OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Minneapolis Public Health Safety and Equity Committee Meeting - July 22, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, July 22, 2026
BodyMinneapolis, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, July 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:27:43

Transcript — Verbatim
0:13

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Public Health Safety and Equity Committee for July 22nd, 2026.

0:21

I am Jason Chavez, the chair of this committee.

0:24

Before we begin the meeting, I want to offer a friendly reminder to all member staff and the public that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation.

0:34

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

0:41

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

0:50

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

0:55

I also want to talk about this weekend.

1:06

And another on Nicola Avenue in Ward 6 that took the life of a 28-year-old person and wounded four others.

1:13

Additionally, on Sunday night, two houses were struck by gunfire in Potterhorn Park.

1:18

On Monday near 12th Avenue in Oliver North in Ward 5, someone was shot and suffered non-life threatening injuries.

1:25

On Monday night, additionally, another shooting happened on Nicola Avenue in Ward 6.

1:29

Again, near the mass shooting where someone suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

1:34

And once again, yesterday, another shooting occurred in the same area.

1:38

My heart is with the victims, their families, and everyone across our city who was impacted by gun violence in Minneapolis.

1:45

In today's committee, we will also be hearing about the city's non-fatal shooting task force that was funded by the city council as a way to address gun violence.

1:53

And our Office of Community Safety quarterly reports.

1:57

It will be important for the public and for us as elected officials as a body to look at these reports and work to address the missing gaps, including the plans for MPD, improving cross-jurisdictional coordination, deploying violence interrupters in areas impacted by gun violence, including outside their usual zones, when and where the violence shows up, not just where it's been before.

2:17

Investing in third spaces for our youth so our kids and teens have somewhere to go and something to belong to that isn't the street.

2:38

And rapid response community funding, a mechanism to get funds to affected neighborhoods and blocks that are impacted by these incidents.

2:46

At this time, I will ask the clerk to call a roll so we can verify a quorum for this meeting.

2:55

Councilmember Payne.

2:56

Present.

3:18

After our consent agenda, we will move on to the public hearing.

3:21

If you would like to speak during the public hearing and have not signed up to speak, please see the clerk so that you may register to speak before the council.

3:29

On our consent agenda, item number two authorizes a contract with Hennepin Technical College for the police cadet program.

3:37

Item three authorizes contract amendment with GovWorks Inc.

3:41

to provide quality assurance software for 911.

3:44

Item four authorizes a contract amendment with the Center for Multicultural Mediation for Community Trauma Response Services.

3:51

Item five authorizes a contract amendment with the Mother's Love Initiative for Community Trauma Response Services.

3:58

Item six accepts a grant for the Minnesota Department of Health to provide family home visiting services and authorizes an agreement with the state of Minnesota for the grant.

4:08

Item seven approves the legislative directive related to neighborhood safety contract management audits.

4:13

Colleagues, is there any discussion or are there any items that anybody would like to pull for further discussion?

4:19

Councilmember Wandsley.

4:21

Thank you, Chair Chavez.

4:22

I did want to see if we had uh representatives from NSD here.

4:27

I did have a question regarding item number five, the contract amendment with the mother's love.

4:33

Is anybody here from NSD?

4:36

Or I also see Commissioner Barnett here too.

4:39

Commissioner Barnett.

4:40

Yeah.

4:41

So just the questions that I had raised was um I know Director Amanda Harrison earlier this year did mention that um she would be um sunsetting this program and restructuring it and doing a pilot phase, but we're being asked to extend this contract.

5:00

So I just wanted to get a little bit more information about what's the restructuring process looking like for this program and a timeline on when you believe that restructuring will be fully fleshed out.

5:13

Oh, your mic.

5:16

Oh, thank you.

5:18

Um Councilmember Wandsley, I don't remember all the details.

5:22

I know that there's several contracts that expire, and that there was I believe some funds left over to extend this contract.

5:31

If you don't mind waiting for the quarterly report when Amanda Harrington will be here, I think she can answer that question for you.

5:38

Okay, and I'll also note it for our staff uh follow-up as well.

5:43

All right, we'll get staff follow up on that.

5:45

I'll move approval of all these items.

5:48

Uh and see no one else on queue on that motion.

5:51

All those in favor say aye.

5:52

Aye.

5:53

Those opposed say nay.

5:54

Any abstention that carries.

5:57

Next, we're going to take up our public hearing, which is consideration of the mayor's nomination of Dr.

6:03

Freeman to the appointed position of fire chief.

6:05

Anyone who signed up for this item will be given two minutes each to testify.

6:10

For everyone in attendance, and especially those who may participate in our hearings or comment period, let me offer this notice.

6:16

These hearings are being recorded and broadcast.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████47%
Personnel Matters██████████████████19%
Public Health████████8%
Affordable Housing████████8%
Community Engagement█████5%
Intergovernmental Relations████4%
Procedural███3%
Emergency Management██2%
Budget Management█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Minneapolis Public Health Safety and Equity Committee Meeting - July 22, 2026

The Public Health Safety and Equity Committee, chaired by Councilmember Jason Chavez, met on July 22, 2026, to discuss gun violence, approve routine items, hold a public hearing on the nomination of Dr. Reginald Freeman as fire chief, and receive quarterly reports from the Office of Community Safety and its departments. The meeting opened with Chair Chavez acknowledging recent shootings across Minneapolis and emphasizing the need for a coordinated public safety response.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 2: Authorized a contract with Hennepin Technical College for the police cadet program.
  • Item 3: Authorized a contract amendment with GovWorks Inc. for quality assurance software for 911.
  • Item 4: Authorized a contract amendment with the Center for Multicultural Mediation for Community Trauma Response Services.
  • Item 5: Authorized a contract amendment with the Mother's Love Initiative for Community Trauma Response Services. Councilmember Wandsley requested further information on the restructuring of this program; staff follow-up was noted.
  • Item 6: Accepted a grant from the Minnesota Department of Health for family home visiting services and authorized an agreement with the state.
  • Item 7: Approved the legislative directive related to neighborhood safety contract management audits.
  • All consent items were approved unanimously.

Public Hearing: Nomination of Dr. Reginald Freeman for Fire Chief

Commissioner Barnett presented the mayor's nomination of Dr. Reginald Freeman, highlighting his career as fire chief in Oakland and Hartford, his community-centered approach, and strong letters of support from national fire service leaders, labor, and community organizations. Mark, a union representative, and Joseph Madison, a retired Minneapolis firefighter, spoke in strong support, emphasizing the need for outside leadership and Dr. Freeman's qualifications. Dr. Freeman then addressed the committee, outlining a vision for Minneapolis Fire to become the nation's benchmark for metropolitan fire service excellence, with priorities including firefighter health and wellness, professional development, community trust, and operational readiness.

Discussion Items

  • Councilmember Vita questioned Dr. Freeman extensively, including his view on changes needed in the Minneapolis Fire Department, his budget management experience (especially given the department's five- to seven-million-dollar annual overrun), his plans for staffing and external hires, experience with civil service and collective bargaining, and his expectations for salary. Dr. Freeman stated he was satisfied with the offered salary and did not see a crisis in the department, focusing instead on proactive improvements. Councilmember Vita noted a disconnect between their private conversation and his public testimony, particularly regarding his tone about current personnel and his comments about the police chief's salary.
  • Vice Chair Stevenson asked about a gender discrimination lawsuit in the Hartford Fire Department. Dr. Freeman stated he was not named or involved, and emphasized he has never failed to act on issues brought to his attention. He also discussed his experience balancing bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure with fire apparatus access.
  • Councilmember Whiting read letters of support from the NAACP Oakland branch and the city of Hartford, praising Dr. Freeman's transformative leadership. He also asked about strategies to manage overtime-driven budget overruns; Dr. Freeman explained field factor calculations and the need to fill vacancies, but warned against cutting resources except under dire circumstances.
  • Chair Chavez asked about recruitment of women and people of color; Dr. Freeman highlighted his track record, including co-founding the Oakland Women and Nonbinary Firefighters group and a girls' fire camp.
  • Councilmember Wandsley asked about the FAST (Firearm Assault Shooting Team) team's composition, staffing challenges, and partnerships. Lieutenant Schroeder and Commander Zimmerman explained the model, staffing gaps, and the need for more investigators. Councilmember Wandsley noted that the budget amendment earmarked under two million dollars and that the team is funded within MPD's existing budget.
  • Councilmember Stevenson asked what the FAST team needs from the council. Lieutenant Schroeder cited the need for more investigators, noting that only two of the seven MPD-dedicated officers were taken from uniformed patrol. Councilmember Wandsley referenced upcoming police contract negotiations as an opportunity to address staffing flexibility.
  • Councilmember Whiting expressed frustration that more than half of shootings remain unsolved.
  • Councilmember Rainbow asked about the relationship with the county attorney. Lieutenant Schroeder described a strong day-to-day working relationship with charging attorneys.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee voted to move Dr. Freeman's nomination forward to the full city council without a recommendation (vote: all ayes). The final council debate is scheduled for the following Thursday.
  • All quarterly reports (senior housing, non-fatal shooting task force, federal task force participation, Office of Community Safety) were received and filed.
  • Chair Chavez directed councilmembers to submit follow-up questions via email to allow for timely completion of the agenda.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Public Health Safety and Equity Committee for July 22nd, 2026. I am Jason Chavez, the chair of this committee. Before we begin the meeting, I want to offer a friendly reminder to all member 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. I also want to talk about this weekend. And another on Nicola Avenue in Ward 6 that took the life of a 28-year-old person and wounded four others. Additionally, on Sunday night, two houses were struck by gunfire in Potterhorn Park. On Monday near 12th Avenue in Oliver North in Ward 5, someone was shot and suffered non-life threatening injuries. On Monday night, additionally, another shooting happened on Nicola Avenue in Ward 6. Again, near the mass shooting where someone suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. And once again, yesterday, another shooting occurred in the same area. My heart is with the victims, their families, and everyone across our city who was impacted by gun violence in Minneapolis. In today's committee, we will also be hearing about the city's non-fatal shooting task force that was funded by the city council as a way to address gun violence. And our Office of Community Safety quarterly reports. It will be important for the public and for us as elected officials as a body to look at these reports and work to address the missing gaps, including the plans for MPD, improving cross-jurisdictional coordination, deploying violence interrupters in areas impacted by gun violence, including outside their usual zones, when and where the violence shows up, not just where it's been before. Investing in third spaces for our youth so our kids and teens have somewhere to go and something to belong to that isn't the street. And rapid response community funding, a mechanism to get funds to affected neighborhoods and blocks that are impacted by these incidents. At this time, I will ask the clerk to call a roll so we can verify a quorum for this meeting. Councilmember Payne. Present. After our consent agenda, we will move on to the public hearing. If you would like to speak during the public hearing and have not signed up to speak, please see the clerk so that you may register to speak before the council. On our consent agenda, item number two authorizes a contract with Hennepin Technical College for the police cadet program. Item three authorizes contract amendment with GovWorks Inc. to provide quality assurance software for 911. Item four authorizes a contract amendment with the Center for Multicultural Mediation for Community Trauma Response Services. Item five authorizes a contract amendment with the Mother's Love Initiative for Community Trauma Response Services. Item six accepts a grant for the Minnesota Department of Health to provide family home visiting services and authorizes an agreement with the state of Minnesota for the grant. Item seven approves the legislative directive related to neighborhood safety contract management audits. Colleagues, is there any discussion or are there any items that anybody would like to pull for further discussion? Councilmember Wandsley. Thank you, Chair Chavez. I did want to see if we had uh representatives from NSD here. I did have a question regarding item number five, the contract amendment with the mother's love. Is anybody here from NSD? Or I also see Commissioner Barnett here too. Commissioner Barnett. Yeah. So just the questions that I had raised was um I know Director Amanda Harrison earlier this year did mention that um she would be um sunsetting this program and restructuring it and doing a pilot phase, but we're being asked to extend this contract. So I just wanted to get a little bit more information about what's the restructuring process looking like for this program and a timeline on when you believe that restructuring will be fully fleshed out. Oh, your mic. Oh, thank you. Um Councilmember Wandsley, I don't remember all the details. I know that there's several contracts that expire, and that there was I believe some funds left over to extend this contract. If you don't mind waiting for the quarterly report when Amanda Harrington will be here, I think she can answer that question for you. Okay, and I'll also note it for our staff uh follow-up as well. All right, we'll get staff follow up on that. I'll move approval of all these items.

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