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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Minneapolis Budget Committee Reviews 2027 Budgets for PMI and Public Works on October 26, 2026

City Council — Monday, October 26, 2026

BodyMinneapolis, Minnesota

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, October 26, 2026

StatusNEW · FILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:33:26

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:18

Good morning.

0:19

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

0:22

I'm going to call to order our adjourn meeting for Monday, October 26th, 2026.

0:27

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.

0:37

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

0:43

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.

0:51

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

0:55

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

Speaker 2

1:01

Councilmember Payne.

Speaker 1

1:02

Present.

Speaker 2

1:05

Rainville.

1:07

Vita.

1:08

Present.

1:09

Warren is absent.

1:12

Osman is absent.

1:14

Stevenson is absent.

1:16

Chavez

Speaker 3

1:17

present.

Speaker 2

1:18

Whiting is absent.

1:20

Chowdry.

1:21

Present.

1:22

Paul Masano, present.

1:24

Vice Chair Schaefer, present.

1:25

And Chair Chucktai.

1:27

Present.

1:27

There are eight members present.

Speaker 1

1:29

Let the record reflect that we have a quorum.

1:31

I'll also remind my colleagues that we're using speaker management today.

1:34

So please make sure to sign in.

1:37

Today we have two presentations related to the mayor's recommended 2027 budget from performance management and innovation and the public works department.

1:46

I'll invite Chris Tolks, Deputy City Operations Officer to begin the first presentation.

1:54

Welcome.

Speaker 4

1:56

Thank you.

1:56

Good morning.

1:57

Chair Chugtai, Council members, my name is Chris Thokis.

2:01

I'm the DCOO for Internal Services.

2:05

Here to present the 2027 Mayor's recommended budget for performance management and innovation.

2:11

I'd also like to welcome and acknowledge Director Haas Bargan is here to join me with support and be available for questions as

Unassigned speaker

2:20

well.

Speaker 4

2:24

The presentation will cover these three areas.

2:27

I will begin with an uh overview of PMI and we'll jump right

Unassigned speaker

2:33

in.

Speaker 4

2:36

Currently, uh PMI sits within internal services.

2:39

The mayor's recommended budget proposes that in 2027, PMI would become a function of OPS.

2:51

This graphic represents the 2026 organizational structure.

2:54

In the beginning of 2026, PMI has administratively reduced the deputy director position in favor of a more cost-effective senior project manager.

3:04

The administrative reduction left a variance of approximately 145,000, which was moved into contractual services to temporarily store the funds as the next steps of the budget process were determined.

3:16

PMI currently has a director, a senior project manager, two program managers, two business and data analysts, and one business process and data analyst.

3:28

Over the past three years, PMI has evolved its organizational structure to better support its work, its people, and the departments it serves.

3:35

The structure supports PMI's hands-on consulting model, working closely with departments to understand their unique challenges and develop tailored solutions.

3:44

It helps staff balance project commitments, departmental requests, and longer-term improvement initiatives.

3:57

In 2026, PMI focused on helping Minneapolis turn strategic priorities into measurable results, improving how city government operates, how resources are used, and how services respond to community needs.

4:10

Strengthening enterprise accountability.

4:12

PMI connects city priorities to measurable performance, helping leaders assess progress, identify gaps, and direct attention and resources where they are needed.

4:21

Outcomes Minneapolis builds on the launch of Enterprise Performance Management in 2024 and the mayoral priorities dashboard in 2025, with continued emphasis on establishing clear targets and baselines to track progress over time.

4:37

Improving the resident and business experience, simplify Minneapolis, the special events portal, and Mars aims to reduce administrative burden, streamline interactions with city government, and improve service delivery.

4:51

These efforts build on earlier process improvement work and the development of tools to evaluate satisfaction with PMI's support.

Unassigned speaker

5:00

Advancing community-centered public safety.

Speaker 4

5:02

PMI develops designs and evaluates approaches that respond to community needs and strengthen coordination across services.

5:10

The 2026 work builds on the community safety ambassadors' efforts, Lake Street Safety Center Engagement, South Minneapolis Community Safety Center Planning, and the Embedded Social Worker in 911 MECC, as well as the non-injury collision and juvenile deflection pilots.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Budget Management████████████████████████████████32%

Public Works████████████████████████████28%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████17%

Personnel Matters████████8%

Public Safety████4%

Transportation Safety████4%

Waste Management███3%

Procedural██2%

Contract Management██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Minneapolis Budget Committee Reviews 2027 Budgets for PMI and Public Works on October 26, 2026

The Minneapolis City Council Budget Committee, chaired by Aisha Chugtai, met on October 26, 2026, to review the Mayor's recommended 2027 budgets for the Performance Management and Innovation (PMI) department and the Public Works department. A quorum of eight members was established, with Councilmembers Warren and Vice President Osman joining later. The meeting featured detailed presentations on proposed spending, organizational changes, and service impacts.

Discussion Items

Performance Management and Innovation (PMI) 2027 Budget

Chris Tolks, Deputy City Operations Officer for Internal Services, presented the PMI budget. The department is proposed to move administratively into the Office of Public Service (OPS).
The budget includes a $145,000 variance moved to contractual services and a divestment of 2 FTEs through attrition, which is expected to reduce project capacity and potentially slow timelines for service delivery.
Councilmember Palmasano inquired about continued support for departments in the Office of Community Safety (OCS) after the reorganization. Tolks responded that the intention is to continue supporting the full enterprise.
PMI reported that 84% of its partners used the tools or strategies provided, and 100% of projects were delivered on time within 10% of their scope, indicating accurate resource estimation.

Public Works 2027 Budget

Public Works Director Tim Sexton, alongside division directors, presented the department's $516.5 million proposed budget, the largest and most complex in the city.
Sexton highlighted that less than 15% of the budget ($77 million, closer to $74 million when pass-throughs are removed) comes from the general fund, supporting core services like pothole filling, street light repair, and snow plowing.
The budget includes a $600,000 investment in the traffic safety camera program, moving it to a special revenue fund. The cameras recorded over 91,000 speeding violations in the first year and are credited with reducing speeding vehicles by 120,000 at five locations.
Proposed divestments total 4.75 FTEs, including two administrative support positions, a maintenance crew leader, a service worker, and an electrician. This brings the total reduction of general fund positions to approximately 19 to 20 since 2025.
Councilmember Palmasano expressed concern over the cumulative FTE reductions, calling it a "warning bell" for core city services. He also asked about contract oversight; Director Sexton outlined controls such as engineer's estimates and graduated funding releases.
Councilmember Vita praised the department's work on illegal dumping and fleet management. Fleet Services Director Chris Royston noted an 8% reduction in planned 2027 vehicle acquisitions, saving an estimated $1.3 million, and the elimination of over 80 seasonal vehicles.
Councilmember Vita asked about the impact of the paid family medical leave program, which had been used by 333 employees in 2026, with 126 actively using it. The largest impacts were felt in the larger divisions like Transportation Maintenance and Repair, Water Treatment, and Solid Waste.
Vice Chair Schaefer asked about potentially duplicative services, specifically lead testing; the department committed to a follow-up.
Chair Chugtai asked Director Sexton to clarify the voluntary seasonal snow and ice layoff pilot, confirming it is entirely voluntary. Sexton stated that the department achieved the necessary reduction through voluntary participation and planned retirements.

Key Outcomes

The committee received and filed both the PMI and Public Works 2027 budget presentations without objection.
No formal votes were taken on the budgets themselves; the session served as an informational briefing for councilmembers ahead of the budget markup process.
Councilmember Palmasano highlighted the need for close monitoring of the traffic safety camera program's path to financial self-sustainability.
The committee stood adjourned after concluding all business.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. My name is Aisha Chugtai, and I'm the chair of the budget committee. I'm going to call to order our adjourn meeting for Monday, October 26th, 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. Rainville. Vita. Present. Warren is absent. Osman is absent. Stevenson is absent. Chavez present. Whiting is absent. Chowdry. Present. Paul Masano, present. Vice Chair Schaefer, present. And Chair Chucktai. Present. There are eight 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. Today we have two presentations related to the mayor's recommended 2027 budget from performance management and innovation and the public works department. I'll invite Chris Tolks, Deputy City Operations Officer to begin the first presentation. Welcome. Thank you. Good morning. Chair Chugtai, Council members, my name is Chris Thokis. I'm the DCOO for Internal Services. Here to present the 2027 Mayor's recommended budget for performance management and innovation. I'd also like to welcome and acknowledge Director Haas Bargan is here to join me with support and be available for questions as well. The presentation will cover these three areas. I will begin with an uh overview of PMI and we'll jump right in. Currently, uh PMI sits within internal services. The mayor's recommended budget proposes that in 2027, PMI would become a function of OPS. This graphic represents the 2026 organizational structure. In the beginning of 2026, PMI has administratively reduced the deputy director position in favor of a more cost-effective senior project manager. The administrative reduction left a variance of approximately 145,000, which was moved into contractual services to temporarily store the funds as the next steps of the budget process were determined. PMI currently has a director, a senior project manager, two program managers, two business and data analysts, and one business process and data analyst. Over the past three years, PMI has evolved its organizational structure to better support its work, its people, and the departments it serves. The structure supports PMI's hands-on consulting model, working closely with departments to understand their unique challenges and develop tailored solutions.

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