the live broadcast. With that we are ready to open the

public hearing. The first five speakers who we have registered here today are speaker number one

Anthony Taylor. Speaker number two, John Edwards. Speaker number three, Peter. Speaker number four,

Maya Ulrich. And speaker number five, Andrew Weitz. With that, I want to welcome speaker number one,

Anthony. Hi, I'm Anthony Taylor. I proudly live in Ward 8. Andrew Jenkins, thank you for all that you've done for us. Chair, great to meet you. I'm here this evening speaking specifically to the elements budget and the CPAD part of the budget. Very excited about that. And I am, as the city council really prepares for the 2026 budget, the Emerging River North District, Anchorage 2nd and Broadway,

is really working on a project focusing significant on climate change,

community development opportunity in the city's recent history.

River North is defined as the area between Plymouth Avenue and Lowry Avenue

and the Mississippi River and I-94.

The opportunity is not hypothetical.

It is actually real.

As you all know, George Modular opened this year in 2024

and is beginning to hire, bringing jobs, apprenticeships, pathways,

construction tech training, and on-site production in the North Minneapolis.

The launch of River North Phase 1, as second in Broadway, is planned for 2026.

What I'm here to talk about is the idea of an innovation district. And we are

leaning on and learning from the Towerside Innovation District. The Towerside

Innovation District, anchored at Prospect Park, expanding in Minneapolis and

parts of St. Paul was the first innovation district study. It was created in 2015. There

are many things that we have learned for it, and what it says inside the CPIT budget, if

we can give the staff room to innovate, the outcomes are substantial. It was the first

district stormwater system in Minnesota. They created the green 4th Street and walkable

green Main Street integrating habitat stormwater features and public safety

realm that they came up with a district energy plan that was seeded by a two

million dollar city loan and significant co2 savings and from it came nearly one

billion dollars in private development and more than six million in coordinated

public philanthropic investment district key internal lessons the district

systems reduce complexity and costs across projects?

Your time has expired.

All right. Thank you.

I would invite you to please submit your comments in writing. You can do that with

the clerks or you can visit Minneapolismn.gov slash public comment.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next, we'll welcome speaker number two, John Edwards.

Thank you guys so much for being here. I'm John Edwards.

on the Safety Navigator with the Lake Street Council, born and raised right here in South

Minneapolis. I'm here to advocate for the growth and expansion of some of our essential

organizations that are doing some wonderful work in the city as it pertains to

safety and the well-being of our citizens here.

Our first organization is LEAD. Let Everyone Advance with Dignity

is the acronym. LEAD remains an instrumental in decreasing the negative impacts

that the community and the Lake Street Corridor face from the effects of our unsheltered population.

LEAD is actively out in the community, conducting, outreaching, recruiting members of our unsheltered population

and connecting them with housing and treatment options.

Next is the Family Partnership.

The Family Partnership remains a significant pillar in the South Minneapolis and Lake Street Corridor

that provides a variety of resources and services stemming from mental health therapy,

early childhood care, and case management for families with livability issues.

Our police department as a whole, MPD.

Our violence interrupter groups, Touch Outreach, and Mad Dads.

Both organizations remain valuable assets in our city as they continue to provide safety and security to our residents and business owners

by actively responding to emergencies and people in crisis situations,

especially during a time when police resources are at a shortage.

They are effectively able to assist and mitigate urgent safety issues and oftentimes without

the need for police intervention.

With continuous efforts in collaborating and building effective relationships with our

law enforcement, they will only continue to produce positive safety results for our communities

and businesses.

Lastly, our safety ambassadors.

Ambassadors have become an important piece to the Lake Street and Franklin Avenue corridor

and have been useful in providing outreach to address quality of life concerns and reporting

hazards and emergencies. So all in all, programs like these should be the cornerstone of the

city's support of our unsheltered populations and the overall safety for folks who live

here as well as those just visiting. I would like to urge the city to make a long-term

commitment to the sustainability of these safety organizations, so please consider these

organizations for additional funding when you're constructing your upcoming budget.

Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Edwards. Next we'll welcome

Speaker number three, Peter, followed by speaker number four, Maya.

How do I turn this on?

We can see it, sir.

Good evening, council members.

I'm here to say that most homeowners who receive their tax bills are not happy with the amount of money that they're paying.

I'm here to offer a way to reduce the property taxes

and to make it safer for the Minneapolis Police Department

and the Ambulance and Fire Department

to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible

in the safest possible manner.

So with that being said,

my proposal is light prioritization

for snow emergency plowing.

The overview would be adopt light prioritization

for all city plow trucks during snow emergencies.

This strategy optimizes routes, reduces overlap

and minimizes idling, delivering faster, cleaner

and more cost-effective snow removal.

Key benefits, fuel savings, less wear and tear,

lower air pollution, noise reduction, budget efficiency, and faster emergency response.

The estimated savings is more than $80,000 per year.

For the fuel savings, the maintenance savings is more than $75,000 a year.

The labor overtime savings is more than $25,000 a year.

The total potential savings is more than $200,000 a year.

And it's important to have our services fully funded but wisely spent.

Now, with that being said, I'd like to thank each and every individual here for hearing this message.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we will welcome up speaker number four, Maya Ulrich,

followed by speaker number five, Andrew Weitz.

Hello.

My name is Maya Ulrich.

I live in Ward 5, and I work in Ward 7.

I'm here today to speak on the co-enforcement budget

because I believe that SayTool, ROC, and NJP are vital

to ensuring that our working-class community is informed,

safe, and supported.

An example of this care recently was when one of my coworkers tried to use his earned sick and safe time.

He was immediately locked out of our employee portal and informed that his request for time off was denied.

Shortly after, he was informed he was no longer an employee at our company,

and then they continued to illegally withhold his pay.

Without the Know Your Rights training and women and femmes support groups that SayTool and partner orgs have hosted,

I would not have known that this retaliation against my coworker is a labor law violation,

much less have known where to go for immediate and tangible support.

The ESST has been a law in place since 2017, almost a decade.

It has become apparent that through ignorance or not,

we cannot count on bosses to do the right thing concerning our legal rights.

And without the team at CETUL, many of whom have decades of experiential knowledge in my field,

as well as deep relational ties to my community and peers,

I would not fully understand the intricacies of many of the labor laws that have been enacted.

They make me feel deeply respected as a laborer and as a person

and proactively have protected me and my coworkers,

something government bureaucracies fail at time and time again.

Therefore, I implore you to protect working class people

and not only business interests by restoring funding to the co-enforcement budget.

and considering adopting the recommendation

the Workplace Advisory Council made

to fully fund this amazing project at $800,000.

Thank you.

Before we continue to speaker number five,

the following five speakers after that

will be speaker number six, Clarence Hightower,

speaker number seven, Al Flowers,

followed by speaker number eight, Leslie Jackson,

Followed by speaker number nine, Carice Canales.

And then speaker number 10, Russ Adams.

With that, I'll welcome speaker number five, Andrew Weitz.

Hello.

My name is Andrew Weitz.

I'm a line cook, and I work in Ward 3.

Last February, a new chef was hired to manage my kitchen.

He began his tenure by immediately firing an employee after an out-of-work injury forced him to take time off.

This was a show of power that reminded all workers of our expendability and created an environment of fear in our kitchen.

In March, a workplace accident resulted in serious burns on my right hand.

Instead of going to the ER, I finished my shift, despite extreme pain, and returned to work for the next three days.

This choice was motivated by the proven understanding that my chef could and would fire me for any reason if he so chose.

After three days of working with an untreated wound, it became untenable to continue.

I left work and went to urgent care.

The doctor told me I was at risk for infection and that permanent tendon damage was a possibility.

He ordered me to see a specialist at a hand clinic and to not return to work until being cleared.

The medical and healing process put me out of work for two weeks.

Workers' comp insurance covered my medical expenses, but I was not compensated for the two-thirds of my two weeks of lost wages that workers' comp insurance guarantees.

When I spoke to the workers' comp insurance person on the phone, I found out that my manager had falsified the report.

This meant that recovering my lost wages would require me to go through an appeals process and confront my manager.

I chose not to do this because in cost-benefit analysis, the lost wages are not valuable enough to risk my future wages for.

This scenario illustrates failure of legal protections for workers and the need for co-enforcement.

The nature of at-will employment makes it such that violating the law is extremely low risk for my employer, while pursuing my legal rights is high risk.

My legal protections as an at-will employee are mostly abstract because advocating for myself jeopardizes my livelihood.

The co-enforcement program supports workers like me in holding my employer accountable to the law without the fear of reprisal.

Please vote to increase the budget for co-enforcement. Thank you.

That's great.

Thank you. Next we will welcome speaker number six, Clarence Hightower, followed by speaker number seven, Al Flowers.

Good evening committee members. My name is Clarence Hightower and I serve as Executive Director of Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County.

I'm here to ask you to consider inclusion of the Community Action Partnership in your 2026 budget.

Last year, Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County served over 23,000 households.

Of those 23,000 households, about half, 11,300 were Minneapolis households.

The service that Community Action provided to those 11,300 Minneapolis residents

included rental assistance to prevent eviction, vehicle repair to ensure residents had dependable

and safe transportation to work, employment services that help residents find and retain

living waste jobs, support helping folks pay their energy bills, enabling them to maintain

their heat during the cold winter months, financial support to pay their water bill.

We did this all in 2025 without the support of the City of Minneapolis.

As we go into 2026, for Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County to serve 11,000 Minneapolis residents,

we need the financial support of the Minneapolis City Council.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we will welcome Speaker number seven, Al Flowers, followed by Speaker number eight, Leslie Jackson.

Thanks, Madam President.

I want to say I had like seven people that can't get in the building because you got so many people talking about, I guess, their important issues.

But these were important issues, what Dr. Hightower just talked about.

And I hope that they can submit it to the record.

That's what I did.

and they wanted to talk about energy, emergency assistance, rental assistance, vehicle repairs,

senior support, first-time homebuyer support, and community impact on neighborhood stabilization.

So they wanted to come up and speak.

They couldn't get in.

They didn't know the process that you better get here early if you want to speak at one of these kind of forums.

And they was calling me, and I told them they came.

Ain't nothing I can do.

I hated telling them that, but I said, ain't nothing I can do.

We can't knock nobody out.

So if they can submit that there, what they are talking about, we'll do that later.

And so just the support of that program.

And just to say, I heard the Lake Street Council come up here talking about T.U.T.H.

and what I need you to do is find out why T.U.T.H. got all this money

and didn't ever put in receipts and y'all didn't do nothing about it.

And Lake Street Council got money, so they should give them some

because they got a lot of money from the legislature and quit playing on the community.

But you need to find those kind of things out.

I'm going to keep it nice and sweet.

I don't want to create no disturbance,

but I want you to really hear me about these people can't get in downstairs.

When I came in, I'm lucky I got here at 515,

or I wouldn't have been able to get in.

So we need to figure something out when people like that ain't never been here,

want to come and talk to the council, and they can't get in.

And I'm finished on time.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Flowers.

I will note a couple of things. First, the front doors are still unlocked. Any person who comes in from now until when we close this public hearing is welcome to sign up to speak if they would like to share public testimony.

We still have about 30-some people left to get through.

There's plenty of time.

I will also note that any person who wishes to is welcome to submit written comments.

You can do that by visiting MinneapolisMN.gov slash public comment or we have comment forms

that you can access at the sign-in table right by the entrance to the chambers.

If you would prefer to write your public comments while you are here and waiting

as you're listening to others offer testimony.

Any comments that are submitted to us in writing will be included as part of the public record

on the 2026 city budget.

I'll also note that there are QR codes that are available by the clerks to my right, your left, that you can use to access the public comment page.

And at any point, you're welcome to come up and access that if that is helpful.

With that, we'll continue with the remainder of our...

Thank you again, Madam President.

Next, I'm going to welcome speaker number eight, Leslie Jackson, followed by speaker number nine, Carice.

Council members, I'm Leslie Jackson.

I stand before you to support the recommendation to eliminate the East African Home Ownership Education pilot,

freeing up $95,000 in ongoing general funds.

The intention of this pilot is admirable, but its services are redundant.

As members of the black community, we have seen incredible, amazing results delivered by our existing HUD-certified partners, Minnesota Home Ownership Center, and Build-A-Wealth Minnesota.

These agencies are fully capable of providing culture-specific education and support to all residents, including East African community.

ensuring they receive these vital benefits through an established system.

Therefore, maintaining a separate duplicate of $95,000 pilot is insufficient.

We can eliminate this duplicate pilot and reinvest every one of those $95,000

in a new unified initiative designed for broad black equity.

This program must be explicit, mandated, provided, dedicated, culturally specific outreach and advocating for African American community,

while strongly supporting our HUD partners to ensure the East African community continues to receive excellent established services.

We must stop pivoting black communities against each other for limited resources.

Let us instead build unified, resilient foundations for all black residents, vote to eliminate this pilot, and endorse a comprehensive vision for home ownership equity.

Also, it was very hard for me to find work through your budget.

It's for a regular person that doesn't know accounting.

They'll have a heck of a time trying to navigate and find this information.

Thank you guys very much, and good evening to each one of you.

Thank you.

Before we continue, I'm going to note that we have been joined in this committee meeting by Council Member Wansley.

Next, we're going to welcome Speaker 9, Carice, followed by Speaker 10, Russ.

Good evening. My name is Carice Canales.

I'm the Manager of Placemaking and Activation at the Lake Street Council and a resident of Ward 10.

Tonight, I want to encourage the City Council to continue and to strengthen your investment

in place making arts and cultural corridor work across Minneapolis, especially with cultural

district funding and the opportunities through the growing arts and cultural affairs department.

On corridors like Lake Street, where communities are still healing from the trauma following

2020, culturally grounded placemaking has been one of the strongest tools for recovery.

Murals, music, community events, and well-maintained public spaces signal that these neighborhoods

matter, that they are cared for, and that the community members belong.

We had the unique opportunity with the Lake Street Lift initiative this year that allowed

us to see what happened when you meaningfully invest in arts and culture.

We saw the cultural district fully activated and bursting with vibrancy.

We saw dozens of creatives and cultural organizers breathe energy into the corridor.

And with their efforts came a hunger to continue to do this work in the future.

If you look at the handout that we circulated, you can see that we are hosting a celebration

at one of our newly transformed vibrant public spaces, the Midtown Mini Park, tomorrow at

4pm.

It's a site that we hope to see activated regularly with arts and culture programming

in the future.

So as you finalize this year's budget, I'm asking you to maintain and even expand funding

for placemaking and cultural district programs and to support partnerships with community-based

organizations and creatives that know these corridors best.

We know that continued investment in arts and placemaking isn't just beautification,

community healing, economic development, and safety.

Thank you for your time and for your commitment to a vibrant Minneapolis.

Thank you.

Next we're going to welcome up speaker number 10, Russ Adams.

Mr. Adams, oh, actually I think we're going to welcome up USRA.

Welcome.

Sorry, you can scratch council members 29.

USRA, I'm going to take place of Russ Adams.

All right. Good evening, council members. My name is Yusra Mohamoud. I'm a business

advisor with Lake Street Council, and I'm here to urge you to continue investing in

the future of Lake Street, as you heard from my colleague, Harise, and the small businesses

that define our city's culture and economy. Right now, our small businesses, from store

fronts to cultural malls along the Lake Street corridor, are struggling. In this current

political climate, people are afraid to shop, and many business owners are afraid to even

open their doors. Those fears are not abstract. They're showing up in declining sales, empty

storefronts, and entrepreneurs who are barely holding on. When small businesses suffer,

entire communities suffer. Lake Street has always been a hub of culture, entrepreneurship,

and opportunity, but without strong, consistent support, we risk losing the very businesses

that make it vibrant. That's why continuing funding for programs like BTAP and DTAP is

not optional, it's very essential. These programs provide critical support like

marketing, placemaking, safety strategies, business advising, and technical

assistance that small businesses depend on to stay open and stay competitive.

We've already seen the difference that these investments can make. In previous

years, funding has helped stabilize the corridor, support violence prevention,

improve buildings, and bring customers back, but the work is far from over. I'm

I'm asking the council to protect and expand funding for small business support programs in the 2026 budget.

Lake Street businesses are doing everything they can to survive,

and right now they need the city to continue to stand with them.

Thank you for your time and your commitment.

Thank you.

The next five speakers we're going to welcome are going to be speaker number 11,

Edita Pinto, followed by speaker number 12, Leslie Arianna, speaker number 13,

Benjamin, speaker number 14, Robert Gunan, followed by speaker number 15,

Carolyn Hoppe welcome speaker number 11

Edita Pinto looks like with Situul

Hello, my name is Editha and I live in the district 10.

At the beginning of this year I was a victim of a salary steal.

I found on the internet a cleaning company.

It seemed a great opportunity, especially because it was a native of Latinos

and she said that one of her missions was to empower women.

Hello, my name is Edita and I live in District 10.

Earlier this year, as a victim of wage theft, I found a cleaning company online.

It seemed like a great opportunity, especially since it was owned by Latinos

and claimed that one of its missions was to empower women.

Desafortunadamente, mi empleador se aprovechó de mí y no me pagó el salario que me correspondía.

Estaba muy molesta, nunca me había pasado algo así y no sabía a quién acudir.

As an immigrant who doesn't speak English, I felt intimidated by the system and I didn't know how to defend my rights.

Unfortunately, my employer ended up taking advantage of me and did not pay me the wages I was owed.

I was very upset. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before and I didn't know where to turn.

As an immigrant who doesn't speak English, I felt intimidated by the system and didn't know how to defend my rights.

For suerte, a friend me spoke about CETUL and the program of co-enforcing.

I thank you very much for speaking Spanish.

The organizer guided me immediately to the next step.

To write together a letter of claim for robbery.

I felt empowered to act so fast.

and I had the enough confidence to give the letter personally at my employer that same day.

Luckily, a friend told me about CETUL and the co-enforcement program.

I was very grateful that they spoke Spanish.

The organizer immediately guided me through the next step, writing a wage step complaint letter together.

I felt empowered to act so quickly, and I was confident enough to personally deliver the letter to my employer's home that same day.

When they didn't respond, my organizer supported me in escalating the case to the Minnesota Department of Labor.

A week later, I received part of the wages I was owed.

Although I never received the full amount I was owed, I am still grateful for the knowledge

I gained about the system.

Incluso cuando una empresa parece estar alineada con los valores correctos, los derechos de

los trabajadores aún pueden ser violados.

Por eso, organizaciones como CETUL y las otras alianzas de programa de co-enforzamiento

son esenciales.

la financiación para la aplicación conjunta de la ley dejaría trabajadores como yo desprotegidos

y vulnerables y espero que continúen invirtiendo en este apoyo que transforma vidas.

Even when a company appears to be aligned with the right values, workers' rights can

still be violated. That is why organizations like CETUL and the other alliances in the

co-enforcement program are essential. Cutting funding for joint enforcement would leave

workers like me unprotected and vulnerable. And I hope you will continue to invest in this life-changing support.

Thank you.

Next we're going to welcome speaker number 12,

Leslie Ariana, followed by speaker number 13,

Benjamin Garcia.

Hi, my name is Leslie and I live in Ward 5.

Earlier this year, I experienced wage theft at a Mexican restaurant.

Our boss started drinking a lot at work and things became unorganized.

Things went from bad to worse when we lost our liquor license.

This caused our tips and revenue to go down drastically and overall like our money.

Rumors went around that he might not pay us.

At the time, I didn't believe it because he had mentioned he's opening up a second restaurant,

so I had just assumed he was busy with that.

Until he gave us a late paycheck.

Given that he's never given us a late check before, I just assumed he was busy.

Until the check bounced due to inefficient funds.

My coworkers and I would call and text and he would not respond.

And he also stopped showing up to work.

Given I am a U.S. citizen and my boss knew that,

I felt that I had different treatment than my non-U.S. citizen coworkers.

Some of them had anxiety to say anything about the wage theft because they were afraid he would retaliate.

I took lead in organizing my coworkers and advocating for them because of my citizenship status.

The disorganization worsened and we were missing essential items like straws, meat, and napkins.

We also lost our liquor license.

I texted my boss and let him know that I will not be willing to work for free,

and everyone tried to ask him where the checks were, and he had blocked us all.

We had sent letters to the Department of Labor, but they were all returned.

We wasted so much time and energy doing all this.

I felt like all my coworkers felt it 10 times worse than me, given their situation.

There are 10 of us who are still being infected by this injustice.

CTUL has helped me by not giving up on my case.

We're still fighting this fight right now.

We've been fighting since March, and I know for a fact that we would have lost hope in

recuperating our wages if it wasn't for CTUL.

This is why we cannot cut and co-enforce funding and in fact why we should expand it.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next we're going to welcome up speaker number 13, Benjamin Garcia, followed by speaker number 14, Robert.

Hello, good morning. My name is Benjamin Garcia. I'm a member of CETUL from two years ago,

and I've worked in several restaurants in the city's center. I'm here to highlight the

the importance of the ECO-enforzation budget for workers with low income income.

Thanks to this budget, CETUL has been able to help me know my rights as a worker.

In my job, it is difficult to take my days for illness, although it is my legal right.

I suppose that I have to spend hours on my illness, but I have seen in my paycheques

I have no idea what I have.

CETUL me is helping to investigate how to deal with my boss.

They tell me that we have to send a letter to my boss,

with my work colleagues,

but according to my experience,

many of them do not know the law

or do not think they can do anything.

They think they cannot claim our rights.

It is very complicated to organize ourselves.

It is difficult to feel motivated to do something.

Por eso es tan importante el presupuesto de coenforzamiento en organizaciones como CETUL.

Podemos aprender cuáles son nuestros derechos y cómo podemos defendernos,

defenderlos sin distinción de raza o género.

Por eso es fundamental que no recorten el presupuesto de coenforzamiento.

Muchas gracias por escuchar mi historia.

Hello, good evening.

My name is Ben-Hamin and I've been a member of CETUL for more than two years and I've

worked at several different restaurants including downtown.

I'm here today to emphasize the importance of the co-enforcement program and the budget

that goes along with it for low wage workers like myself.

Because of this budget CETUL has been able to help me and many others navigate my rights

as a worker. Where I work now, it's actually difficult to take sick time, even though it

is my right. Legally, I'm supposed to accumulate sick hours, but I can see that I don't have

those hours on my paycheck. Cetul has been supporting me to figure out how to deal with

this issue with my employer. Cetul has been explaining to me different ways to address

it like sending a letter to my boss together with my co-workers. However, in my experience,

many of my co-workers don't know the law or believe that they can actually do anything

about it. They don't think that we can claim and reclaim our rights. Unfortunately, it

feels very complicated to be able to organize ourselves. And it is difficult to feel motivated

to do anything about it at all, which is why the co-enforcement budget is so important.

With the co-enforcement partners like CETUR,

we're able to learn about our rights

and also how we can defend them

regardless of our race or our gender.

And that's why it's crucial

that the co-enforcement budget is not cut

and that we're able to restore that funding.

I appreciate you listening to my story.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next, we're gonna welcome up speaker number 14,

Robert Gunan, followed by speaker number 15, Carolyn Hoppe.

Hello, my name is Bob Gunan.

I'm a resident of North Minneapolis in Ward 4.

I call on the City Council to remove the 2026 funding of the City's $500,000 community

perception survey contract with Zen City, an Israeli tech company.

I obtained the city's request for proposal and the vendor responses to it through the open city system.

There were two other strong candidates.

Their bids were roughly one-third the cost of ZenCities.

At a time when funds are scarce for urgent community needs like affordable housing,

the city and the MPD picked by far the most expensive option.

We are two years into this contract, and from what I can tell, there's been very little or no benefit to the taxpaying residents of Minneapolis.

We know very little because the MPD and the mayor have chosen to share very little.

What they did share is not surprising.

Black and indigenous residents feel significantly less safe than their white counterparts.

That was true at the start of the contract and it remains true today.

The MPD published nothing about how the community views their performance, which was supposed to be a central pillar of the survey benefits.

So one has to wonder why not.

What changes has the MPD made based on the survey?

Not enough, judging from the anger many residents expressed at the NPD's lack of progress implementing reforms during the packed August community engagement meeting.

It's time to call it, to acknowledge that a very large sum of money has been spent unwisely.

Let's limit the damage of this mistake.

instead of wasting yet more money on a fancy survey,

let's spend it in ways that actually improve public safety.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Before we welcome up speaker number 15,

I want to go over the next five speakers after that.

Speaker number 16, Chris Johnson,

followed by speaker number 17, Sydney Oxborough,

followed by speaker number 18, Hosina Manu.

followed by speaker number 19 Lizzie Palmer and then speaker number 20 Erin Steeney. Welcome.

Thank you. My name is Carolyn Hockey. I'm a resident of Ward 4 in Minneapolis and I'm here

today to demand that the city of Minneapolis end its relationship with Zen City. Zen City

sells itself on pretending as though it builds community police relationships. In actuality,

the technology it uses invades our privacy in the name of more surveillance.

Zensity has its roots in Israeli intelligence surveillance.

Its founder served in the IDF.

Israel's all-encompassing surveillance of Palestinians

has led to the development of facial recognition,

cell phone hacking, and AI-powered technology

that is now spilling into non-military use.

I do not want my tax dollars going towards using my social media algorithm

to pull me about the MPD.

If you want my opinion about the MPD, I'll tell you right now.

As a resident of North Minneapolis, I have seen firsthand

that increased policing and surveillance does not make my community any safer.

In fact, it just means there is an increase in inappropriate and violent responses

to community with basic needs.

I also do not want my neighbors to be spied on by these intelligence companies.

I insist that there is a better and different way to build up community safety.

We need people to be able to meet their basic needs and we need community response.

We need measures that prevent crimes, services that provide for and build up our community, not more ways to surveil people.

We see over and over the police fail our community members who call for support during instances of domestic violence and many other times when they are looking for help and it ends in violence.

We need appropriate and immediate response and cut the contract.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next we're going to welcome up speaker number 16, Chris Johnson, followed by speaker number 17, Sydney.

Good evening, y'all, and thank you.

My name is Chris Johnson.

and I'm a proud member of three different unions in this city.

Proud resident of the Cooper neighborhood, Ward 12.

I live, work, bike, eat, shower when I'm between jobs,

and occasionally purify myself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.

I'm here on behalf of ROC.

You're going to hear co-enforcement a lot, it seems,

because some of my partner friends are out here.

the Restaurant Opportunity Center in Minneapolis.

It seems like every time that a budget comes out,

we've got to stand and advocate for funding that our mayor slashes out of the budget.

I just ask for your consideration in putting that back.

It's needed. It's necessary.

I am a chef at a downtown hotel.

I also work at various music venues.

And I use ROC as a resource for my coworkers.

I've had a career for 45 years in this business, and I've seen a lot.

I have seen harassment.

I've seen sexual harassment.

I've seen wage theft.

I've seen sick and safe time theft recently.

to have that co-enforcement

that ROC gives the restaurant workers of this city

is absolutely needed.

To advocate and navigate these different offices,

you need help.

And we are that help.

Every time the budget comes up,

it's like I'm a theater nerd.

It's Oliver Twist time.

Please, sir, can I have more porridge?

I'm not asking for two bowls.

I'm asking to fill the one that we have currently up again so we can do our job as workers.

And thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next, we're going to welcome up speaker number 17, Sidney Oxborough.

Hi, my name is Sidney Oxborough.

I'm a resident of Ward 7 in Loring Park, and I'm a member of Jewish Voice for Peace.

We're here today to ask you to cut the contract with Zen City.

They're an Israeli surveillance company.

The contract with Minneapolis was for $500,000.

Cutting this contract would save the city $112,500 for 2026.

And the contract is for ostensibly surveys to get the opinion of residents on Minneapolis PD.

And we think that a company started by an imperialist apartheid intelligence agent should not be the company that runs this survey,

particularly with the over 100-year history of racial profiling and racist tactics of the Minneapolis Police Department.

And Twin Cities Public Television just did a documentary.

If you want more information about how long this history and how long we've been trying to reform this police department is.

and we as Jews for Palestine

know that Israeli surveys can lie about public opinion

particularly that most people are told that

most Jews support the Israeli apartheid

when in fact most Jews that I've talked to

and most people that I've heard speak about it

are against it and support a Palestinian state

however the surveys are taken for people that support it which makes us look like

we all support it. Mir Frey uses his Jewish identity and if he really is part

of this community he should listen to us.

Next up is speaker number 18, Hoseena Manu.

Good evening.

My name is Hoseena Manu.

I'm a proud resident of Ward 9, and I'm a member of Jewish Voice for Peace Twin Cities,

as well as the Cut the Contract campaign.

Today I submitted for the public record the over 2,000 signatures we collected this summer urging city council and the mayor to cut the contract with Zen City.

That's over 2,000 residents and others who enjoy our city who are subject to targeting from Zen City survey ads who believe that a Zen City contract is bad for Minneapolis.

We know that the mayor has the power to cut the contract today, yet he has declined to do so.

That's why we urge you, city council members

To defund the Zen City line item during this budget process

You've heard testimony as to why the Zen City contract is bad for our city

You're going to continue to hear that testimony tonight

Surveying us on our opinion of MPD is not a good use of community safety dollars

Nor does it fulfill the obligations of the Minnesota Human Rights Department consent decree

To quote, meaningfully engage with and collect feedback

from the people who are most impacted by MPD's policies.

I attended a community engagement event in August

after the July one was suddenly canceled

without even 24 hours notice.

This August meeting was a 45-minute presentation

on how good the cops are doing

with only 15 minutes for community questions and input.

It was egregious.

The $500,000 that the city spent on the Zen City contract

could have gone much farther

by way of real direct engagement with those of us impacted.

That money could be spent in other ways to improve safety in our communities, such as increasing the budget for the Neighborhood Safety Initiative, or supporting our unhoused neighbors in accessing services, or many other things that you've heard tonight.

If you do the right thing during this budget process and cut the Zen City line item, and the contract is canceled by December 1st, you'll save the city over $100,000.

That could go towards the many things you've heard suggested this evening.

Our city deserves better, and I strongly believe in this city council to do the right thing.

Next, we're going to welcome up Speaker Number 19, Lizzie Palmer, followed by Speaker Number 20, Aaron Steeney.

Good evening. My name is Lizzie.

I'm a white organizer with the Black-led anti-police brutality organization, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice.

We are a branch of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression

that fights across the country for democratic community control of the police.

I'm also a Ward 6 Commissioner for the Community Commission on Police Oversight.

We are here once again to oppose this wasteful and unnecessary contract with Zen City,

an Israeli company that furthers the oppression of our immigrant, black, brown, and indigenous communities

through surveillance and invasions of privacy.

We have already seen how law enforcement is empowered by milquetoast Democrats and Republicans alike

to monitor dissent about policing in states like Michigan,

where following the police murder of a young congolese refugee named patrick laoya in 2022

police responded by monitoring social media to track protests and community opinions about the

murder in a city with jacob fry at the helm an unrepentant enabler of his racist police department

zen city will not make minneapolis residents safer but will give police yet another tool

against vulnerable communities it will enable harassment and silencing of survivors of police

brutality and aid in the ongoing cover-up of MPD's crimes. A department under two consent decrees as

well as an investigation by city auditor following the egregious mishandling of the investigation

in the Allison Luscher's murder. A native woman killed by her abuser after calling MPD at least

six times for help. They already feel empowered to break into the homes of black residents in the

middle of the night with no warrant like they did to Ebony Dobbins in March of this year,

pointing guns at her and her terrified children at 3 a.m. And they are already more than happy to

comply with ICE operations in our city and then gaslight residents into believing ICE wasn't even

there. Imagine how they might use this surveillance technology to anticipate where we might show up to

defend our immigrant neighbors. Under no circumstances should an unaccountable lawless

police force that is allowed to outright lie to you be given yet another tool that they will

inevitably use to harm vulnerable communities. We don't need more monitoring or pointless engagement

surveys. We need divestment from companies that perpetuate genocide and crimes against humanity.

We need a city government that is actually capable of listening to the people who pay their bloated salaries and need real police accountability where we are in charge of what the police can and cannot do in our communities.

Thank you.

before as we welcome up speaker number 20

Aaron the next five speakers after that will be

speaker number 21 Jamie Verbrucki

speaker number 22 last name is

Zilski

gotcha thanks

speaker number 23 Jacob Engdahl

And then speaker number 24, Doug Carmodi.

And then speaker number 25, Becca Anderson.

Welcome, Erin.

Thank you.

Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

My name is Erin Steeney, and I am a member of the Free Palestine Coalition,

the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee,

and I'm one of the primary cut-the-contract organizers, and I'm a resident of Ward 12.

I'm here to address the city funding designated for the Zen City contract.

The contract is a misuse of public resources.

Although it is framed as a tool for understanding public safety opinions, it produces a narrow

and performative snapshot that has led to no real improvements.

These funds should be invested in genuine community-driven initiatives or things like

co-enforcement which actually keep our city safe.

city is also an Israeli technology company. Palestine is not distant. You

have Palestinian constituents and we live in a world where local governments

contract with international companies where data crosses borders and where

federal policy shifts can immediately affect our neighborhoods. On November 7th,

the mayor of Chicago addressed the United Nations because of the Trump

administration's occupation of his city and the resulting violence. If local

leaders are seeking protection from an international body, it shows how intertwined global and

local communities truly are. This brings me back to Zen City. The city of Minneapolis has not

provided clear answers on what information Zen City collects, how it is stored, or for how long

it is kept. In a moment when the Trump administration is openly targeting undocumented residents,

it is entirely plausible that this data could be accessed and used to harm people in our community.

The contract is unethical and now actively puts our undocumented neighbors at risk.

It is a waste of city dollars and would be better spent on cultivating community.

It is not too late to cut the contract.

Next up is speaker number 21, Jamie Verbrugge, followed by speaker number 22, last name Zilski.

Good evening, Madam Chair and Council Members.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening.

My name is Jamie Verbrugge.

I'm the President and CEO of Catholic Charities Twin Cities.

I arose this evening to speak about the importance of utilizing local affordable housing aid, or LAHA, to fund shelter operations.

I want to acknowledge and thank Mayor Fry for allocating $1 million for that purpose in his recommended budget.

You know, daytime and overnight shelters provide life-saving services, a dignified place to sleep, and pathways to stability.

Yet this element of the homelessness-to-housing continuum has been chronically underfunded.

In recent years, we've seen increased need and steadily rising operating costs without a corresponding increase in public investment.

Since 2021, we've witnessed a 50% increase in the number of individuals served through our daytime and overnight shelter programs in Minneapolis.

Today, a majority of clients report having at least one disabling condition, including a physical disability and or substance use or mental health disorder.

At the same time, costs for core functions such as insurance, security, staffing, and

maintenance have risen sharply, making it more expensive to keep doors open and more

difficult to adequately fund the services that meet people's needs.

Last week's decision by HUD to cap funding for permanent supportive housing will only

further exacerbate the already untenable landscape.

The severe reduction in access to housing for people exiting homelessness is anticipated

to force 170,000 people nationwide back onto the streets.

This will not only be devastating for newly stable residents, but will add additional

strain to our homelessness response system.

While the Catholic Charities are fortunate to have incredibly generous donors, without

increased public investment, our shelter operation deficits are just not sustainable.

It's an all-hands-on-deck moment, councilmembers, and appreciate your consideration.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Speaker number 22.

Welcome.

Hi, I'm Tim Zoski, and I live in Ward 12 by VA Hospital.

And I called your office today for an appointment.

I've called you before.

And your public works is very familiar with me.

Because for the taxes I pay, the public works and my city services I think are pretty good, except for the snow plowing.

We could possibly do curb to curb.

And then sometimes when I was working, I go early in the morning, and if a snow emergency route is plowed,

and you go on a side street, there's snow banks blocking the intersections.

And that's about the only quam I have about public works.

Otherwise, I'm very satisfied.

and I've lived here since 1987.

And if you can help try to minimize my tax increases,

it would be appreciated and all of that.

And that's about it.

This is mainly my first meeting that I've come to

and thank you for listening to me.

Thank you, Tim.

I'm really sorry I struggled with your first name there.

Next we have...

Next we've got speaker number 23, Jacob Engdahl, followed by speaker number 24, Doug.

Welcome.

Thank you.

I'm Jacob Engdahl.

I'm from Ward 8, and I'm here to ask the city council to end support for the surveillance company Zen City.

For years, we've watched the right to privacy gradually erode under private interests,

but we don't need to simply allow this to continue.

We do not need to continue to waste our resources on a system which enables the horrific genocide

in Palestine.

We do not need to continue to misuse public funds which should be allocated toward genuine

public safety.

And we do not need to continue intertwining the economy of this city with an apartheid

regime that continues to perpetuate crimes against humanity.

What we do need is to restore faith and trust in our law enforcement.

And to do that, it's critical that we excise this tool of state violence and repression

from our city.

Please strike the Zen City line item from the city budget.

Thank you.

Next up is speaker number 24, Doug, followed by speaker number 25, Becca.

Hi, my name is Doug Carmody.

I'm a Ward 12 resident, and I'm speaking to ask the city council to cut the contract with Zen City

and also to take a more ethical approach to every contract that the city signs more generally.

When you sign a contract with an Israeli company,

you are sending money to a country that has apartheid enshrined constitutionally.

There are first-class citizens and second-class citizens,

just as there once were in this country and thankfully are no longer in the constitution.

and you're also sending money to a country that has just committed a genocide that has a decades

long history of unrepentant human rights violations against Arab people and Arab states

from years of illegal settlements in the West Bank to just yesterday when the country of Israel

murdered 13 people at a refugee camp in Lebanon. These murders are in many cases sanctioned by the

same intelligence units that the Zen City co-founder came out of. I also tend to think

when you talk about boycott, divest, and sanctions, I noticed that a lot of the countries that

support it are not like the richer European left-wing nations, but they're the countries

who have seen the dangers of militarism, brutality, and human rights abuses firsthand.

That's something that we've also seen firsthand in Minneapolis. These dangers

are not unfamiliar. They weren't unfamiliar before 2020 and they're not

unfamiliar after and it has to do with the same police department that is

signing this contract or that is involved in this contract. We just saw

these dangers again yesterday in St. Paul with military forces pepper spraying

people right in the face. We need to share the the truth of these dangers that

we have seen as a city with the rest of the United States and we need to stand

firmly on the side of justice and show Palestinians that our justice is theirs

as well. Thank you. Next up is speaker number 25 Becca and

Andresen and then the five speakers after that will be speaker number 16 Liz

Brooks, speaker number 17 Tara Derny, speaker number 18 Hanoi Jonas, and then

speaker number 19 Russ Adams followed by 29 Russ Adams followed by speaker number

30 Grace Alvarez. Welcome. Hi my name is Becca Andresen and I live in Ward 5 in

the Jordan neighborhood. I'm here to ask the City Council to eliminate the budget

for survey or surveillance contracting with Gen City for two

main reasons. First, MPD does not need this contract. They don't need this

survey information. We know there has been a lot of research. There was an

entire Commission on what is going on with Minneapolis Police Department and

the ways that they have failed and we know that that is why people think

negatively of them. We don't need more opinion surveys. We also do not need to

risk that giving them, giving the Minneapolis Police Department surveillance technology,

which based on their long history, we can count on them using to harass and arrest BIPOC

residents.

This will not reduce rates of violent crime or increase the rates of solving crimes, let

alone address root causes of violence and suffering in our city.

To make our communities safer, address the slumlord problem and fund programs like the

Community Action Partnership and the co-enforcement budget, our shelters, our community development

on Broadway and Penn Avenue in my neighborhood.

Second, as the great grandchild of Russian and Polish Jewish immigrants on one side,

relative of hundreds slaughtered in the Nazi ghettos, and the great granddaughter of Irish

immigrants who fled forced starvation at the hands of the British, I vehemently oppose

a single one of my too quickly increasing tax dollars,

funding suffering and oppression,

and the slaughter and starvation of Palestinians.

And I decry the justification of support

for an Israeli company or Israel generally as pro-Jewish.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is speaker number 26, Liz Brooks.

Hi there. My name is Liz Brooks and I am a proud resident of the Stevens Square Ward 10 area.

I've lived in Minneapolis for six years and I've worked here on and off for the last decade.

In that time, I've spent a lot of hours both on and off the clock in the city's bars, restaurants, and music venues.

And the people working there are the unsung heroes of Minneapolis's cultural scene.

After years of these conversations, I've noticed something all of these employees have in common.

tales of being mistreated by their employers time and time again my co-workers at first avenue and i

were so incredibly fortunate to have the restaurant opportunity center or rock in our corner while we

were fighting for our first union contract rock and other co-enforcement resources are at risk of

losing valuable funding due to the mayor slashing of the co-enforcement budget rock is an invaluable

resource for a huge segment of our workforce that often slips through the cracks there is no

Minneapolis without the workers who make our food, our drinks, and our nightlife.

Particularly in a climate full of political uncertainty and threats of state violence,

workers deserve rights and deserve protections and the

tools they need to fight for their rights, especially as these workers make up some of our city's

most vulnerable populations. Please don't let our friends, family, and neighbors

be left behind and free Palestine.

Next up is speaker number 27, Tara Durney.

Followed by speaker number 28, Hanoi.

Hi, my name is Tara Durney.

I live in Ward 8 in the Kingfield neighborhood.

As a resident of Minneapolis, I asked the city council to cut the contract

with Send City. I do not want my family or my neighbors subjected to surveillance or data

gathering by a company linked to Israeli intelligence. And I do not want my tax dollars

going to a company that profits from the killing and maiming of thousands of Palestinian children

and their families. Please cut the contract with Send City. Thank you.

Next up, speaker number 28, Hanoi Jonas.

Hello.

You're welcome to move up the, yeah, just from the bottom.

There you go.

Hello.

My name is Hanoi Jonas.

I live in Ward 4.

I am here to fight against the Zen City contract that the MPD wishes to continue.

This is a form of mass surveillance within our social media system that I strongly disagree with.

I am opposed to any sort of mass surveillance, whether it's cameras, engagement surveys that don't allow for consent of the residents,

traffic light or red light cameras and any other such systems that work to suppress

people's abilities to freely assemble freely use their speech or otherwise engage in democracy

without the panopticon observing them at all times i think this is unjust and

And immensely so considering their ties to the Israeli military and the ongoing onslaught

that they are committing against the Palestinian people.

I am a fan of a tech advocate, Louis Rossman on YouTube, who focuses on this exact sort

of mass surveillance done in cities such as Austin, Texas and Denver, Colorado.

Let me tell you, I don't want to see Minneapolis, Minnesota in his YouTube channel because I

don't want to live in the same sort of state that those cities do in which we are constantly

surveilled.

That is my time.

Thank you.

Thank you, Henos.

Next up is speaker number 29, Russ Adams.

I wonder if Mr. Adams left.

then speaker number 30 grace Alvarez

when as noches me number is grace Alvarez be well in a ciudad in Minneapolis

it and come as the 21 años trabajando in a in-house in Dostia de restaurant is

Como muchos trabajadores, trabajo duro cada día para salir adelante y sostener a mi familia.

Conocí a Rock, Minnesota, gracias a una charla llamada Conociendo Nuestros Derechos.

En este momento, no sabía sobre las leyes laborales ni los derechos que tenemos como trabajadores.

Good evening. My name is Grace Alvarez.

I live in the city of Minneapolis and have been working in the restaurant industry for more than 21 years.

Like many workers, I work hard every day to support and provide for my family.

I learned about Rock, Minnesota through a workshop called Noir Rights.

At that time, I didn't know much about labor laws or the rights we have as workers.

Poco antes de recibir esta charla, me lesioné en el trabajo.

Hice el reporte en el trabajo y ellos me dijeron que fuera a emergencia.

Y cuando estaba en emergencia, estuve mucho tiempo esperando.

After I worked months with pain until I informed me about my rights and I demanded help in the work.

Thanks to this, I received Work's Compensation.

That experience changed my life.

I realized what important is to have the right information and know that we have rights,

even though no one hears them.

So shortly after attending that workshop, I was injured at work, or shortly before attending

that workshop, I was injured at work. I had filed a report and they had told me to go

to the emergency room. When I got there, I waited for a very long time. And after that,

I kept working for months with the pain, still ongoing. I then was informed, I informed myself

about my rights and demanded help at work. And thanks to that, I received workers' compensation.

That experience changed my life. I realized how important it is to have access to the right information and to know that we do have rights even when no one tells us.

is fundamental.

Muchos trabajadores, especialmente

los latinos, no sabemos que tenemos

derechos o tenemos miedo

de exigir, pero con organizaciones

como Rock Minnesota

aprendemos que no estamos

solos, que la ley también

nos protege y que merecemos trabajar

con respeto, justicia y seguridad.

So thanks to Rock Minnesota

I learned

what workers' conversation is

and that I have the right

to sick and safe time, and that I don't have to stay quiet when something is wrong.

Rock Minnesota helped me overcome my fear and stand up for myself with dignity.

That's why I believe that co-enforcement is essential.

Many workers, especially Latino workers, don't know that we have rights or are afraid to demand them.

But with organizations like Rock Minnesota, we learn that we are not alone,

that the law protects us as well, and that we deserve to work with respect, justice, and safety.

That's why today I'm asking you to restore funding that supports the work of Rock Minnesota

and other organizations on the front lines helping our community.

Because behind every worker, there is a story, a family, and a dream,

and we all deserve a fair chance.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

The next five speakers are speaker number 31, Carlos Ramos,

speaker number 32, Maddie Schwartz, speaker number 33, Malcolm Wells,

Speaker number 34, Ayantu Gameda from the East Lake Corridor and Touch Outreach.

Speaker number 35, Ray from Ward 5 with JVP.

Welcome up, Carlos.

Hello again.

Welcome back.

So good evening, council members and everyone here tonight.

My name is Carlos Ramos and I'm an organizer with Rock Minnesota.

I started working in the service industry at the age of 16, but my introduction came at birth.

My parents migrated here in the 1980s and built their lives working in restaurants.

So I grew up hearing the stories of long hours, unfair treatment, and the resilience needed just to get by.

At Rock Minnesota, I was hired to run the NOAA rights program,

teaching workers their rights and the steps they can take when those rights are violated.

Through this work, I've heard countless stories.

One worker had spent years working and only receiving partial payments, never a full check.

Another worker and her son were simply fired for asking about unpaid wages that were behind

about a little over a month.

And another worker was injured on the job and was dismissed and ignored and forced work through her pain.

These stories, on one hand, are heartbreaking, and on the other hand, we know they're far from being isolated.

All three workers are Spanish-speaking, all came here for a better life, and all found the courage to community to stand up for their dignity.

Rock, Minnesota has become a crucial resource for restaurant workers, especially Latino workers.

And we often receive calls from folks across different and other industries as well.

And we know this is important because when systems fail us,

sometimes word of mouth and sharing information amongst workers is the best way to get information.

And through doing this work and helping workers fight and learn what their rights are,

has been able to give me the validation that I seeked as a child growing up in a family

in a household of restaurant workers that often spoke about the issues they face at

the dinner table.

So the stories I carry are not just stories.

They are calls to action.

Co-enforcement is a tool that makes fairness and dignity possible for workers in the city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And you're welcome to share your written testimony with us as well.

Next up is speaker number 32, Maddie Schwartz, followed by speaker number 33, Malcolm Wells.

Hi, council members. My name is Maddie Schwartz. I am a resident of Ward 7, and I'm speaking on the Zen City contract.

I'm extremely frustrated with the idea that the city of Minneapolis is okay contracting with Zen City as a surveillance and tech company

that has a history of analyzing people's social media posts and internet activity

to ironically help the city work towards improving police and community relations.

I believe this further harms relations by jeopardizing trust when the city is

using a very expensive contract with a company that uses AI to monitor social

media posts, especially at a time when we hear the growing risks of this kind of

surveillance almost daily. Digital tools used for outreach do not need to use

these methods and we do not need to contract with companies with this history.

If the city really wants to improve the trust within the community, we could instead direct

this funding towards supporting our unhoused neighbors who I frequently see harassed and

harmed by law enforcement or other direct community needs.

For the reasons that others have spoke to tonight, I believe this contract and this

company's history risks making people feel less safe, like the city condones this kind

of surveillance on its own residents, and I think this contract exacerbates a loss of

trust within the community.

If the city really wants to measure its relationship with the community, between the police and

the community, a process can be led by immigrants, black and brown, and American Indian folks

who have deep ties within our communities and, frankly, are the folks that have an extensive

history of being surveilled and harmed by MPD.

So I support redirecting this funding towards greater community needs.

Thank you.

Next is speaker number 33, Malcolm Wells.

Good evening, y'all.

I attend these meetings in hopes of speaking directly to our city leaders about the issues

we hear on the ground as they relate to the co-enforcement program.

and I appreciate the listening ears and acknowledgements

and understanding how important this work is to the city

and the workers we engage.

I want to share our appreciation with City Councilmember Kosky,

Council President Payne, for standing on business with us.

The rest of y'all have an opportunity to show up for a community

by supporting the amendments.

The need for increased funding is urgent.

I've been here numerous amount of times over the years,

and as a former educator at NPS, this worker education is important to me.

It's young folks from the city in the city that work a lot of the hourly jobs

where we see the most violations, minimum wage violations,

in Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area cost Minnesota workers nearly $900 million over the past decade

with an annual underpayment of over $2,700 per worker, while seven of the eight highest violation

industries are expected to grow over the coming decade, some as much as 20 to 40 percent.

And it's proven that level of growth only happens when wages are being stolen from workers,

and our city budget is a moral document. And it makes me wonder where our values lie when our mayor

cuts line items that provide worker support and vetoes the amendments cast by the city council

members that are here representing the workers in their wars. And I had a conversation with

some folks recently, and we collectively understood that cutting co-enforcement feels like retaliation

against organizations that support black, brown, and immigrant communities in this city. But

I think it's way more insidious than that. It's a call out of the playbook authored by

white supremacy to keep low-wage workers poor, those same black and brown immigrant workers

that are three to four times more likely than white workers to experience waste theft. There

are groups of people working against the best interests of workers in Minneapolis. They

They fought against the establishment of the Labor Standards Board.

They do not want worker protections or an increased minimum wage.

Their voices are a lot louder than workers because they got money.

City Council is in the breach of that where they can address this directly.

So whose voices really matter here?

Workers aren't playing politics.

They're playing the game with survival every single day.

Do not further rig the game against them.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Next up is speaker number 34, Ayantu Gamata, followed by speaker number 35, Ray Himmelman.

Good evening, council members, residents of Minneapolis and community partners.

My name is Ayantu Gamata, and I'm here today on behalf of Touch Outreach, an organization

rooted in the belief that every young person, every family, and every corridor in the city

deserves safety, opportunity, and dignity.

Our request today is simple.

We are asking the City of Minneapolis to invest in Touch Outreach, a cornerstone of public safety, youth development, and community stabilization in the East Lake Corridor.

Our work is centered in an area that has carried both the weight of historic disinvestment and the strength of incredible community resilience.

In this corridor, we meet young people where they are, on the streets, in the shelters, and within the Minneapolis public schools.

We provide hands-on mentorship, conflict interruption, crisis response, and culturally grounded support for families.

When we are resourced, the entire ecosystem benefits.

Schools see fewer disruptions, hospitals see fewer trauma cases, and businesses experience fewer incidents as well as families experiencing more hope.

You should fund touch outreach because staff reflects the communities in which we serve and we act as a bridge between residents, schools, health systems, as well as city government.

In addition to that, we provide community-based prevention that costs less and provides better outcomes than enforcement as well as emergency response alone.

We provide consistent mentorship, leadership development, and street-based outreach, in addition to providing stabilization for vulnerable families through programming, such as financial literacy, as well as healing circles.

We connect individuals to treatment, harm reduction, as well as supportive services, and help reduce incidents for businesses while supporting customers with a safe environment.

With sustainable city investment, Touch can expand our conflict interruption team, build more youth leadership programming, deepen our family support services, and widen the safety net that is saving lives block by block.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I want to note that we have been joined in this committee by Councilmember Osman.

We are nearing the end of our list of registered speakers.

If you're someone who is here, perhaps arrived late, or the line was really long when you arrived, I would invite you to sign up to speak at the table outside.

Or you can do so right here in the chambers by our clerks to your left, my right.

next we are going to welcome speaker number 35

Ray Himmelman and then speaker number 36

Shannon Jaffe followed by speaker number 37

Luis from Situul I'm having a tough time reading your last name

hi so as Minneapolis residents are losing health insurance

struggling with food costs and sleeping out in the cold it is absurd to be paying

half a million dollars to an Israeli tech company for a social media driven survey.

Financial boycott of Israeli companies like Zen City is a choice that you all can make

that directly impacts the well-being of our Minneapolis communities, especially those

that have direct experience with the violence and disenfranchisement of colonialism.

Zen City has a history of surveilling black communities across the U.S., especially after

police murders of black people. With NPD's history of anti-black racism and violence,

This contract is the last thing that will make people feel safe here in Minneapolis.

I want to share about a Jewish practice called tzedakah, which literally translates to charity,

but actually means justice.

Excuse me, it's often translated as charity, but it means justice.

This intention is that every action supports justice.

Justice is a consideration in all of our decisions.

We elevate each moment and each action beyond the mundane to an expression of community care.

And in this climate of pending geopolitical doom, I can't think of a more important consideration

for you all to make.

Mayor Frey has ignored community outrage about Zen City contract and has ignored his Jewish

values and his silence and inaction.

So I'm calling on you to right his wrong, do the right thing, and cut this contract

with Zen City now.

Investing in community means centering the voices of those systematically harmed by MPD.

The experience and wisdom of our black communities, our indigenous communities, our immigrant

communities, trans communities, and unhoused people need to be centered in this conversation

around community safety, right?

So Minneapolis City Council members, will you do the right thing?

Will you serve your constituents well and cut this contract with Zen City?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Just an update.

If you are someone who is looking to sign up to speak, you can do that here in the chambers

now. The sign-in table from the hallway has now been moved to inside of the chambers.

Next up is speaker number 36, Shannon Jaffe, followed by speaker number 37, Luis from Situul.

I think Sharon left.

Gotcha. Thank you.

So it sounds like speaker number 36, Shannon, has left.

So next is speaker number 37, Luis, followed by speaker number 38, Nady Jimenez.

Thank you.

y aquí en la ciudad de Minneapolis.

Good evening, distinguished authorities

and fellow workers in the struggle present here today.

I'm here to tell you about my case

and how important the co-enforcement budget is

for many of us workers who are unaware of our rights

in this beautiful state of Minnesota

and in the city of Minneapolis.

and I never knew I had the right to pay for the illness.

I never received them for two years.

And worse, even when I was sick, I sent a message to the restaurant

and what I received was the notification of my call.

So I worked for two years at a restaurant in the city of Minneapolis

Minneapolis, and I was never told nor knew that I was entitled to paid sick leave.

And so I never received that during my two years of employment.

And even worse, when I got sick and I sent a message to the restaurant manager, I was

just sent a notice of my dismissal from my job.

like I, that we know our rights, especially in the cases of

!

Thank you to CETUL, my colleagues and I are trying to recover

a pay of those cases of the cases of the cases,

which we have rights as workers.

That's why it is important to this program of co-enforzation

so that CETUL and other communities continue to support

more workers like us.

Muchas gracias.

And so that's when a friend told me about CETUL

and how important the work is that they do

in training many people who, like me,

are unaware of our rights at work,

especially when it comes to paid sick time.

Thanks to CETUL, my coworkers and I are trying to recover payment

for those sick time hours for which we're entitled to,

which is our right.

That's why, for me, the co-enforcement program is really important

so that CETUL and other community organizations

can continue to support more workers like me

in the work that we do.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next up, speaker number 38, Nadi Jimenez.

Hello, good afternoon members of the council. My name is Neidy and I met Rock Minnesota for about 4 years.

During a decade I worked in the restaurants industry in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

During this time I faced very difficult situations. I suffered discrimination for being a woman and for being a Latino,

Latina look in me you are sent it frustrada stressada it is motive other

especially a mentee and I receive a respeto in a pollo for part in the

supervisor is good afternoon good afternoon City Council members my name is

lady and I learned about rock Minnesota about four years ago for a decade I work

in the restaurant industry in the city of St. Paul and Minneapolis. During that time,

I faced very difficult situations. I suffered discrimination for being a woman and for being

Latina, which left me feeling frustrated and stressed and unmotivated, especially because

I did not receive respect or support from my supervisors.

in another look at it on the top a uncompanier oa si a commentario

racistas frente a los gerentes ellos a rayon pero nunca le llamaron la

tension ito maromay this al respecto de si dice present a run a que haldo en

you pero lamentablemente tampoco say sonada esa falta de acción me so

sentir sin esperanza y sin vos a one of these places where I work I work a

coworker mei process the comments in front of the managers they

laughed and but never did anything or correct him or took

any action I decide to file a complaint with the owner but

unfortunately nothing was done the lack of action made me feel

hopeless and voiceless.

Fue entonces cuando me puse en contacto con rock minnesota

I guess as a pollo for a present on a denuncia and the department of the

derechos la what Alice is a primer moment amazing Tisco chada a company a

day respondada that's when that's what I reach up to rock Minnesota and thanks to

their support I was able to file a complaint when the Department of Labor

Rights of from the first moment I felt hurt a company and supported

The work that ROC does is essential not only for the Latino community but also for all the workers

that is who deserves respect equally and justice in the workplace I am deeply

grateful to rock for helping me regain my confidence and remind me that we have

rights and that we're not alone yes for eso que le pido al consul que restaura

en los fondos destinados a coen forza miento para que rock siga apoyando y

and that's why I ask the council to restore the funds of enforcement so that

Rock, Minnesota can continue supporting and training more workers who feels the

way that I felt once. Thank you.

Thank you.

We're now down to our final four registered speakers for the evening.

Speaker number 39, Alba Escobar.

Speaker number 40, Jordan Borer Nelson.

Speaker number 41, Allison Thorson.

And speaker number 42, Abir Ismail.

and then I'll just offer a reminder that if you are moving the mic to do so

from the bottom, not by where the blue tape is. Speaker number 39, Alba Escobar

with Rock, Minnesota. Good afternoon and hello again. My name is Alba Escobar. I

I worked with Rock, Minnesota for four years, and I've been working with restaurant workers in the Twin Cities.

During this time, I've seen so many people ignoring things like lack of sick and safe time pay,

harassment, discrimination, and many other issues like workers' compensation and a lot more.

that and many stories that we have here through this time that I will not finish telling each of

them if I didn't do today. But many of these workers are afraid to speak up because they

are afraid of losing their job, which means losing their source of income to bring food

to their tables for families or to face any retaliation.

I got fired for speaking up against harassment

and discrimination in the past.

I experienced the feeling of being scared,

helpless, and harassed by the boss.

Rock, Minnesota, empowered workers,

especially Latinos and immigrant workers,

to recognize their power and advocate for fair and safe workplace.

Many of us grew up thinking that we don't have power, that we have, that just, that

we, I'm sorry, that we just have to accept whatever comes on the way.

That rock teaches us that we do have power, that when we come together, we can transform our workplace, our community, our city.

I am now committed to workers to fight for what's right, for their respect, and that all deserve for dignity and for a safe workplace.

Thank you.

next up is speaker number 40 Jordan board Nelson with I believe mad dads and

then speaker number 41 Allison Thorson followed by speaker number 42 a beer

Ismail. Hi, are you Allison? Yeah, should I go? Welcome up. Okay. If Jordan comes back, we'll be sure to get to them. Okay, thank you. Hi, council members. My name is Allison. I use she, her pronouns, and I'm a resident of Ward 9. And I actually used to be a city employee. And I'm here to ask you to cut the contract with Sun City.

I used to be a city of Minneapolis employee for two years where I talked with many of my co-workers about how our pensions as public workers were invested in genocide of Palestinians by the state of Minnesota.

And then we learned that our own employer, the city of Minneapolis, has a contract with an Israeli tech company.

You've already heard from others tonight why the contract with Zen City is a bad decision for financial and human rights reasons.

I'm here speaking on behalf of many former co-workers your employees who did

not want to speak tonight for fear of risking their jobs but who care deeply

about the work they do as public servants for their community we believe

that the city should never contract with any company that is tied to

surveillance genocide or any other unethical practices or human rights

violations public servants get into their jobs to help people and build

beautiful and just communities that work for all of our city residents. They

should never have to oversee contracts that violate those values in our own city

or halfway across the world in Palestine. Thank you.

All right and finally speaker number 42, Abir Ismail. Welcome. Good evening everyone

everyone here. And first of all, I want to thank the City Council one day for giving

the ceasefire resolution and you were brave enough to do that. My name is Abiris Meil.

I'm a master teacher in Minneapolis, a member of MFE and also a member of MN Educator for

Palestine. And I'm here standing up with my brother and sister, Jewish Justice for Peace

and also Minneapolis community and my student to ask for the stop the contract with the

N-City. And I want you to know that one time I asked my student, if you have a million

dollar, what are you going to do with that? And they said that I'm going to build a factory.

I'm going to make people work. I'm going to make the homeless find a place. I'm going to increase

the socioeconomic of the city. And this is how you make a safe place. I went to Qatar one time

to visit my daughter. And they opened the door and they can sleep opening the door. My granddaughter

called the police, Ammo police, uncle police. You know, is the police there is to serve the people,

not to put the cameras and not to stand up for this. So I want to put the humanity to this story

right now so I decide to sign up to tell you, close your eyes, imagine what I'm going to

say is, is you're only child. I am devastated asking for divestment. I am devastated two

years every day standing up crying for divestment. Think of this as your kids. In Gaza, every

educational institute has been reduced trouble. Imagine your kids cannot go to school. Tens

of thousands of children have been burned alive and dismembered. Their body bodies scattered

among the ruins that used to be classroom, playground, homes. Why? Why we do this for

children? For under what name? You know, think of our humanity here. You know, Ahmed was just a

little boy who in his remains were found carrying by his 11 years old brother in a little blue

backpack dripping with his blood. Those are kids. Every kid has a story. Every kid has a dream.

And we are still crying for divestment. It's not by camera. Safety is not by camera. Safety is not

by policing.

Zifti is invested in our city, working together as a community.

Ahada, Ahada Basisu was just a teenager girl.

Okay, there is a lot of story you can see online.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. That completes the list of registered speakers.

Is there anyone else here who wishes to offer testimony?

I know we had three people who may have left already.

Russ Adams, Shannon Jaffe, and Jordan Borer-Nelson.

Anyone else who hasn't signed up wishing to speak?

Go on once.

Twice.

All right, with that, I will close this public hearing.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who participated here today and everyone who spoke or submitted

comments.

We appreciate your engagement in this really important work that helps move our community

forward.

Thank you for being so incredibly respectful of one another's perspectives here today.

And with that, we have concluded all business to come before the committee this evening.

And without objection, we stand adjourned until Friday, December 5th at 10 a.m. when

we will begin considering revisions to Mayor Frye's recommended 2026 budget.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

Thank you.