Minneapolis Budget Committee Public Hearing on 2026 Budget (Nov 19, 2025)

The Minneapolis City Council’s Budget Committee (Chair Aisha Chugtai) held an adjourned meeting on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, primarily to receive public testimony on Mayor Jacob Frey’s recommended 2026 budget. The mayor’s proposal totals just over $2 billion and includes a proposed ~7.8% city property tax levy increase; the Board of Estimate and Taxation authorized a levy increase of up to 8% (with the difference from 7.8% described as paying for some Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board services). This was described as the third of four public hearings on the 2026 budget; the statutory “truth in taxation” hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 at 6:05 p.m. The meeting also previewed upcoming budget revision deliberations set for Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.

Attendance & Procedure Notes

• Roll call established a quorum with 9 members present at the start; Council Member Jenkins joined shortly after the budget presentation; Council Member Wansley and Council Member Osman later joined during testimony.
• Public testimony rules: 2 minutes per speaker, with 4 minutes for speakers using city-provided interpreters (Spanish/Somali).
• Chair stated ~37 people had signed up initially; by the end, the chair referenced speakers up to #42, with several noted as having left before speaking.

Staff Budget Overview (Finance & Property Services)

• Jane DeCenza, Budget Director (Finance & Property Services), provided a brief overview of public resources and remaining milestones.
• Noted enhancements to the budget book: clearer department staffing detail placed directly on department pages and narrative summaries of recommended 2026 budget changes (reductions, limited increases, and transfers).
• Reiterated levy information and the city’s online levy impact estimator tool (residential/commercial/industrial and ward-based views).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Anthony Taylor (Ward 8): Expressed enthusiasm for CPED-related budget elements and urged support for an “innovation district” concept in North Minneapolis (“River North”), referencing lessons from the Towerside Innovation District and citing outcomes he attributed to that model (e.g., a district stormwater system; a district energy plan seeded by a $2 million city loan; “nearly $1 billion in private development”). (Testimony cut off at time limit.)
• John Edwards (Lake Street Council, Safety Navigator; South Minneapolis): Urged long-term city funding commitments for community safety and support organizations, including LEAD, Family Partnership, MPD, violence interrupters (Touch Outreach and Mad Dads), and corridor safety ambassadors; described these as key supports for unsheltered populations and community safety.
• Peter (no last name provided): Expressed concern about high property taxes and proposed “light prioritization” for snow-emergency plowing routes to reduce overlap/idling and improve emergency response. Claimed potential annual savings over $200,000 (including >$80,000 fuel savings, >$75,000 maintenance, >$25,000 labor overtime).
• Maya Ulrich (Ward 5; works in Ward 7) and multiple subsequent speakers: Strongly supported restoring/increasing the city’s co-enforcement budget (referencing worker-rights enforcement partnerships such as CTUL, ROC, and NJP). Ulrich urged adopting the Workplace Advisory Council recommendation to fully fund co-enforcement at $800,000.
• Andrew Weitz (line cook; works in Ward 3): Described workplace injury and alleged workers’ compensation report falsification; argued co-enforcement helps workers pursue rights without retaliation risk.
• Clarence Hightower (Executive Director, Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County): Requested city funding. Reported serving 23,000+ households in the prior year, including ~11,300 Minneapolis households (about half), providing rental assistance, vehicle repair, employment services, and utility/water bill support; stated the organization did this in 2025 without Minneapolis city support and requested city support for 2026.
• Al Flowers: Supported Community Action Partnership requests; raised concern that some people could not get into the building to testify. Also urged scrutiny of funding accountability for “T.U.T.H.” (as stated by speaker) and argued the city should investigate missing receipts (as alleged by speaker).
• Leslie Jackson: Supported eliminating the East African Home Ownership Education pilot, stating it was redundant with existing HUD-certified partners; said doing so would free $95,000 in ongoing general funds and urged reinvesting in a broader Black homeownership equity initiative. Also stated the budget was difficult for non-accountants to navigate.
• Lake Street Council representatives (Carice Canales; Yusra Mohamoud):
  • Canales urged maintaining/expanding funding for placemaking, arts/culture corridor work, and cultural district programming, referencing post-2020 healing and the “Lake Street Lift initiative,” and noting a community celebration at Midtown Mini Park scheduled the next day at 4:00 p.m.
  • Mohamoud urged continued/expanded funding for small business support programs (named BTAP and DTAP), stating businesses faced declining sales and fear in the current political climate.
• Zen City contract opposition (multiple speakers, primarily North Minneapolis residents and members of advocacy groups): Numerous speakers urged the city to end the Zen City contract described as a community perception survey / social-media-driven engagement tool related to MPD. Key points raised included cost, privacy/surveillance concerns, and ethical objections tied to the company’s Israeli origins.
  • Bob (Robert) Gunan (Ward 4): Called to remove 2026 funding for the city’s $500,000 contract with Zen City; said other proposals were “roughly one-third” the cost and argued the contract has produced little benefit.
  • Carolyn Hoppe (Ward 4): Demanded ending the relationship with Zen City, describing it as surveillance that invades privacy and arguing increased policing/surveillance does not improve safety.
  • Sidney Oxborough (Ward 7; Jewish Voice for Peace): Stated the Minneapolis contract was $500,000; argued it should be cut for ethical and policing-history reasons.
  • Hoseena Manu (Ward 9; Jewish Voice for Peace Twin Cities; Cut the Contract campaign): Reported submitting 2,000+ signatures urging termination. Stated cutting the Zen City line item could save $112,500 for 2026 and said canceling the contract by Dec. 1 would save “over $100,000.”
  • Lizzie Palmer (Twin Cities Coalition for Justice; Community Commission on Police Oversight), Erin Steeney (Cut-the-Contract organizer), Jacob Engdahl (Ward 8), Doug Carmody (Ward 12), Becca Andresen (Ward 5), Hanoi Jonas (Ward 4), Maddie Schwartz (Ward 7), Ray Himmelman (last name read with difficulty), Allison Thorson (Ward 9; former city employee), and Abir Ismail (Minneapolis educator; MFT; MN Educators for Palestine): Each urged cutting the contract; several advocated redirecting funds to community needs (e.g., homelessness services, community safety initiatives) and argued surveillance technology could be misused.
• Catholic Charities Twin Cities (Jamie Verbrugge, President & CEO): Supported using Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA) to fund shelter operations and thanked Mayor Frey for including $1 million for that purpose. Reported a 50% increase in individuals served through their Minneapolis daytime/overnight shelters since 2021 and rising operating costs. Also cited a “last week” HUD decision capping permanent supportive housing funding and stated it could force 170,000 people nationwide back onto the streets (as characterized by the speaker).
• Public works/snow plowing & taxes (Tim Zoski, Ward 12): Praised city services overall but criticized snow plowing (suggested curb-to-curb and reducing intersection snowbank hazards) and asked the city to minimize tax increases.
• Co-enforcement and worker protections (many speakers, including CTUL and ROC affiliates and restaurant workers):
  • Speakers described alleged wage theft, discrimination, harassment, sick-and-safe-time issues, and fear of retaliation, especially for immigrant and low-wage workers.
  • Chris Johnson (ROC) and multiple ROC/CTUL speakers urged the council to restore funding that the speakers said the mayor had reduced.
  • Malcolm Wells cited statistics: minimum wage violations in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro “cost Minnesota workers nearly $900 million over the past decade,” with “annual underpayment of over $2,700 per worker,” and stated that 7 of the 8 highest-violation industries were expected to grow over the coming decade by “20% to 40%” (as stated by the speaker).
• Touch Outreach (Ayantu Gamata): Requested city investment in Touch Outreach for violence interruption, youth development, crisis response, and family stabilization in the East Lake Corridor; asserted community-based prevention costs less and yields better outcomes than enforcement alone.

Key Outcomes

• No votes or amendments were taken during this meeting; it functioned as a public hearing and information-gathering session.
• Chair closed the public hearing after all registered speakers were called and additional testimony was solicited.
• Next steps announced:
  • Budget Committee to begin considering revisions to the mayor’s recommended 2026 budget on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.
  • Final public hearing / statutory Truth in Taxation hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 at 6:05 p.m. at City Council.
• Major themes from testimony that may inform revisions included: restoring/increasing co-enforcement funding (with one speaker citing a $800,000 full-funding recommendation), evaluating/cutting the Zen City contract line item (contract described as $500,000, with claimed 2026 savings of $112,500 if cut), supporting homelessness shelter operations (including $1 million LAHA in the recommended budget), corridor-based small business and cultural placemaking investments (Lake Street), and operational cost-savings ideas (snow plowing signal prioritization claims of >$200,000/year savings).