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Dear Community,
City offices will be closed this Monday, February 19th in honor of Presidents’ Day. You can always reach my office by emailing us at ward2@minneapolismn.gov.
Sincerely,
Council Member Robin Wonsley
There will be a public hearing on the ordinance guaranteeing a $15 minimum wage equivalent to Uber and Lyft drivers. The public hearing will be on February 27th at 1:30pm at the Business, Housing, and Zoning Committee. All residents are welcome to come speak for 2 minutes. If you are unable to attend, you can submit written comment by emailing CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov.
Following the public hearing, the Committee will vote on whether or not to recommend the ordinance for approval by the full Council. The Council will vote on the ordinance on March 7th at 9:30am.
Key votes: Business, Housing and Zoning Committee will vote on the $15 minimum compensation ordinance on February 27th at 1:30pm following a public hearing. The Council will vote on the ordinance on March 7th at 9:30am.
The city has committed to building a new public safety system that does not solely rely on police. One of the more successful comprehensive public safety programs that the city has funded is the MinneapolUS Strategic Outreach Initiatives. Through the MinneapolUS program, the city funds community groups with expertise in violence prevention and violence interruption.
A few weeks ago, some Council Members including myself were contacted by the leadership of some of the organizations that are part of the MinneapolUS program. These vendors administer crucial public safety programs, but the city had not paid them for their recent services. I was very troubled by this and I worked with another Council Member to troubleshoot this situation. We immediately reached out to the Neighborhood Safety Department (NSD) which manages the contracts, as well as the Office of Community Safety (OCS), the larger office that overseesNSD. Our goals were to figure out: (1) how did these invoices go unpaid, (2) how we could get the vendors paid as soon as possible, and (3) how to prevent these issues from happening again.
We were able to get the contracts paid though approving contract extensions this week. While the immediate matter has been addressed, the delayed payments prompted conversations that affirmed my concerns about the Frey administration’s lack of seriousness about supporting unarmed public safety services, specifically a functional Neighborhood Safety Department.
When I first asked how and why NSD contracts were going unpaid, NSD leadership shared that this occurred due to the Department lacking crucially needed administrative positions to promptly handle invoices.
This was surprising to hear, because in November of 2023 just one month prior to issues arising, OCS Commissioner Barnette sent out a memo to Council during our budget deliberations recommending Council remove the administrative support we had allocated during the markup session to support infrastructure within the department. Based on this recommendation, Council Member Koski withdrew her budget amendment that would have given NSD a Deputy Finance Director- exactly the kind of financial administrative support that helps ensure invoices are promptly filled and financial oversight is done diligently.
I asked Commissioner Barnette to reconcile the claims he made at the end of November, that NSD did not need additional support, with the current update that the Department was understaffed and lacked infrastructure. I also asked what his plan was for 2024 considering these systemic issues would continue to significantly impact operations within NSD. Many Council Members, including myself, want to ensure we enter into the summer with strong programming and services to provide public safety services citywide.
Instead of clarifying his contradictory statements or addressing any of my questions, Commissioner Barnette essentially pleaded the fifth, and stated he would not answer my questions until he was legally obligated to.
As citizens, we are entitled to not incriminate ourselves in a criminal court, but it is disturbing that the Commissioner of Public Safety tried to use some kind of irrelevant legal excuse to circumvent basic accountability. None of my questions were outside of normal requests for information that are part of the Council’s oversight function, and his response should be considered a major red flag. This response makes me concerned that the Mayor and his administration withheld information last December that prevented Council from making the appropriate budget allocations, resulting in operational issues that negatively impact our ability to fully support our public safety system.
Attempting to hinder Council from getting critical information about NSD and OCS operations has the potential to jeopardize the quality and functionality of our public safety system. It also continues to damage the city’s already low credibility.
Since Commissioner Barnette declined to answer my questions unless he was legally required to, I authored a legislative directive asking the questions he attempted to evade. The legislative directive also asks the Mayor for a formal response on his expectations for executive leadership and what recourse is available to Council in situations like this.
Key votes: The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee approved my legislative directive asking the Frey administration to share context on the discrepancies in information regarding the Neighborhood Safety Department. Council Members Ellison, Chughtai, and Cashman voted in support. Council Members Vetaw and Palmisano voted in opposition. The full Council will vote on the legislative directive at the Council Meeting on February 22nd. If approved, there will be a presentation on the legislative directive at the Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee on February 26th.
I authored a legislative directive to help Council continue our work relating to immigration and welcoming and supporting new residents of our city. The legislative directive asks staff to present the current program, services, and partnerships available to local immigrants residing in Minneapolis, as well as an overview of current policies, practices, and protocols in place for city staff who interact with immigrant and refugee populations. This can be the starting place for how we want to expand or develop the city’s practices to best ensure we have the appropriate infrastructure in place to welcome the new influx of migrants.
There is a lot of media coverage of the increased numbers of immigrants in New York and Chicago. Minneapolis is likely to experience an influx of new residents too, and will need a coordinated approach with our other governmental partners.
Key votes: The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee unanimously approves my legislative directive. The full Council will vote on the legislative directive at the Council Meeting on February 22nd. If approved, there will be a presentation on the legislative directive at the Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee by June 30th, as well as possible study sessions for more informal discussion.
I authored a legislative directive to provide Council and the public with updates on the current landscape of childcare in Minneapolis, including both qualitative and quantitative data on the availability of affordable childcare for families and the wage and employment conditions for childcare workers.
Affordable childcare is a crisis that is impacting working class families across the county and here in Minneapolis. Childcare access and childcare work are at the intersection of a number of equity issues. Ensuring that all families have access to affordable, high quality childcare and that all childcare work has living wages and dignified work conditions is crucial to meeting our equity and public health goals. Just this morning the City of Minneapolis was honored as a Child Friendly City, and clearly having an equitable childcare system is a key part of that.
Key votes: The Public Health and Safety Committee unanimously approves my legislative directive. The full Council will vote on the legislative directive at the Council Meeting on February 22nd. If approved, there will be a presentation on the legislative directive at the Public Health and Safety Committee by May 1st.
A large unit of city workers represented by LIUNA 363 authorized a strike vote this week.
LIUNA leadership sent a letter to the Mayor and City Council regarding their strike authorization. This powerful letter lays out the context of the strike vote. I recommend reading the letter to hear from the workers themselves about their work conditions and why they voted to authorize a strike.
LIUNA members are the reason that residents have clean water, safe streets and sidewalks, trash pickup, and countless other parts of our basic infrastructure we rely on every day. Since December, residents have reached out to my office and asked me to support our Public Works workers as they negotiate. I want to clarify that Council Members do not have a role in negotiations with labor unions. Labor Relations is a division within the executive administration.
Council only has the authority to accept or reject the tentative agreements reached by a bargaining unit and Labor Relations through our legislative process.
I stand in solidarity with LIUNA members and urge the Frey administration to bargain for a fair contract that ensures competitive wages and benefits and dignified work conditions for these essential workers.
Key votes: No votes taken.
In December, Council unanimously passed a resolution declaring unsheltered homelessness as a public health emergency. Since then the Frey administration has doubled down on their failed policies of evicting encampments without using effective public health interventions to decrease homelessness. The recent evictions of Camp Nenookaasi have cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars and have not eliminated any encampments.
Several Council Members have looked at alternative solutions that are dignified and bring us closer to less of our neighbors sleeping outside. I have been in conversations with different government agencies on how to have an effective coordinated approach to helping those living in encampments. The goal of these conversations is creating partnerships that support permanent housing and wraparound services. I am grateful for the leadership I have seen in these other agencies and look forward to bringing a proposal for Council consideration in the upcoming weeks.
Key votes: No votes taken.
I stood with the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Educators fighting for the schools our families deserve. MFT is in the process of bargaining with the school district for a fair contract that supports workers and students. Last term, I authored a Council resolution urging the School Board to bargain in good faith and reach a fair contract. I will continue to support educators using Council authority and by showing up to support workers in the streets.
I attended the February meeting of the UMN Strategic Safety Advisory Committee, which brings together the University administration, students, UMPD, the city, and other partners to collaborate on public safety initiatives in the University area. I look forward to supporting the efforts for a Dinkytown Safety Center to centralize existing resources in one of the busiest off-campus areas.
My office is also working with the Undergraduate Student Government to collaborate on preventing non consensual drink tampering, commonly called roofies. I look forward to continuing to work with USG, the Sexual Assault Task Force, Greek leadership, and other partners to decrease roofie incidents both on and off campus.
Key votes: No votes taken.
Thank you to the Sierra Club and Move Minnesota, in partnership with Neighbors for More Neighbors, Sustain Saint Paul, Common Ground USA, and Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota for hosting a wonderful Transit Equity celebration! We toasted to the transformative investments in transit from last year’s legislative session and discussed future opportunities to advance transit equity and sustainable land use policy.
OutFront Minnesota and the MSP Film Society will be hosting a screening of the acclaimed film Rustin in honor of Black History Month.
OutFront presents: Rustin
Black History Month screening
Wednesday, February 21st at 7pm
The Main 3, 115 SE Main St, Minneapolis, MN 55414
BIPOC and LGBTQ+ residents, youth, and educators are encouraged to attend. The theatre holds 175 guests, and tickets are first come first serve. Use the code Rustin24 for a discount.
All Prospect Park residents and community members are invited to a Community Meeting co-hosted by the Ward 2 office, Prospect Park Association, and BrittFit50 Indigenous Health. There will be updates from Park Board Commissioner Billy Menz, 2nd Precinct Inspector Torborg and Crime Prevention Specialist Teila Zoller, Prospect Park Association, as well as my staff and I. There will be updates and discussion on local priorities including the Witch’s Hat, Malcolm and University, Valhalla Clinic, District Energy System, Glendale, Luxton Park, the Missing Link, and more.
The meeting room has capacity for about 45 people. Please wear a mask. A recording of the meeting will be available online after the event concludes. If you have questions you would like any of the speakers to address, you can email them to Ward2@minneapolismn.gov.
Prospect Park Community Meeting
Monday January 26th 6:30-8pm
Luxton Rec Center Multipurpose Room
Email Council Member Wonsley and her staff at ward2@minneapolismn.gov
Or contact staff directly:
Policy Aide Celeste Robinson
Policy Aide Qannani Omar
Share your opinion or address an issue, use the Ward 2 contact form
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