2018 City of Minneapolis Budget

On December 8th the Minneapolis City Council approved the Mayor’s proposed 2018 Budget, with some amendments.  The $1.42 billion budget invests in the City’s power to combat climate change, works toward the day when all our residents have a place to call home, and continues investment in public safety and public trust. 

During the process of adopting this budget, I authored an amendment that directs two full-time employees to conduct body camera data review for the Minneapolis Police Department. This will help to ensure that the body cameras are turned on when they should be, that footage is cataloged appropriately, and that our officers are complying with the new body camera policies. I also authored an amendment that allocates $25,000 for a contract with The Link to work with youth and families to overcome the impacts of poverty and social injustice.

Highlights of the adopted 2018 budget include:

Climate investments:

• Nearly $6 million in clean energy, cleaner businesses, and more efficient commercial and residential spaces in the city. This investment represents a 60 percent increase over the 2014 budget.
• Raising utility franchise fees by half a percentage point, which will raise more than $2 million in 2018 alone to ensure significant, predictable funding to move the dial on Minneapolis’ climate impact.

Other Highlights:

• $24 million in housing investments across a number of programs.
• A $3.2 million investment in strategies that will continue to build community trust and ensure public safety including body camera expansion and funding for additional police officers.
• Creation of a centralized data practices request system that will provide the public with a one-stop shop for data requests and a process to digitize a large number of paper records. 

 You can see all of the 2018 budget details here.

Mayor-Elect Community Listening Sessions

Changes to the Police Conduct Oversight Commission (PCOC)

On December 8th, my changes to the Police Conduct Oversight Ordinance were adopted by the full City Council. These changes,which I worked on with the Office of Police Conduct Review in the City's Civil Rights Department,  will help to clarify and codify the working relationship between civilian oversight commission, the Police Department, and city government. The City of Minneapolis' Office of Police Conduct Review will now have unrestricted access to Minneapolis Police records, will allow more members to be appointed to the Police Conduct Oversight Commission, and will make the working relationship between these groups and the Minneapolis Police Department more transparent and flexible. I believe these changes will strengthen the civilian oversight function in our city and will help to advance the work of building trust between police and residents in our community. To read the PCOC ordinance changes, click here.

Zero Waste Plan Adoption

On December 8th, the City Council also adopted the final version of the Zero Waste Plan! I am really proud of this plan and the collaboration with colleagues and the Mayor's office that helped make it a reality. This plan will allow future councils to enact meaningful strategies that will help the City meet its stated goal to recycle and compost 50% of its citywide waste by 2020 and 80% by 2030. Click here to see the adopted Zero Waste plan, the red lined version, the community feedback and previous presentations on this issue.

City Council committee presented with findings from pedestrian crash study

Most pedestrian crashes in Minneapolis are concentrated to a small number of streets, according to a new study presented to the City Council’s Transportation and Public Works Committee. The study is part of a larger City effort to increase pedestrian safety. The City Council recently approved a Vision Zero resolution outlining a goal of ending traffic deaths and injuries on Minneapolis streets within 10 years. The council also adopted the Complete Streets Policy in 2016, which prioritizes walking followed by biking, transit and motor vehicles in the public right-of-way. The City’s Public Works Department commissioned the study by Kimley-Horn to better understand where, how and why pedestrian crashes are occurring in Minneapolis. The study analyzed more than 3,000 pedestrian-motorist crash records over 10 years from 2007-2016. Key findings from the study include: Eighty percent of all pedestrian crashes occurred on 10 percent of streets. Seventy-five percent of all major pedestrian crashes, defined as crashes resulting in fatal and incapacitating injuries, occurred on 5 percent of streets. People of color are over-represented in pedestrian fatalities. Streets with fewer lanes have fewer pedestrian crashes. Pedestrian crashes resulting in severe injuries rise with higher speed limits. Crashes involving turning vehicles accounted for 47 percent of crashes at intersections. Pedestrian crashes involving left-turning vehicles occurred three times more often than pedestrian crashes involving right-turning vehicles. Drivers were at fault in 62 percent of the crashes with driver inattention and the driver failing to yield the most common contributing factors in pedestrian crashes. The data in the study will be part of the foundation of the City’s work toward its Vision Zero goal of eliminating fatalities and serious injuries from traffic crashes on City streets by 2027.

MAC Meeting & Winter Listening Session on Jan 30th

In an effort to make meetings more accessible to Minneapolis residents, the next noise meeting by the Metropolitan Airport Commission will be held in the 13th Ward! This will be a great one to attend, as this meeting will be combined with their quarterly Listening Session.  The Winter Listening Session will be held Tuesday, January 30 at 7:00 PM at the Mount Olivet Lutheran Church (Main Building), 5025 Knox Avenue South, Minneapolis.    As for the agenda for the meeting, it will begin with a presentation by MAC staff. Since this meeting will take place shortly before the Super Bowl, it will include a Super Bowl update as well as an update on the January Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) meeting. After the presentation, the meeting will be opened up for some Q&A from the audience.

City taking registrations, license applications for short-term rentals such as Airbnb

The City recently began accepting registration and license applications for short-term rentals, such as Airbnb and VRBO, in Minneapolis.

The ordinance applies to dwelling units rented for a period of fewer than 30 consecutive days per leasing period. The short-term rental registration fee is $46. Rental licenses for Tier 1 properties will range from $70 to $175, plus $5 for each additional unit, and $112 to $350 for Tier 2 properties, plus $5 for each additional unit. You do not need to reapply if you have a valid rental license and are a Tier 1 or Tier 2 property.

Short-term rental hosting platforms, which collect a fee for booking services and often provide an online platform for property owners to advertise a dwelling unit, are required to submit an annual business license application. The annual license fee for a platform with fewer than 150 active Minneapolis dwelling unit listings is $630, and for a platform with 150 or more active listings in Minneapolis is $5,000.

Go to the City’s short-term rentals webpage to find registration and licenses applications. Hosting platforms can find license applications at the City’s Business Licensing website.

The new regulations will allow the City to track the number of short-term rental units in Minneapolis and require hosting platforms, such as Airbnb and VRBO, to advertise only units that have registered or obtained a rental license.