Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Budget Committee of the Minneapolis City Council, chaired by Aisha Chuktai, convened an adjourned public hearing on October 19, 2026, to receive public testimony on the Mayor's recommended 2027 budget. The proposed $2.29 billion budget includes an 11.3% increase to the city property tax levy, though the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) authorized a maximum increase of 11.9% in September. Budget Manager Justin Carlson presented an overview, noting $23.7 million in divestments and $33.5 million in investments, with major spending pressures from public safety, settlements, and enterprise operations.
Climate Legacy Initiative (CLI): Over a dozen speakers, many organized by Unidos, urged the council to restore the $4 million in franchise fee funding cut by the Mayor from the Climate Legacy Initiative, which funds the Green Cost Share weatherization programs. Speakers argued the cut breaks a trust commitment, hurts low-income families by raising energy costs, and undermines the city's climate emergency goals. (Lisa Franchette, Marie Franchette, Bill Adamski, Emmer Griffin, Satish Desai, Kent Fitzmead, Lance Rothbouz, Eric Berger, Alice Madden, and others).
Worker Co-Enforcement (Labor Standards): A large contingent of workers and advocates from CETUL, ROC Minnesota, and the New Justice Project spoke in strong support of restoring co-enforcement funding. They detailed personal experiences with wage theft, sexual harassment, and retaliation, and credited the program with recovering millions of dollars in stolen wages and providing essential worker protections, particularly for immigrants and people of color. (Lucia D'Avila, Sherelle Montagner, Erica Castro, Artemis Kodzora, Kate Anthony, Chelsea Globetz, PJ Gronquist, Megatron, and others).
Homegrown Minneapolis & Food Justice: Many residents and organizational leaders spoke in favor of preserving the Homegrown Minneapolis food initiative within the Health Department. Speakers highlighted its critical community gardening programs, its role in rescuing over one million pounds of food waste, its ability to leverage millions in external grants, and its importance in addressing food insecurity during crises like Operation Metro Surge. (Ann Hill, Princess Titus, Kelso Anderson, Tara Wilder, Michaela Jackson, Alyssa, Dr. Jennifer Nickley, Lane Brown, and others).
Community Safety Ambassadors & Violence Interrupters: Business owners from Lake Street and Longfellow requested an eastward extension of the Community Safety Ambassador program. Violence interrupter organizations (Somali Youth Link, Restoration Inc.) asked for continued funding, citing direct impacts on reducing gun violence and engaging at-risk youth. (Janice Downing, Anna Santier, Farheo Khalif, Mohammed Yousuf, Connie Rhodes).
Property Tax Levy & Spending Reform: Several residents expressed support for Vice Chair Schaefer's proposals to limit the levy to 6%, implement 4% departmental cuts, review grant-funded positions, and institute a hiring freeze, arguing the city must operate more sustainably. (Eileen Johnson, Lori Matag, Steve Godfus). Others expressed concern that high property taxes are driving residents out of their homes and worsening the affordability crisis. (Pat Paulson, Janelle Austin).
Police Budget & Accountability: Multiple speakers criticized the Mayor's budget for increasing police funding despite a $20 million overtime overspend. They argued the city should instead reinvest those funds into community-based programs like co-enforcement and violence prevention rather than "rubber-stamping" MPD budget overruns. (Rai Galbreath, Sam M. Holty, Stacy Gurion Sherman, Malcolm Wells).
Other Community Programs: Speakers also urged the preservation of funding for the Partnership Engagement Fund (PEF), the department of Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR), housing inspections, the Lead Minneapolis program, and the Civil Rights Department.
Good evening. 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, October 19th, 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 so 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. Rainville is absent. Vita Present. Warren is absent. Osman is absent. Stevenson present. Chavez present. Whiting is absent. Present. Palmasano. Present. Vice Chair Schaefer, present. And Chair Chentai present. That is eight members present. Let the record reflect that we have a quorum. We have one agenda item today, which is to receive public comments on the mayor's recommended 2027 budget. Mayor Fry presented his budget on August 12th, providing a proposed fiscal plan for the city's operations in 2027, totaling $2.29 billion, with an increase to the city property tax levy of about 11.3%. The Board of Estimate and Taxation met in September and voted to authorize a tax levy of up to 11.87%. A copy of the mayor's recommended budget is posted to the city's website, which is available at Minneapolis Mn.gov slash budget. A PDF version is also available in the city's legislative information management system. Since the mayor presented his recommended budget, the budget committee has been meeting to receive 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. Today's public hearing is the second of three hearings the city council will conduct on the proposed 2027 budget. Our third and final public hearing, which will be the statutorily required truth in taxation hearing, is scheduled for a meeting of the city council on Tuesday, December 15th at 6.05 p.m. And now before we open the floor to public comments, I'll recognize Justin Carlson, budget manager, who will provide a brief summary of the proposed budget. Welcome, Mr. Carlson. Thank you, Chair. Good evening, budget chair Chugtai, Vice Chair Schaefer, members of the budget committee, and residents of Minneapolis. My name is Justin Carlson. I'm the budget manager for the state of Minneapolis in the Finance and Property Services Department. As one of the city's many nonpartisan staff employees, it is my pleasure to provide you with a brief overview of the 2027 to 2028 mayor's recommended budget before the public hearing begins. I'll note for council members and the public. Approximately $359 million in 2027 capital program funding across city and park board projects, and about 12 million dollars for the technology improvement plan. Finally, the recommended 2027 property tax levy is approximately $606 million, an $11.3% increase over last year. I'll note that these amounts do not reflect the action taken by the Board of Estimate and Taxation or BET when they set the maximum levy in September, but rather they reflect the amounts from the 2027 mayor's recommended budget. As