Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Budget Committee of the Minneapolis City Council met on September 28, 2026 to review the Mayor's proposed 2027 budget for the Minneapolis Police Department. The meeting featured a presentation from Interim Chief Bill Peterson, financial staff, and deputy chiefs, followed by extensive questioning from council members. No votes were taken; the item was continued to a later date. Key topics included a proposed $250 million budget, a $20.3 million (9%) increase, overtime management, recruitment investments, staffing cuts, and accountability measures.
Presentation of Mayor's Proposed 2027 MPD Budget: Interim Chief Bill Peterson presented the department's mission and budget overview. The total proposed budget is $250 million, with salary and fringe comprising 79% ($198 million), contractual services 17% ($41 million), and operating costs 4% ($9.8 million). The budget includes a net increase of $20.3 million (9%) over 2026, driven largely by overtime, cadet/CSO funding, and contractual services. The department has 991 FTEs (731 sworn, 260 non-sworn), with 82 vacant sworn and 25 vacant non-sworn positions. Proposed investments include $13.1 million in new overtime funding (plus $12 million from vacancy savings, totaling $25.1 million), $6.4 million for cadets and CSOs (up from $2.1 million), and $3.1 million for professional services. The department plans to cut 17 non-sworn FTEs and one FTE via administrative adjustment, targeting vacant positions in constitutional policing, investigations, and professional standards.
Reform and Operations Updates: Deputy chiefs reported on progress under the settlement agreement: 64 policies approved by the independent evaluator, new use-of-force training, and planned stops/searches training in early 2027. The Investigations bureau highlighted the FAST team (non-fatal shooting unit) which initiated 150 cases (64 closed, 41 open), a 27% decrease in homicides year-to-date, and an 83% homicide clearance rate (up from 70% in 2024). Non-fatal shooting clearance rates rose to 41%. Domestic violence reports increased 10%, prompting expanded response protocols. The Professional Standards bureau discussed technology upgrades, wellness initiatives, and recruitment pathways (lateral, recruit, cadet, CSO).
Overtime Deep Dive: Assistant Chief Mark Kluko presented a 10-year overtime trend showing an inverse relationship between sworn staff numbers and overtime hours. Despite staffing recovery in 2025-2026, overtime remains high. A new dashboard provides bi-weekly overtime tracking by category. Management pledged tighter controls: overtime approval limited to the executive team, weekly reviews, and planned reductions in minimum staffing levels in the fourth quarter of 2026. The department acknowledged that $33 million in overtime in 2025 was partially due to mismanagement.
Councilmember Questions and Concerns:
Settlement Agreement and Investment Details: The $3.1 million in professional services is for non-MDHR contracts that were underfunded. Councilmember Wandsley noted confusion over $4 million dedicated to settlement agreement contracts managed by Finance and Property Services. MPD representatives explained that some ongoing requirements are not covered by settlement funds.
Good morning. My name is Aisha Chuktai, and I'm the chair of the budget committee. I'm going to call to order our adjourned meeting for Monday, September 28th, 2026. 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 the quorum. Councilmember Payne, present. Is absent. Vita is absent. Warren is absent. Osman. Present. Stevenson. Present. Chavez. Present Whiting is absent. Chowdry. Is absent. Paul Masano is absent. Vice Chair Schaefer. Present. Chair Chugtai. Present. There are eight members, seven members present. Let the record reflect that we have a quorum. I'll also remind my colleagues that we're using speaker management today. So please make sure to sign in. This morning we have one presentation related to the mayor's recommended 2027 budget coming from the police department. I'll invite Bill Peterson, the interim chief, to begin the police department's presentation. Welcome, Chief. Good morning. Chair Chugtai, Vice Chair Schaefer, Council President Payne, Council Members and City Staff. My name is Bill Peterson, Interim Chief of the Minneapolis Police Department. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about the mayor's proposed 2027 budget. I'm joined here by Commander Chris Brown, Commander of Government Affairs and Finance, and will be co-presenting with MPD's Director of Financial Operations, Director Sujata Komaru. We're also joined by our deputy chiefs who will share share information about their respective bureaus and the work being done across the department. At the end of the presentation, Assistant Chief of Operations, Mark Kluko will provide a deeper dive into overtime as part of our special topics discussion. We look forward to discussing our operations, our budget, and how we use and manage our resources to provide services to the people of Minneapolis. We also look forward to answering your questions at the end of the presentation. We will do our best to answer in the most comprehensive, transparent and clear manner possible. Today, like other departments, our presentation will provide details about the mayor's proposed 2027 budget and will include updates and programs about MPD operations. It will also include special topics, principally the topics of recruitment pathways, overtime, contracts, and management controls and accountability. This slide shows our place within the Office of Community Safety, and it also gives a snapshot of the overall budget and FTEs that we will discuss throughout the presentation. I'd like to take a moment to share our mission statement, our North Star that guides our work and keeps us focused on our why in service to the people of Minneapolis. The core mission of the MPD is protecting the safety and civil rights of every community member. To pursue that mission, we strive to work in partnership with the community to safeguard life, prevent crime, pursue justice, and foster trust with the communities we serve through lawful and procedurally just policing. We commit to working in partnership with our varied and diverse communities to make Minneapolis safer for all.