In This Month's Issue:

• An Updated Audit Ordinance
• A Master Contract with University of Minnesota
• Residential appraisals in Armatage Neighborhood
• Record Turnout on Primary Day
• Neighborhood and Community Engagement Council (NCEC) Opening
• An Overview of the Mayor's 2019 Proposed Budget

An Updated Audit Ordinance

At the last City Council meeting we approved updates to the City's Audit Ordinance. The Audit Ordinance is the guiding body of rule for the scope of work for the Internal Audit Department. The goal of this new ordinance is to update the language to better reflect the current operations of the department. Instead of focusing simply on financial or compliance audits, our team has been a trendsetter in areas like operational, compliance, reputation and strategic risks. 

We had the privilege of welcoming our new Director of Internal Audit, Ginger Bigbie, earlier this year and this ordinance will allow her to start off on solid footing and continue the great work of this department.

The work the department has done to review our police department’s body camera policy and our contract review with Meet Minneapolis are just two high profile audits that show both the range and usefulness of our Internal Audit team’s work. In the case of the body-camera audit, they even received national acclaim for their extensive work.

 As our audit team continues to break ground in these areas it is important that the language of this ordinance keep up with their scope of work.

It is also important that it clearly reflect the role of our Director of the Internal Audit department and the powers that the department has. One of those clarifications is that the department may refer audits to other committees or entities, such as the Park Board. Clarifying this role will allow our department to better work within the entire city enterprise and assess issues throughout an even wider range of city programs. 

I am very proud to have authored this ordinance and am eager to see this department grow even more as they continue to set the bar even higher. 

A Master Contract with University of Minnesota

At that same Council meeting we passed another important piece of legislation, a Master Contract with the University of Minnesota.

Over the last five years, the City has had 40+ contracts with the University, spread across 7 departments, ranging from research projects, hiring graduates, designing internships and formalizing specialized studies. The City of Minneapolis is quite fortunate to have had this incredible partnership and, in an effort to minimize administrative costs of managing multiple contracts, we worked to create a Master Contract.  By signing this agreement, we can effectively eliminate those administrative burdens while also reducing the time it takes for the city enterprise to come to an agreement on future collaborations.

We as a city are very fortunate to both have the University of Minnesota located right here, within city limits, and to also have the kind of working relationship that we have today and we are excited to grow our partnership!

With this contract we are hoping to see even more departments utilize the University’s resources, see greater innovations and collaborations for our city, and continue to grow a strong bond between us and the state’s oldest institution. I am excited to say that we already have multiple projects in the pipeline ready to utilize this agreement and whose supervisors are eager to get to work.

Residential appraisals in Armatage Neighborhood

The residential appraisal staff will be in the Armatage neighborhood beginning later this week.  Postcards were mailed to the properties that will be inspected.

Here is a link to the information on the assessor's website:  http://www.minneapolismn.gov/assessor/index.htm

Record Turnout on Primary Day

Minneapolis served 93,534 voters in the 2018 primary. That’s the city’s highest turnout in a midterm primary since 1970 (bottom right image).

Early turnout during the 46-day absentee balloting period remained steady, resulting in 14,994 ballots. Absentee ballots accounted for nearly 16 percent of total turnout this year, a sizeable increase compared to prior midterm election years: 6.5 percent in 2010 and 13.5 percent in 2014. Absentee balloting accounted for just 13.2 percent of total turnout in the 2016 primary presidential election.

Despite growth in early voting, most voters continued to cast ballots on the day of the primary. Minneapolis voters cast 78,540 ballots at the polls on Election Day, accounting for 84 percent of the final tally.

In the 13th Ward 9,868 residents voted on Election Day and another 1,201 voted by absentee ballot for a total of 11,069 votes cast, just over 48% of registered voters. 

The graphic below (left) compares turnout between the 2016 Primary and the 2018 Primary, with increases in turnout between 26% and 38% around the 13th Ward. 

Neighborhood and Community Engagement Council (NCEC) Opening

Neighborhood and Community Relations at the City of Minneapolis is still accepting applications for District 2 of the Neighborhood Community Engagement Council (NCEC) through August 31st.  This Council advises on the neighborhood organization system in Minneapolis and the City’s community engagement policy.

 Applications received by the deadline will be voted on by the following Neighborhood Association boards:

• Armatage Neighborhood Association
• Cedar-Isles-Dean Neighborhood Association
• East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood Association
• Tangletown Neighborhood Association
• Fulton Neighborhood Association
• Kenny Neighborhood Association
• Linden Hills Neighborhood Council
• Lynnhurst Neighborhood Association
• West Calhoun Neighborhood Council
• Windom Community Council

For more information, click here. You can find the application here.

An Overview of the Mayor's 2019 Proposed Budget

On Wednesday August 15th Mayor Frey gave his proposed 2019 Budget Address to the City Council. Below is an overview of his proposed levy value and proposals for city priorities. If you'd like to read or watch the full remarks you can do so here. For additional information on the budget process, including the calendar with public comment opportunities, click here.