2024 Budget Amendments

Dear Community, 

Council Members have finalized our proposed amendments to the Mayor’s proposed 2024 Budget. On November 27th, a full packet of all proposed budget amendments will be made available to the public. On November 30th and December 1st, Council has Markup meetings where they consider each amendment, discuss, and vote on whether or not to add it to the budget. 

All residents are welcome to share their thoughts on the proposed amendments by emailing or calling Council Members, submitting written testimony to CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov, and/or testifying in person at the Budget Hearing on December 5th at 6pm before the final vote. 

Here the the budget amendments I submitted: 

 

1. Sidewalk Plowing. This amendment is co-authored by Council Members Chughtai and Osman. It would allocate $595,000 for sidewalk snow and ice removal pilot programs in areas along the Pedestrian Priority Network (PPN), support seniors in the community, and provide targeted support to property owners with repeated failure to clear their sidewalks. These funds will cover 2 years of pilot programs. These pilots will increase winter walkability in the city, decrease pedestrian accidents related to snow and ice, and overall increased safety along corridors. 
 
2. Witch’s Hat. This amendment allocates $350,000 to repair the Witch’s Hat Tower in Prospect Park so that it can be safely reopened for special events. This funding would support a Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board to ensure the Tower and Tower Hill Park are well managed in coordination and with ongoing community involvement. The Witch’s Hat Tower in Prospect Park is a beloved and unique local landmark, offering unparalleled views of the city from the observation deck. 
 
3. Granary Crossing. This amendment allocates $41,800 as the city’s contribution to a joint initiative to complete the Grand Rounds Missing Link at the Granary Crossing. In order to connect the Grand Rounds from where it currently ends in SE Como with the East River Parkway in Prospect Park, a Park Board-led process informed by the community determined that the railroad yards be bridged just west of Highway 280 and the St. Paul city line. The route of the Missing Link, as adopted by the MPRB and the Metropolitan Council, passes over the railyard, and would be a major segment of a regional recreation corridor. The Granary Crossing Study is the next step to work across agencies to determine the best alignment and design for bridging the railyard crossing. In addition to completing the Grand Rounds, the Granary Crossing would increase pedestrian and bike access between Como and Prospect Park, areas with high densities of students who rely on non-car transportation. It is directly related to meeting the city’s mode shift goals and reducing vehicle miles traveled. 
 
4. Truth and Reconciliation. This proposal allocates $550,000 needed for the city to implement the Truth and Reconciliation programming that has been promised to residents since 2020. Truth and reconciliation is internally recognized as a crucial part of healing the collective trauma of systemic racism and establishing a basis for new social cohesion and trust. This was most recently reaffirmed in the 3rd Precinct Engagement report, which stated that residents strongly desired a truth and reconciliation process be implemented by the city. 
 
5. ABC Support. This amendment is co-authored by Council Member Ellison and would allocate $120,000 to the city’s Appointed Boards and Commissions (ABCs). This year, Council began to comprehensively reform the city’s (ABC). During the process, many community members presented their concerns and suggestions on how the city could improve the ABC process. Several of these suggestions included ways to improve recruitment, accessibility, as well as equitable compensation. The current ABC program has resulted in many bodies having dysfunctionality, frustrating residents who have committed time in efforts to improve their community. These funds will support the Clerk’s office in ensuring that these boards work effectively and efficiently, removing the current barriers that are preventing the council in receiving valuable advisory information related to various policy issues.
 
6. Community Safety Center Pilots. This amendment is co-authored with Council Member Osman and would allocate $4,000,000 to pilot programs for comprehensive public safety programs. In response to persistent community demands, Mayor Frey proposed building a “Community Safety Center” instead of a 3rd Precinct at 2633 Minnehaha and the majority of Council approved it. Despite the rename, there has been a lack of clarity on what services and programs this safety center will actually provide for the community, or a public understanding of how this fits into the larger conversation taking place about comprehensive public safety. This funding would support comprehensive safety pilot programs, such as BCR, that will derive from planned engagement with 3rd Precinct residents. There is currently no funding for any pilots, programming, or services offered for the proposed Community Safety center. As it currently stands, the only funding allocated for this site is related to MPD. This funding will support efforts to actualize the community’s vision of services.
 
7. Support for new immigrants and refugees. This amendment is co-authored by Council Members Chughtai and Osman. It allocates $330,000 to support the city’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) in responding to the needs of new residents who find themselves in Minneapolis due to the several crises happening around the world. Currently, OIRA has one staff member, severely limiting its capacity to provide community support on the various needs in response to the increased immigrant and refugee community in the city. This increase in funding would support OIRA in connecting residents to various resources including, but not limited to legal aid, housing assistance, employment, domestic violence, mental health services, and other critical needs. 
 
8. Open Streets. This amendment is co-authored with Council Member Ellison and allocates $575,000 for a competitive RFP for the Open Streets event series. Open Streets is a citywide event series that temporarily closes major streets to motor vehicles to open them up for people to bike, walk and play. For over a decade, these unique events transformed public spaces into celebrations of community, local businesses, and healthy living, and helped create space for over 60,000 residents to experience a car-free Minneapolis. 
 
9. Traffic Calming. This amendment is co-authored with Council Members Chughtai, Koski, Osman, and Ellison. Our amendment allocates $400,000 to the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Process. Following the rollout of the new Traffic Calming Process last year, the City received significant community interest. There are currently an estimated total of 1,100 requests; about 750 of those requests are on neighborhood streets. The Mayor’s current budget allocation for this program only allows for Public Works to complete 6-7 projects next year, leaving a significant backlog that would go into 2025. Public Works has confirmed it is a lack of funding, not staffing, that makes them unable to address this backlog. These one-time funds would support staff in completing approximately 35 requests in 2024. While this does not address the backlog in totality, it would bring significant relief to neighborhoods city-wide and reinforce the City’s commitment to safer streets.
 
10. Legislative Department Staffing. This amendment is co-authored with Council Members Payne and Chughtai and allocates $565,000 to fund four staff positions in the new Legislative Department. The City Council’s role under the new government structure is policymaking, oversight, and accountability. The initial phases of implementing the new government structure prioritized the restructuring of executive leadership and establishing new reporting structures for administrative departments. This funding will enable the City Auditor to establish four new positions: a Policy & Research Director, an Oversight & Evaluation Director, and two new Analysts. This budget proposal reflects the necessary expansion of the Legislative Department and its ability to provide professional, nonpartisan research, analysis, evaluation, and consulting services to the City Council and its committees in support of policymaking and oversight and evaluation responsibilities under the new government structure.
 
11. Legislative Department Funding. This amendment is co-authored by Council Member Chughtai and will allocate $150,000 for contractual services within the Legislative Department. This one-time contractual services funding will assist in the continued establishment of the Legislative Department, which supports the City Council in its role to oversee, review, and evaluate the performance of the administration. When the City Council has the resources it needs to carry out its core functions, proper checks and balances within our government can exist. This ultimately benefits residents, who directly elect all City of Minneapolis policymakers and fund our enterprise through their tax dollars, in ensuring their local government is transparent, meeting our community’s needs, and accountable to residents. 
 
12. Renter Relocation Assistance. This amendment is co-authored with Council Members Ellison and Chughtai and would increase funds for Renter Relocation Assistance to $90,000, increasing the total allocation to $240,000. The Renter Relocation Assistance provides financial assistance to renters when a rental license has been revoked, denied, canceled or when requirements of the 90-day Advance Notice of Sale protection period is violated. The property owner is responsible for relocation assistance to renters equal to three months’ rent. In cases where the property owner does not comply, this fund is used to pay three months of rent to impacted residents and the amount is assessed to the property owner. Since 2021, Regulatory Services have helped 39 families and spent the $100,000 that was originally established in the fund. The fund revolves when property taxes are paid, but that process is slow to replenish the fund, which creates a challenge as need increases. This funding helps fill that gap. 
 

 

 

If you have any questions about these amendments, don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Sincerely, 

Council Member Robin Wonsley