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The Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee was asked to approve 14 contracts with violence prevention contractors, totaling almost $1 million. These contracts had been delayed due to mismanagement of the Office of Community Safety and Neighborhood Safety Department, which continues to pose a serious threat to the city’s ability to deliver unarmed public safety services to residents. After I and several of my colleagues pushed the Mayor’s office to confront this mismanagement, contract approvals that had been absent started to appear on committee agendas. I am extremely glad that this public pressure helped ensure that violence prevention professionals are out on the streets this summer.
During the discussion of this item, Commissioner Barnette was asked to speak about violence prevention generally and how it fits into the city’s public safety system, and to share with the committee what guiding principles and policies guide this work as well as metrics of success. He was unable or unwilling to answer, and essentially pleaded the fifth amendment. It continues to be deeply concerning that the Mayor’s top appointed leader of the city’s public safety system does not have a clear understanding of our public safety goals, understand our city’s blueprint of the Safe and Thriving Communities model, and does not have a plan or metrics in place to help us create and achieve safety goals. I will continue to push-back on the attempts to deflect these critical questions on the basis of legality as it has now been established to be a tactic of OCS to avoid accountability.
Key votes: The Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee approves 14 contracts with violence prevention contractors, totally almost $1 million. Council will vote on May 23rd.
Council Member Chavez and I requested that the Office of Community Safety come to the Public Health and Safety (PHS) Committee to present their plans for crime prevention and intervention this summer. Summers often have higher crime rates and CM Chavez and I wanted to ensure that the city’s public safety staff was thinking proactively about how to reduce summer crime spikes by using all the tools at our disposal in the comprehensive public safety system.
The presentation was followed by discussion and questions. I had a lot of questions that staff were unable to answer, such as how focused enforcement details have worked and how they will work this summer and how violence prevention groups are deployed to areas where they are most needed in coordination with other public safety services. Staff are expected to deliver responses to those questions via a staff memo prior next week's Full Council meeting.
Residents are deeply concerned about public safety this summer and I am committed to working with OCS staff and community to improve the current plans, which did not share clear data points, specific goals and targets, as well as any metrics of success for addressing summer crime spikes.
Key votes: No votes taken.
The Business Housing and Zoning Committee considered three amendments to the business licensing requirements for Transportation Network Companies (TNCs).
The first two were brought forward by myself, Council Member Osman, and Council Member Chavez and relate to enforcing minimum compensation.
The first is for fare transparency. This amendment would require that in order to be eligible for a license, a TNC must send send a receipt to both the rider and the driver within 24 hours after a trip, and that the receipt include the amount that the rider paid, the amount that the driver received, the number of miles and minutes in the ride, the per-minute and per-mile rates or any variable or surcharge pricing that impacts the cost of the ride and amount paid to the driver. It also requires that the TNC provide each driver a weekly summary of their time worked, miles driven, and an accounting of how the total compensation for the week is calculated.
Fare transparency is crucial for riders and drivers to be able to know that TNCs are in compliance with the city’s minimum compensation requirements. Drivers need to know how their pay is calculated on a ride-by-ride basis as well as on a weekly basis. These are such basic provisions for other workers that we can sometimes forget that right now, a driver could have literally no accounting of why a company pays them a certain amount for a ride. There are too many horror stories of drivers completing a long ride and being compensated an incredibly low amount, with no explanation or accounting of how that compensation relates to the ride. By amending the ordinance to include fare transparency, drivers can become their own advocates and take action to correct or resolve any discrepancies in their compensation.
Fare transparency is also a consumer protection issue. Currently Uber or Lyft can charge a rider $50, give the driver $15, and walk away with the rest. The rider has no idea what the driver is getting, might assume the driver is getting the majority of what they pay, impacting their ability to receive tips. Fare transparency should be disclosed to both riders and drivers, and the secrecy around it has resulted in the unfair working conditions drivers across the nation have been dealing with. We know that the rideshare industry in Minneapolis is going to become more diverse than just the current two companies, and fare transparency allows riders to have more information about how different companies handle prices and driver compensation, and therefore to make more informed decisions about which companies they want to use.
The second amendment is for data disclosure. This mandates that any TNC regularly discloses bulk data to the city. This is incredibly important for labor standards enforcement and identifying if there are patterns of wage theft or subminimum compensation. It is also crucial for identifying if there are patterns of discrimination, for example if certain neighborhoods are not receiving the same service as others. It can also be used by our Public Works Department to make informed decisions about street design and traffic management. Lastly, the city will need regular data disclosure in order to comply with the requirement to continuously evaluate the minimum compensation rates in the ordinance.
Fare transparency and enforcement mechanisms were both recommendations by the Governor’s Task Force. They are commonsense provisions that ensure the ordinance can be enforced and evaluated.
In addition to these two amendments, there was also a successful amendment by CMs Chowdhury and Osman to adjust the per-mile compensation rate to $1.27. This rate reflects an agreement with the state legislature that will extend minimum wage equivalents to all 10,000 drivers across the state. My co-authors and I have always been willing to work with the State and this agreement reflects alignment between the city and state legislative bodies that we are ready to use our legislative authority to protect workers, and to do so without stripping cities of local control.
Key votes: All three of these amendments passed with majority support from the Committee and will be voted on by the full Council on May 23rd.
I authored a legislative directive about ShotSpotter. The goal of the legislative directive is to learn more about its impacts on gun violence and responding to gun violence so that Council can make informed decisions about future contracts.
Earlier this year, community groups reached out to my office as the city’s contract with ShotSpotter was set to expire. I offered these groups the opportunity to come to committee and share their work, which they did in March. At the same time, my office invited 911 and MPD to come to this committee to share their perspectives. They have now confirmed they will be doing at the July 8th meeting of the Administration and Enterprise Oversight committee .
The Shotspotter program is something many cities around the nation are reevaluating. I know many cities, including our neighbors in St. Paul, have declined participating in this program because of the lack of data that has proven its effectiveness. I believe it’s time for Minneapolis to take the time to understand if this investment is effective before resigning any contracts.
Key votes: Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee approves legislative motion on evaluation of ShotSpotter. It will be voted on by the full Council on May 23rd.
Last term, after community backlash in response to usage of drones by MPD, I advanced a directive about the city’s policies and protocols for surveillance technology and information governance. Unfortunately, staff never completed that directive. This week, I reintroduced that work through a legislative motion.
Staffing shortages at MPD have resulted in increased reliance on technology. At the same time, abuse of surveillance technology was noted in the MDHR report on MPD’s patterns of racial discrimination. We need to have policies in place to ensure protection for our residents' private data and civil liberties.
I look forward to the research on this that will help the city establish safeguards and accountability measures within our policies.
Key votes: Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee approves legislative motion on surveillance and information governance. It will be voted on by the full Council on May 23rd.
The Public Health and Safety Committee hosted a public hearing on the nomination of Michelle Phillips as the Director of Civil Rights. The Committee voted unanimously to recommend her approval to the full Council.
Since my time at City Hall, I have been approached by city staff and community groups about their concerns about racial bias in the city’s practices as it relates to its employees. These concerns have also been brought to council in a variety of public ways, including current staff, former staff, and community groups giving public comments at committee hearings. There have been several Black employees in upper level management who start with fanfare and celebration, but end up leaving the city with the Mayor’s office publicly maligning them. There is an emerging pattern where highly visible Black employees are not able to leave the city with the same level of professionalism and dignity as their white counterparts. Despite these patterns continuing to be played out publicly, little has been done to address the systemic issues staff have brought to the Mayor’s attention.
During Wednesday’s public hearing, I asked Mayor Frey how he intends to ensure that Ms. Phillips is treated with professionalism throughout her time at the city. All employees should be allowed to leave the city without reputational damage, and that has not been the case for upper level Black employees, especially for Black women directors. Mayor Frey did not provide an answer to the question of how he intends to ensure Ms. Phillips does not have the same experience.
I look forward to working with Ms. Phillips to help end some of the systemic racial issues that have resulted in these patterns so that we ensure an equitable, anti-racist, and healthy work environment for all employees. I am grateful for her professional experience in diverse communities such as Baltimore and Oakland and was impressed by her eagerness to serve Minneapolis during such a tumultuous time. Minneapolis will be entering a consent decree with the United States Department of Justice, in addition to the settlement agreement we entered with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. We will need critical professionals like Ms. Phillips to ensure we are in compliance and moving the city forward.
Key votes: Public Health and Safety Committee unanimously recommends Michelle Phillips for Director of Civil Rights. Full Council will vote on May 23rd.
I have been working on implementing fees for off-duty police work. In early 2023, I advanced a legislative directive to learn about the off-duty landscape and ways we could improve accountability with our off-duty system, including recommendations for potential fees. Unfortunately that directive came back incomplete, and my office initiated a working team of staff from various departments to calculate the fees. In a span of a few months after that group initially met, most of those staff members left the city for other opportunities. Reestablishing appropriate staff has not happened, so this week I reintroduced this work as a legislative motion, which will move it to the Policy and Research division of the legislative department. It was approved in Committee, and will be voted on by the full Council on May 23rd.
Key votes: Public Health and Safety Committee approves legislative motion working to establish fees for off-duty policing. It will be voted on by the full Council on May 23rd.
The Public Health and Safety Committee (PHS) received a report about the work of the Labor Standards Enforcement Division (LSED). LSED conducts enforcement on sick-and-safe time and minimum wage, wage theft prevention ordinance outreach and engagement efforts, collects enforcement statistics, and manages co-enforcement partnership.
LSED does amazing work. In 2023, they won workers over $600,000 in stolen wages or minimum wage or sick time violations. Especially in light of recent conversations around other labor issues like rideshare drivers’ compensation, it is particularly timely for Council to discuss the city’s role in labor protections and our responsibilities to ensure that every worker has access to resources that support fair and safe working conditions.
The PHS Committee also received a presentation on the Small Business Pilot Program, which supports small business owners in complying with local labor laws. This pilot program is unique to Minneapolis and is conducted in partnership with Rutgers University Workplace Justice Lab, Mainstreet Alliance, and Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers. Phase 1 of the pilot was successful in giving free technical assistance and bookkeeping training to 40 small business owners, many of whom are BIPOC. Phase 2 will continue to invest in these business owners with the goal of bringing them into full compliance with local labor laws and best practices.
I particularly appreciate that this pilot program focuses on helping small business owners fix problems, rather than taking a punitive approach. I look forward to sharing more updates about this program when staff comes back to committee with data and information related to the impacts of phase 2.
Key votes: No votes taken.
The Community Commission on Police Oversight will hold a public hearing on May 21, 2024, at 6 p.m. in Room 100 of the Public Service Building, 505 4th Ave. S., Minneapolis, to receive community engagement relating to police department policies, rules, practices, and special orders. In addition to testifying in person, written public comment may be submitted for the record online at minneapolismn.gov/publiccomment or mailed to the Office of City Clerk, 350 S. 5th St., Room 304, Minneapolis, MN 55415
There will be translators available for Spanish, Somali, and Hmong.
The Minneapolis Charter Commission will hold a public hearing at a special meeting on May 22, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., or shortly thereafter, in Room 350 of the Public Service Center, 250 S. 4th St., Minneapolis, to consider moving municipal elections to even-numbered years (Charter File CH2024-00566). In addition to testifying in person, written public comment may be submitted for the record online at minneapolismn.gov/publiccomment or mailed to the Office of City Clerk, 350 S. 5th St., Room 304, Minneapolis, MN 55415.
There will be translators available for Spanish, Somali, and Hmong.
I was honored to attend the Jackson Family Open House and present a Proclamation celebrating Jackson Family Day. The Jackson's were the first African American family to move into the all-white neighborhood. At this time, only 2,700 Black people lived in Minneapolis. Soon after they moved in, the Jackson family was subject to discrimination, harassment, and daily threats trying to get them to leave the neighborhood. During one such racist demonstration, Madison Jackson was told that his children would not have anybody to play with. As a concerned father, he considered this and decided to build a playground in their backyard that was open to all of the children in the neighborhood, and the Jackson family playground became a neighborhood hub where children of all races played together.
The Jackson family lived in Prospect Park for 20 years, and the three Jackson daughters grew to make significant contributions in arts, journalism, and civil rights.
The Jackson family reminds us that in the midst of adversity and injustice, the solution is embracing difference and building community. Sharing the story of the discrimination and violence that the Jackson family faced is part of reckoning with the history of racism in Prospect Park and in Minneapolis.
The Prospect Park Association, Pratt Elementary School, and Pratt Parent-Teacher Organization have designated the Pratt Elementary Playground as the Jackson Family Memorial Playground, invested in development of ongoing talks, arts, discovery activities, and other forms of learning and education that will be part of the Memorial's ongoing activities.
Thank you to the Jackson family and to the community members who have invested in uplifting their story.
The Prospect Park Association hosted their annual meeting and board elections. I had a great time sharing the updates from Ward 2 and PPA partnerships over the past year, and hearing about all the other ongoing work that PPA is leading.
The Seward Neighborhood Group hosted their annual meeting, including board elections, updates, and upcoming events. There was also a contest to vote on a new Seward flag! Thank you to Seward residents for your great work in the neighborhood.
I had a great visit to Riverview Towers, the largest building in the Ward 2 portion of Cedar Riverside. Thank you to Public Works employees for joining us to talk about Riverview’s unique pedestrian and traffic challenges, and to Riverview residents for robust policy conversation.
A prior Ward 2 Update contained a link that Seward Co-op members have launched calling on the board and management to take a more engaged role and make sure management's actions reflect our ethics. The link in that update contained a typo and was not usable. The petition can be found here: http://tiny.cc/sewardcoop
Contact Ward 2
Visit: minneapolismn.gov/ward2
Email: ward2@minneapolismn.gov
Phone: 612-673-2202
We've moved while work is being done in City Hall. Our office is in:
Room 100, Public Service Center
250 South 4th St.
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For reasonable accommodations or alternative format please contact 311. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000. TTY users call 612-263-6850. Para ayuda, llame al 311. Rau kev pab 311. Hadii aad Caawimaad u baahantahay wac 311. |
