 Mayor Jacob Frey is proposing a 1.9% levy reduction to his 2025-2026 proposed budget while urging the City Council to reconsider their 73 proposed amendments and rein in new spending. The amendments are a departure from the responsible fiscal approach the City needs and are more than double the typical number of amendments seen in the City’s recent history.
In his August budget address, the mayor stressed that this year’s budget cycle was a challenging one, emphasizing that it was not a time for unnecessary programs or excessive spending. However, the Council’s amendments prioritize non-essential wants over vital services, divert funds from citywide initiatives to private organizations in individual wards, introduce unvetted short-term programs, and deplete the City’s cash reserves.
“Residents are feeling the burden of property taxes and it’s incumbent that we find efficiencies wherever possible,” said Mayor Jacob Frey. “Our reduction of 1.9% will help alleviate the pressure so many are feeling while focusing on essential core city services. The Council’s proposed amendments are a combination of new spending that would drive up taxes and cut funding for core services. In other words, they are adding wants and cutting needs at a time when we need to be responsible stewards of tax dollars.”
Key concerns with the Council’s proposed amendments:
- Adding $6.53M in new spending using cash balances and additional transfer from the Downtown Assets Fund
- Sending millions to outside organizations
- Breaking up comprehensive public safety system and dollars for ward-specific pet projects
- Funding unvetted, short-term projects that will deliver minimal results and/or have no long-term funding source
- Taking on the responsibilities of other government entities who have their own tax collections
- Allocating unnecessary new funds to initiatives that have existing capacity
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Laying off employees in a targeted manner
Collectively, the Council’s amendments cut core City services—including police and community safety initiatives, unsheltered homelessness response, and public works services—in order to increase new spending for non-profit organizations, pet projects in individual wards, and unvetted, one-time programs.
If the Council eliminates many of the amendments that relate to the issues above, the mayor will support a package that reduces the overall levy from 8.3% to 6.4%.
Mayor Frey is committed to working with the Council to create a thoughtful, responsible budget that balances both the City’s needs and fiscal responsibility, ensuring Minneapolis remains on a sustainable path forward. With five days remaining before the budget is set for final approval, the Mayor and City departments stand ready with plenty of time to respond to the many constituents who have contacted their elected officials to express their frustration with property tax increases.
 Hennepin Avenue S. is officially open! Last week, Mayor Frey joined Council Members and City and business leaders to announce the completion of Phase 1 of the Hennepin Ave. S construction project. The busy Uptown corridor, from W Lake St. to W 26th St., has opened with a new, multimodal design that improves space and enhances accessibility for people walking, riding transit, biking, and driving.
The newly redesigned street includes infrastructure upgrades and space for future METRO E Line stations, improving the overall flow of traffic while promoting safer and more efficient transit. Key improvements include:
- Replacement of 14 water lead service lines, 2,127 ft. of sanitary sewer
- New signal and lighting systems
- New electrical infrastructure installed by Xcel Energy
- New gas main & service upgrades installed by CenterPoint Energy
“It’s been 50 years since this road was reconstructed, and the completion means we’re clearing the way for small and local businesses to revitalize the corridor,” said Mayor Frey. “This milestone also means it just got a whole lot easier to visit your favorite local shops – go visit them! With the holidays just around the corner, I’m excited for residents and visitors to rediscover the energy, creativity and community spirit that makes Uptown a Minneapolis treasure.”
 Mayor Frey's veto of the Council's unbalanced Labor Standards Board was upheld on Thursday. This comes after hundreds of businesses—many of them BIPOC owned—and nearly all major business organizations, said they wouldn't participate in the Council's lop-sided board. Without their participation, there was no way for the board to be effective.
From day one, the mayor has been supportive of a fair and balanced Labor Standards Board. He has put forward his own proposal (above) and is committed to bringing both businesses and workers to the table to craft a board that includes both sides.
"I’m grateful to the Council Members who joined me in recognizing we need a balanced Labor Standards Board that has participation from both business and labor—the proposal I vetoed didn’t. But this is not over. I’m committed to going back to the table to get this right by bringing all sides together around a unified vision," said Mayor Frey.
In a Star Tribune op-ed this week, Mayor Frey said that Minneapolis has the chance to show the nation that effective, thoughtful governance works and that democratic-led cities can lead the way.
"Some loud voices are already suggesting that to counter the Trump agenda, we need to swing further left. That approach isn’t just wrong, it’s counterproductive. The opposite of extremism isn’t the opposite extreme. We don’t need to mirror the far-right with an equally far-left agenda. Instead, we need to show that thoughtful, effective governance works, and that cities like Minneapolis can get the basics right."
The mayor continued, "The first four weeks of the presidential transition have been chaotic and confounding. Over the next four years, Minneapolis will need to refocus our energy and attention on the exceptional work underway and concrete ways to improve residents’ lives.
But to succeed, we must love our city more than our ideology. In times of division, we need to unite around the idea that democratic cities can work and Minneapolis can lead the way forward."
 On Thursday, Mayor Frey joined Daniel Hernadez to celebrate the grand opening of his new Colonial Market in South Minneapolis. The new grocery store, which occupies the former Hi-Lake Aldi space, will feature a restaurant, butcher, ice cream shop, and a wide-variety of Latino-specific groceries. It will also bring roughly 40 jobs to the area.
Hernandez currently owns and operates the Colonial Market on Nicollet Ave. and is opening another location on the Northside in the coming months.
 On World Aids Day, Mayor Frey was proud to celebrate the grand opening of the Aliveness Project’s Thrive Clinic and Pharmacy! This is Minneapolis' first-ever treatment clinic dedicated to supporting people living with or at risk of HIV, offering essential services like housing, testing, counseling, and care.
Minneapolis is committed to ensuring everyone has access to the resources they need, and projects like this are vital to that mission.
"We need a community — you need a whole group of people rallying around a common cause that not only believes we can have people living tremendously healthy and beautiful lives, but also are there for one another, and that's a huge part of what this Thrive pharmacy, this Thrive center, can ultimately offer," Frey said.
The pharmacy will open in early 2025.
 The City's Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs (ACA) is excited to announce the inaugural awardees of the Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts initiative. This new pilot initiative provides funding to support five local arts organizations—Blackbird Revolt, Black Business Enterprises, Flavor World, Twin Cities Pride, and Skntones ™ — by subsidizing rent in vacant storefronts.
In its first year, the ACA Vibrant Storefronts fund will distribute awards totaling $224,202 to foster creativity, enhance vibrancy, and promote sustainability in Minneapolis.
"Turning empty storefronts into vibrant cultural hubs is a game-changer for Minneapolis,” said Mayor Frey. “The Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts initiative gives local artists the resources they need to beautify our downtown, drive creativity, and energize our community. This is just the beginning — and I’m excited to see how this program will shape the future of our city. A huge thank you to our incredible Arts Department for leading the way, and congratulations to all our local awardees!"
The ACA Vibrant Storefronts pilot initiative was a recommendation that came out of Mayor Jacob Frey’s Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup and is part of the City’s comprehensive plan, Minneapolis 2040.
Mayor Frey allocated $250,000 in the City’s 2024 budget to launch the initiative. He has proposed a threefold funding increase in the 2025-2026 city budget to expand into Uptown.
 On Thursday evening, the City's first-ever poet laureate, Heid E. Erdrich, presented her poem, "Poem for Minneapolis" at the American Indian Center. Heid is a nationally recognized poet, author, and advocate, and has spent the last year connecting the community through the art of poetry.
Erdrich brought her wealth of experience and passion to the role, inspiring a new appreciation for poetry in public life. Her year-long tenure included workshops, readings, and gatherings in diverse locations throughout the city, from the Eloise Butler Garden to Bde Maka Ska and Owámniyomni.
“We’re extraordinarily honored to have inaugurated our Poet Laureate program with the amazing artistry of Heid E. Erdrich,” said Mayor Frey. “Heid’s work showcases transformative power of the literature to unite and inspire our community, and she’s set an extremely high bar for all future poet laureates. We are deeply grateful to Heid for sharing her talent and vision with the people of Minneapolis.”
The next Minneapolis Poet Laureate— through a collaboration between the Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs and The Loft Literary Center— will be announced in January 2025.
 A highlight of this week... Mayor Frey getting to meet the one and only Timothée Chalamet. The Oscar-nominated actor was in town touting his new movie, A Complete Unknown, a biopic on the beloved Bob Dylan and his musical career. The mayor met Timothée at The Main Theater, along with several other fans. It was a surreal moment!
 The Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center's groundbreaking for new supportive housing units
 Passing out food with the legendary Lindsay Whalen and the Salvation Army
 Mayor Frey with family over Thanksgiving
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