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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Budget Committee Meeting October 5, 2026: Fire and Emergency Management Budgets

City Council — Monday, October 5, 2026

BodyMinneapolis, Minnesota

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, October 5, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:19:02

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:20

Good morning.

0:21

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

0:24

I'm gonna call to order our adjourned meeting for Monday, October 5th, 2026.

0:30

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.

0:40

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

0:48

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.

0:56

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

1:00

At this time, I'll ask the clerk to call the role so we can verify the presence of a quorum.

Speaker 2

1:06

Councilmember Payne

Speaker 3

1:07

present.

Speaker 2

1:10

Rainbow.

1:12

Present.

1:13

Warren, present.

1:15

Osman is absent.

1:16

Stevenson is absent.

1:18

Chavez

Speaker 4

1:19

present.

Speaker 2

1:20

Whiting is absent.

1:21

Chowdry.

1:22

Present.

1:23

Palmasano, present.

1:25

Vice Chair Schaefer.

1:26

Present.

1:27

And Chair Chung Tang.

1:28

Present.

1:29

That is nine members present.

Speaker 1

1:30

Let their record reflect that we have a quorum.

1:32

I'll also remind my colleagues that we are going to be using spec speaker management today.

1:37

So please make tur make sure to sign.

1:41

Today we have two presentations related to the mayor's recommended 2027 budget from the fire department and the emergency management department.

1:50

First, we'll we'll start with the fire department.

1:53

For this, I will invite Dr.

1:55

Reginald Freeman to begin our presentation.

1:58

Welcome.

Unassigned speaker

2:02

Thank

Speaker 4

2:02

you so much, Madam Chair.

2:04

Good morning, distinguished members of the council.

2:07

My name is Reggie Freeman.

2:08

I am honored to present our recommended budget on behalf of all of your dedicated and very passionate members of the Minneapolis Fire Department.

2:20

This presentation will be uh broken down into three particular parts, starting off with the Department of Budget Overview, our program and division updates, and then lastly, our special topics, which will include investment request, as well as our vision for full staffing.

2:41

Transitioning into our Department of Budget Overview.

2:45

We functioned under the Office of Community Safety.

2:50

We are led by our commissioner of OCS, Mr.

2:53

Todrick Barnett.

2:54

We function out of three specific divisions.

2:58

Currently, our FTE or our full-time team member count is 441.

3:03

Out of that 441, 424 personnel are assigned to suppression, while we have a current authorized number of 434.7, and then our proposed budget for 2027 is 110 million point 110.2 million dollars.

4:03

Uh for quite some time.

4:13

That's also referred to as operations.

4:15

We are a all hazards emergency mitigation organization, and that comprises our team members who staff that division.

4:24

And then lastly, training and recruitment is the last division that we function as MFD.

4:32

So particularly with our activities and service delivery overview, I want to highlight two specific portions, our department objectives as well as our key services and activities.

4:43

Now, in regards to our objectives, that is reflective of us continuing to increase the diversity, equity, inclusion, and sense of belonging to all the members of N MFD to better reflect the community that we serve.

Unassigned speaker

5:00

Another objective is to continue pursuing the resources required to keep up with the increasing demands for service for the people who live, work, and play in our great city.

Speaker 4

5:08

Third, placing a focus and priority on the continued physical and mental health and wellness of our team members, and then lastly, as far as the department objective, reduce preventable injuries, fires, and deaths by providing high quality fire prevention and community risk reduction education.

5:28

And something that we've said before in the past is that we overly use the word accident.

5:33

If it's predictable, it's preventable, and if it's preventable, we can't call it an accident, it is an avoidable incident.

5:40

And we are dedicated to preventing these avoidable incidents from occurring through our risk reduction program.

5:47

Our key services and activities, again, an all hazards mitigation organization, which includes but not limited to two, fire suppression, EMS or emergency medical services, technical rescue, which is high and low angle rope rescue, as well as motor vehicle extrication in the event of car accidents, and then last but not least, hazmat incidents or hazmat response.

6:14

Our community outreach and prevention program, which we are currently going through a revamp to focus more of that responsibility in our operations personnel.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety████████████████████████████████████████████44%

Budget Management█████████████████████████████████33%

Emergency Management████████████12%

Procedural███3%

Workforce Development███3%

Personnel Matters██2%

Technology and Innovation██2%

Intergovernmental Relations█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Budget Committee Meeting – October 5, 2026: Fire and Emergency Management Budget Presentations

Chair Aisha Chugtai called the adjourned meeting of the Budget Committee to order on Monday, October 5, 2026, at 15:08 UTC. Nine members were present, establishing a quorum. The committee received two presentations on the mayor's recommended 2027 budget: from the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD) and the Emergency Management Department. Following the presentations, the committee discussed a memo on Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) overspending in fiscal year 2025 and continued that item to the next regular committee meeting.

Consent Calendar

No items were listed or approved.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public spoke.

Discussion Items

Fire Department Budget Presentation

Presenter: Chief Reginald Freeman, MFD. He outlined the department's $110.2 million proposed budget for 2027, covering 441 full‑time equivalent (FTE) staff (424 in suppression, authorized 434.7). Key objectives included increasing diversity, pursuing resources for rising demand, improving mental health and wellness, and reducing preventable fires and injuries through community risk reduction.
Call Volume & Staffing: Over five years, authorized staffing increased 3.5% (from 419 to 434) while call volume rose 22%. The department meets the NFPA standard of 4‑minute response time only about 70% of the time (vs. 90% goal). Four‑person crews complete critical tasks 25% faster than three‑person crews (NIST data). Chief Freeman noted that only 390 suppression personnel are currently assigned, and 70 firefighters are eligible to retire.
Investments: The mayor's budget includes $1.8 million for 15 new sworn firefighters (funded by $450,000 general fund and $1.35 million SAFER grant), $3.4 million additional overtime, $700,000 non‑personnel operating costs, and $163,000 for technology. Total overtime budget would reach $3.8 million. A $5.9 million contract supports the mobile crisis response team.
Fire Station & Infrastructure: The last fire station (Station 12) built in 1962. The department plans a standards‑of‑response coverage analysis to determine future needs. To meet national staffing standards, MFD estimates needing 576.45 firefighters (currently 105 per shift minimum, ideal 135 per shift). A three‑to‑five‑year strategy is envisioned.
Pathways Program: 40% of the 20 annual EMS pathways interns can enter cadet classes, with roughly six per class joining suppression. The program likely expands via a Minneapolis Public Schools public safety pathway.
Reimbursements: Chief Freeman intends to propose an ordinance charging non‑Minneapolis residents for motor vehicle accident response (common elsewhere). Currently no chargebacks exist.
Questions from Council: Councilmember Rainville asked about PTSD leave reimbursement (state covers base pay, not overtime). Councilmember Palmasano inquired about SAFER grant longevity (three years, graduated funding). Councilmember Chowdhury asked about the fire alerting system (in RFP process). Councilmember Votaw raised wellness spending (considered adequate for now). Vice Chair Schaefer asked about overtime drivers (PTSD, sick leave, military leave, etc.).

Emergency Management Department Budget Presentation

Presenter: Director Rachel Sayre. The department has 9.5 FTE and a relatively flat budget (mostly personnel at 64%, contracts 35%). Revenue comes from federal grants passed through the state. No investments or divestments are proposed; operations remain steady.
Key Activities: Maintaining city sirens, training city staff for disaster response, running the Emergency Operations Center, and updating continuity plans.
State/Federal Funding: The department works weekly with the state. Federal thresholds for disaster aid are very high; Minneapolis has not met them in years.
Upcoming Events: Planning is underway for the 2028 NFL Draft and midterm elections. The department has run exercises with Election and Voter Services, finding them extremely well‑prepared.
Questions: Councilmember Rainville asked about impacts of federal cuts; Director Sayre noted strong local support. Councilmember Stevenson asked about NFL reimbursement (deferred to budget team). Vice Chair Schaefer asked about state disaster funds (pooled fund exists but hard to access). Councilmember Palmasano praised the department's trauma‑informed response to the Annunciation mass shooting and Operation Metro Search.

MPD Fiscal Year 2025 Overspending Memo

Item Continued from September 29, 2026: Staff were not present to present the memo. Councilmember Chowdhury highlighted overexpenditures in contractual services ($666,000+), miscellaneous ($894,000+), parking ($287,000), and travel ($189,000+). He asked about budget controls and how the Mayor's Office monitors overspending.
Councilmember Stevenson noted MPD's own description of the overspending as “mismanagement” and asked which line items were affected.
Budget Director Response: Sean Green explained the legal level of control is the department‑level appropriation; monthly line‑item reviews occur but no action until the total department budget is exceeded. For 2026, finance is implementing closer monitoring with the CAO. Ongoing written responses to detailed questions were promised.

Key Outcomes

Fire Department Report Filed: The presentation was received and filed; the clerk will provide a response memo on follow‑up questions (notably Councilmember Chowdhury's query on the fire alerting system additional funding request).
Emergency Management Report Filed: The presentation was received and filed.
MPD 2025 Overspending Memo: Continued to the next regular Budget Committee meeting (approximately three weeks from October 5, 2026). The committee directed staff to provide written answers regarding the miscellaneous and travel overexpenditures, line‑item mismanagement, and controls for 2025–2026.
Next Meeting: Adjourned until Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (local time) for presentations from 911, Neighborhood Safety, and Arts and Cultural Affairs departments.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. My name is Aisha Chugtai, and I'm the chair of the budget committee. I'm gonna call to order our adjourned meeting for Monday, October 5th, 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 role so we can verify the presence of a quorum. Councilmember Payne present. Rainbow. Present. Warren, present. Osman is absent. Stevenson is absent. Chavez present. Whiting is absent. Chowdry. Present. Palmasano, present. Vice Chair Schaefer. Present. And Chair Chung Tang. Present. That is nine members present. Let their record reflect that we have a quorum. I'll also remind my colleagues that we are going to be using spec speaker management today. So please make tur make sure to sign. Today we have two presentations related to the mayor's recommended 2027 budget from the fire department and the emergency management department. First, we'll we'll start with the fire department. For this, I will invite Dr. Reginald Freeman to begin our presentation. Welcome. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. Good morning, distinguished members of the council. My name is Reggie Freeman. I am honored to present our recommended budget on behalf of all of your dedicated and very passionate members of the Minneapolis Fire Department. This presentation will be uh broken down into three particular parts, starting off with the Department of Budget Overview, our program and division updates, and then lastly, our special topics, which will include investment request, as well as our vision for full staffing. Transitioning into our Department of Budget Overview. We functioned under the Office of Community Safety. We are led by our commissioner of OCS, Mr. Todrick Barnett. We function out of three specific divisions. Currently, our FTE or our full-time team member count is 441. Out of that 441, 424 personnel are assigned to suppression, while we have a current authorized number of 434.7, and then our proposed budget for 2027 is 110 million point 110.2 million dollars. Uh for quite some time. That's also referred to as operations. We are a all hazards emergency mitigation organization, and that comprises our team members who staff that division.

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