| Hello Neighbor!
The 2026 City Council Legislative year is off to a start. Due to the effects of Operation Metro Surge, the Council moved all of our committee business to a Super Committee of the Whole, the Tuesday before council meetings. After next council cycle, we will be back to the normal committee schedule.
Even though the news has died down and large convoys have gone away, ICE is still present and wreaking havoc on our communities. But what I have continued to see is neighbors standing strong to support and defend one another. At the City Council we are fighting everyday to ensure that we are continuing to support our residents through the pain and trauma of Operation Metro Surge.
Supporting renters and keeping neighbors in their homes
Today, the City Council approved $2.8 million in emergency rental assistance to help Minneapolis residents stay in their homes. This matters, especially those impacted by the disruptions from Operation Metro Surge.
For many families, the difference between stability and eviction comes down to whether they can keep up with rent - especially for families who are one unexpected expense away from falling behind.
This new funding builds on the $1 million we approved earlier this year - bringing our total commitment to nearly $4 million in direct support for renters across our city. I am especially encouraged that the Wilson Foundation has pledged to match these funds dollar-for-dollar, which could bring the total available assistance to $5.6 million through strong public-private partnership. I supported this investment because our neighbors need real help right now.
Housing stability is foundational. When people can stay in their homes, everything else - work, school, health - becomes more possible. At the same time, we have to make sure this support reaches people quickly. Families facing eviction today cannot wait weeks or months for assistance to arrive. There is more work ahead. We should continue looking at ways to expand access so more working families can get the help they need - and make sure these resources are reaching every part of our city.
This is an important step forward, and one that will make a real difference.
I will continue working to ensure we are delivering for our neighbors and supporting families in staying safely housed.
My Vote on the Training and Wellness Center
This week, the City Council took up a proposal related to a new Community Safety Training & Wellness Center - and after a full discussion, we voted to send the item back to staff for further work. I supported that decision; here’s why:
First, I want to be clear - I believe we need better training and stronger wellness support for the people who serve our city every day. Police officers, firefighters, 911 dispatchers, violence prevention workers - everyone in our Community Safety system deserves access to modern training and support. I voted for both consent decrees because they made clear that outdated training systems were part of past failures, and that we must do better.
But how we move forward matters.
The action before us was not approval of the full project - it was a request to spend $6 million to purchase land for a future facility that could cost up to $38 million to build. At this time, we do not have secured state funding to help pay for that project. We do not yet have regional partners committed to sharing the cost. And there are still important financial questions that need to be answered.
Moving forward without those pieces in place would place too much risk on Minneapolis taxpayers.
We have also seen situations where the City purchases property and then holds it for years while plans or funding are worked out. That is not a sustainable approach, especially when we are balancing many urgent needs across our city.
I also believe that a facility like this should be approached as a regional effort - bringing together partners across jurisdictions to share resources, training, and responsibility. That kind of collaboration will lead to a stronger and more effective outcome.
Sending this proposal back to staff allows us to take a step back and get this right - to explore better options, strengthen the plan, and ensure that when we move forward, we are doing so with a clear path to success.
This is not about saying no to training or wellness. It is about making sure we deliver on those priorities in a way that is thoughtful, responsible, and sustainable.
I remain committed to supporting investments that improve how our city serves residents and supports the people doing this work every day.
And I will continue to approach these decisions with a focus on both accountability and long-term impact. I’ll close with this - the work of building a stronger city is not always about making the fastest decision. Often, it is about making the right one. Taking the time to ask hard questions, to strengthen a plan, and to ensure we are being responsible with public resources is part of that work.
I remain committed to doing that alongside you.
Override Vote of Mayor Frey's Veto of Extending the Pre-Eviction Notice Period from 30 days to 60 days
I am disappointed, dismayed, and disheartened that the override vote on the Mayor's cruel veto of the pre-eviction notice extension from 30 to 60 days, failed at the last council meeting. We heard loud and clear from residents, mutual aid funds, activists, organizers and nonprofits that this extension was needed, I am deeply upset that those voices were ignored by the Mayor and the 6 council members who voted to uphold the Mayor's inhumane veto.
The rejection of this common-sense solution renders the rental assistance that the Mayor made and the additional investments the council made won't even have time to get into the hands of residents who need that rent help! As People Serving People CEO, Huang Murphy stated, "Eviction moratoriums, without accompanying rental assistance, only delay displacement; they don’t prevent it. Rental assistance, without eviction restrictions that allow families enough time to receive it before they are evicted, doesn’t work. Right now, families need both. They need more money and more time."
I will be supporting the extension of pre-eviction notice from 30 days to 45 days that was introduced at the last meeting by CMs Chavez, Chowdhury and Chughtai and hope that my colleagues who voted against the 30 day extension will reconsider the immense need for more time and vote for this extension to 45 days.
With appreciation,
Jamal Osman
Council Vice President, Ward 6 |
