2025 Budget updates

Minneapolis City Council Advances a Progressive Budget while Decreasing Property Taxes

After three days of budget deliberations and voting on over 70 amendments, the City Council has approved the City Budget for 2025. The amendments lowered property taxes by 1.4%, and directed resources towards affordable housing, a public health approach to homelessness, comprehensive public safety, support for workers, and uplifting the needs of historically underinvested in communities. 

Council showed the political leadership to use our budgetary authority to advance the needs of working class communities across the city. The outcome is lower property taxes and $27 million reinvested for resident priorities that were not in the Mayor’s proposed budget. Thank you to my colleagues, city staff, and most of all residents who put in the work to make this strong and equitable budget.

Below, I outline the amendments that lowered the property tax levy, the amendments I authored, and high-level highlights from amongst the other 70+ amendments. For those who are interested in an even deeper dive, you can review the meeting notes from the first, second, third, and fourth session of budget markup.

Council Member Wonsley speaking at a press conference about the 2025 Budget with Council Members Ellison, Osman, Koski, Chowdhury, Vice President Chughtai, and President Payne. 

Council reduced the Mayor’s proposed property tax levy from 8.3% to 6.9%

Council approved the following amendments, which cumulatively reduced the property tax levy by 1.4%:

• Postponing an Enterprise Resource Platform Replacement, reducing expenses by $5,000,000, resulting in a 0.98% property tax levy reduction. 
• Postponing Technology Improvement Plan projects, reducing expenses by $1,050,000, resulting in a 0.21% property tax levy reduction. 
• Pausing  raises for the City’s 160 highest-paid staff — who on average have salaries that are over $200,0000— reducing expenses by $1,070,254, resulting in an additional 0.21% property tax levy reduction. 

Council also voted down two proposed amendments by Council Members Koski and Rainville which would have made universal cuts to all City Departments. I voted against these proposals due to their hugely inequitable impacts on departments of different sizes and the lack of clarity from the Mayor on what specific impacts would occur if these amendments were approved.  The Frey administration has shown an unwillingness to take Council’s policy direction even when the direction and intent is clear. The administration’s history made me concerned that without specifically identifying what programs would be reduced to fund these levy reductions, the Mayor would cut the programs that Council Members have worked hard to advance on behalf of residents. Many of my colleagues agreed with these concerns and the nonspecific budget cuts were voted down. 

Council approved 12 of the 13 amendments I authored

Emergency Housing Vouchers - Approved 

• Description: A partnership with Hennepin County and the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority to provide housing and wraparound services for 50 individuals and 50 families experiencing chronic unsheltered homelessness. Program based on an extremely successful program that was implemented with federal funding during covid. 
• Amount: $1.4 million ongoing + $400,000 one-time
• Key votes: Approved 9-4. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, Jenkins and Palmisano vote in opposition. 

Dinky After Dark- Approved

• Description: Improving pedestrian-level lighting in the Dinkytown Marcy Holmes area to enhance public safety and livability.
• Amount: $500,000 one-time.
• Key votes: Approved 11-2. Council Members Jenkins and Palmisano vote in opposition. 

Traffic Calming- Approved

• Coauthors: Council Members Ellison, Cashman, Chavez, Koski, Chowdhury, and Vice President Chughtai. 
• Description: Meeting the backlog of over 850 traffic calming projects to make streets safe for all. I also authored a legislative directive that was written in conjunction with Public Works leadership to identify ways to improve neighborhood traffic calming programs long-term. 
• Amount: $1.5 million one-time.
• Key votes: Approved 13-0. 

Safe and Thriving Communities Gaps- Approved

• Coauthors: Council Member Chavez
• Description: Piloting new community safety programs in violence prevention, unarmed response, and/or healing and restorative services as outlined in the Safe and Thriving Communities Plan. 
• Amount: $500,000 one-time.
• Key votes: Approved 12-0-1. Council Member Jenkins was absent. 

Immigration legal services funding- Approved

• Coauthors: Council Member Chavez and Council Vice President Chughtai
• Description: Supporting pro-bono legal services for individuals in the immigration legal system, with a priority for children and unaccompanied minors. 
• Amount: $150,000 ongoing. 
• Key votes: Approved 12-0-0. Council Member Vetaw was absent. 

Carbon emissions mitigation staffing- Approved

• Coauthors: Council Members Cashman, Chavez, and Chowdhury and Vice President Chughtai. 
• Description: Per the recommendation of sustainability staff, adding one full-time employee to support the implementation of a carbon emissions fee on the largest polluters in the city.
• Amount: $149,617 ongoing for one full-time employee, and $125,000 one-time. 
• Key votes: Approved 13-0. 

Civilian investigators- Approved

• Coauthors: Council President Payne and Council Members Ellison, Osman and Chowdhury. 
• Description: MPD currently has a backlog of 5,437 assigned open cases. This proposal will add 5 Civilian Investigators to help MPD clear this massive backlog of cases that have not been investigated and closed, especially in priority areas like domestic, juvenile, crimes against children, sex crimes, and homicide. The recent MPD police contract, which cost taxpayers nearly $9 million dollars, included a provision that grants MPD the ability to hire more civilian investigators. Mayor Frey’s2025 proposed budget only included funding for 2 investigators, which was insufficient to address MPD’s massive investigations’ backlog.  
• Amount: $631,007 ongoing for 5 full-time employees. 
• Key votes: Approved 11-1-1. Council Member Vetaw voted in opposition and Council Member Jenkins was absent. 

Early childhood education workforce development- Approved

• Description: Investing in programs led by early childhood organizations that are already successfully providing training, professional development, and ongoing support to Early Childhood Education workers. Workforce shortages are impacting the availability of high quality, affordable childcare options for Minneapolis families. 
• Amount: $500,000 one-time.
• Key votes: Approved 8-5. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, Jenkins, Koski and Palmisano vote in opposition. 

Safe and Thriving Communities Work Group- Approved

• Coauthors: Council Member Chavez
• Description: Budget to staff and support a community Work Group that will focus on supporting the implementation of the Safe and Thriving Communities Report and Plan, and will provide guidance on the new “Safety Center” model starting with the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center/3rd Precinct.
• Amount: $25,000 ongoing.
• Key votes: Approved 7-4-2. Council Members Vetaw, Cashman, Jenkins, and Palmisano vote in opposition. Council Members Rainville and Jenkins were absent. 

Reconnecting Communities matching funds- Approved

• Coauthors: Council Members Ellison and Osman
• Description: The Reconnecting Communities grant is a federal program to study removing highways and other infrastructure that divides communities, and replacing it with infrastructure that supports multimodal transportation, sustainability, public health, and equitable development. This sets aside matching funds to unlock millions of federal dollars for successful applications to Reconnecting Communities that align with existing Minneapolis policy positions. The original version of this amendment allocated $800,000 for the two eligible project areas in Minneapolis. However, days before the budget vote a successful application for the Olson Memorial Highway/Highway 55 area received matching funds from the State of Minnesota and no longer needs matching funds from the city. I and my co-authors reduced the amount to $400,000 to support the remaining project area, Rethinking I-94. 
• Amount: $400,000 one-time, contingent on successful applications.
• Key votes: Approved 11-2. Council Members Koski and Palmisano vote in opposition. 

Senior Housing Initiative for Code Abatement- Approved

• Coauthors: Council Members Chowdhury and Koski. 
• Description: Requested by the Minneapolis Advisory Committee on Aging, this allocates funding within the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for code abatement and home repair loans for homes with one adult 55+ living in the residence. 
• Amount: $810,000 ongoing.
• Key votes: Approved 11-2. Council Members Rainville and Palmisano vote in opposition. 

Neighborhood Safety Department Staff- Approved

• Coauthors: Council Member Chavez
• Description: Adding one full-time contract administrator and one full-time business data analyst to the Neighborhood Safety Department to help the department have more capacity and produce more specific and measurable data for internal operations and public clarity. 
• Amount: $271,798 ongoing for two full-time employees. 
• Key votes: Approved 9-3-1. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw and Palmisano vote in opposition. Council Member Jenkins was absent. 

Legislative Department Policy Specialists- Not approved

• Coauthors: Council President Payne and Council Vice President Chughtai. 
• Description: Adding three subject-matter expert staff to the Legislative Department’s Policy and Research division to support the development of city policies that meet the city’s goals. Expanding this team to include dedicated staff for Council committees would have continued to improve Council’s policymaking capacity, while reducing the workload on executive departments to complete legislative actions.
• Amount: $514,452 ongoing, the salary and benefits for three full-time employees. 
• Key votes: Failed 6-7. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, Cashman, Jenkins, Koski, Chowdhury and Palmisano vote in opposition. 

I also co-authored the following amendments:

Low-barrier employment pilot program- Approved

• Lead author: Council Member Chavez, other co-authors include Council Member Osman.
• Description: Funding a pilot program based on the successful WORK NOW Project by Ramsey County and the City of Saint Paul to employ adults encountering homelessness or housing instability with sustainable low-barrier work and income. The program will create teams of workers who will focus on cleaning up the Southside Green Zone, an area that encompasses high levels of pollution and racial, political, and economic marginalization, and is disproportionately impacted by homelessness and cleanliness issues. 
• Amount: $285,000 one-time. 
• Key votes:  Approved 9-4. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, Jenkins and Palmisano voted in opposition.

Senior Transportation Program- Approved

• Lead author: Council Member Chowdhury
• Description: Funding for community organizations to fill gaps in transportation services for senior residents. Previous funding helped successfully facilitate over 800 round-trip rides for seniors needing assistance with groceries, errands, food resources, and essential medical appointments, and more. 
• Amount: $25,000 ongoing. 
• Key votes: Approved 10-3. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, and Palmisano voted in opposition.

Social Housing Study- Approved

• Lead author: Council President Payne, other co-authors include Vice President Chughtai and Council Members Ellison, Chowdhury, Osman, and Chavez.
• Description: Resources for a study by subject matter experts on how the City of Minneapolis could support the development of social housing, which is a form of public housing that is permanently and deeply affordable, under community control, and exists outside of the speculative real estate market.
• Amount: $50,000 one-time.
• Key votes: Approved 9-4. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, Jenkins and Palmisano voted in opposition.

Zero Waste Planning- Approved 

• Lead author: Council Member Cashman, other co-authors include Vice President Chughtai and Council Members Ellison, Chowdhury, and Koski.
• Description: Greater staffing and programming for recycling and organics recycling programs and enforcement, reduce/reuse/repair education and resources, and expand food reduction, preservation and donation programs.
• Amount: $200,000 one-time.
• Key votes: Approved 13-0.

Council reprioritized over $27 million to reflect resident priorities 

Nine Council Members submitted over 70 amendments to advance resident needs. Below is a high level overview of highlights from amongst the 70+ amendments. I encourage residents to read the full packet of amendments to get the full details on all the proposals that Council Members advanced. 

• A public health approach to homelessness: Funding for safe outdoors spaces/safe parking, expanding Stable Homes Stable Schools to middle schools and early childcare, public health services like bathrooms and handwashing stations at encampments, and stabilization funding for Avivo Village. 
• Comprehensive public safety: Increased funding for Behavioral Crisis Response, Letting Everyone Advance with Dignity diversion, and a large variety of neighborhood-specific initiatives and investments near East Lake Street, Little Earth, Midtown Phillips, Longfellow, Whittier, North Minneapolis, Hiawatha, Dinkytown, and more. 
• Equitable development: Blue-line anti-displacement resources, developer technical assistance, designated funding for Latino business week, Mni Sota Fund Indigenous Wealth Building Center, and Uptown revitalization technical assistance.
• Support for workers: High-road employers labor standards support, street vendor entrepreneur grants and compliance, co-enforcement funding, Minneapolis Welcome and Labor Center. 
• Uplifting marginalized communities: Immigration legal services and staffing, LGBTQIA+ mental health, trans equity summit, senior transportation and social services.

The majority of the budget amendments passed with supermajority or unanimous support. There were a few Council Members who declined to submit any budget amendments, despite a year-long process that was transparently administered by the Chair of the Budget Committee, Vice President Chughtai. It was particularly confusing and frustrating to hear several of these Council Members repeatedly allege that the budget amendments before them were inappropriate or illegal, the outcome collusion or backroom negotiation, or unfairly distributed to certain neighborhoods and not others. These characterizations are false.

 All Council Members were well apprised of the Budget Committee Work Plan which was adopted by the Council through the legislative process. All Council Members had the opportunity to bring forward amendments to advance their residents’ needs. Some chose to, and some chose not to. As an example, Council Member Chavez and his team put in the work to develop, write, and advocate for 18 amendments in response to the needs of his residents. 

Four Council Members- Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, Jenkins, and Palmisano- chose not to write any amendments. All Council Members have the same amount of office support and access to the Budget Chair and Budget Department. Some Council Members even volunteered to support these Council Members in developing their own budget amendments or joining onto existing amendments as co-authors. These Council Members simply declined all opportunities to advocate for their residents. I believe this is important context for residents who may be hearing false claims that some Wards were unfairly denied resources via the amendment process. 

Budget adoption, veto, and override

On Tuesday evening, the Council held the third and final public hearing on the budget where about 35 speakers gave testimony. Written testimony was also submitted to the legislative file. Council adopted the budget in a 10-3 vote. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, and Palmisano voted in opposition.

Despite the adopted budget being adopted with a 12-1 vote, lowering taxes and investing in city priorities, Mayor Frey chose to veto the 2025 Budget. A Minneapolis Mayor has never vetoed a budget.

Given that Council lowered property taxes and approved amendments to advance many city priorities, this is a budget to be celebrated, not vetoed. The Mayor’s veto was sent out as a press release before it was even possible as a legislative action, which suggests that the Mayor’s goals are political theater rather than anything related to governance or financial matters. 

Since almost all the budget amendments passed with unanimous or supermajority support and the final amended budget was adopted with 10-3 support, I am confident that Council will stand united in a veto override. 

Sincerely,

Council Member Robin Wonsley