Minneapolis City Council — Transcript
Monday, September 14, 2026
Meeting Accessibility and Conduct
Acknowledgement of Community Advocates
Mayor's 2027 Recommended Budget Guiding Principles
Debate on Staff Presentations for Legislative Directives
City Attorney's Office 2027 Budget Presentation
Office of Public Service (OPS) 2027 Budget Presentation
Office of Community Safety (OCS) 2027 Budget Presentation
Votes (5)
Approval of Legislative Directed related to City Contracts
Dissent: None
Moved by Chair Chuktai [00:01:31] · Seconded by Not stated
Council Member Vita briefly explained the directive seeks additional information around city contracts for 2026 and 2027, describing it as 'pretty straightforward.' No further discussion was noted.
Mayor's 2027 Recommended Budget Presentations Kick-off and General Discussion
Dissent: Council Member Wanley, Vice President Osman, and Council Member Chavez strongly opposed the Mayor's new policy on staff presentations for legislative directives. Council Member Warren expressed support for written memos.
Moved by None · Seconded by None
Mayor Fry outlined the principles for the 2027 budget, focusing on fiscal stewardship, transparency, and core services. He acknowledged difficult decisions due to financial challenges. This introduction spurred a debate among council members regarding the Mayor's recent directive to limit staff presentations for legislative directives to written memos, raising concerns about transparency, public engagement, and the council's oversight authority. Conversely, the Mayor and some council members advocated for adhering to established procedures and the efficiency of written reports.
City Attorney's Office 2027 Budget Presentation
Dissent: None
Moved by None · Seconded by None
City Attorney Kristen Anderson detailed the office's structure, mission, and budget, which includes a reduction of one FTE. She emphasized the increasing workload due to federal litigation and other mandates, which is strained by reduced staffing. The presentation covered major contracts, including a JPA with Henipin County for social services and payments to the Henipin County Workhouse, highlighting the volatility and necessity of the latter budget line. The criminal division reported a caseload 70% above the national average for misdemeanors, while the civil division is managing significant new federal litigation.
Office of Public Service (OPS) 2027 Budget Presentation
Dissent: None
Moved by None · Seconded by None
COO Margaret Anderson Keller presented the OPS budget, highlighting its role in enterprise-wide operational oversight and its lean structure, with a reduction of two FTEs. She explained that the cuts, part of a city-wide effort for shared sacrifice, would lead to less executive coordination and support, potentially delaying project completion. The presentation also justified the proposed integration of the Performance Management and Innovation (PMI) department into OPS, aiming to enhance PMI's effectiveness by broadening its scope beyond just financial analysis and aligning it with comprehensive operational improvements.
Office of Community Safety (OCS) 2027 Budget Presentation
Dissent: Council Member Wanley, Council Member Stevenson, Council Member Chavez, and Vice President Osman expressed strong concerns and opposition regarding the lack of transparency on specific budget cuts, particularly to violence prevention programs, and the failure to implement off-duty police fees.
Moved by None · Seconded by None
Interim Commissioner Todd Barnett presented the OCS budget, which includes a reduction of one FTE, impacting the department's capacity and potentially delaying some work. The presentation detailed OCS's mission and oversight of several safety departments. The discussion focused heavily on OCS's role in budget monitoring and preventing overruns, particularly for the police department, and the council's strong concerns about cuts to neighborhood safety programs, specifically the violence interrupters. Council members expressed frustration over the lack of specific details regarding these cuts and the long-standing failure to implement fees for off-duty police work, despite resources being provided.
Notable Quotes (17)
just looking for some additional information around city contracts and um for 2026 and 2027. Thank you.
This budget reflects our values and at this time the primary value that we have introduced this budget on is stewardship.
That has been a tool that has allowed us to get information to our residents for us to make informed decisions so we can walk into the budget being able to pass something that we think actually meets the needs of working-class residents.
Our ask was is also pretty simple is that council members also follow the processes that they unanimously passed around legislative directives which do have criteria that haven't often been met.
But where something is in writing and in black and white, that means that I have a lot more accountability and something to hold you to.
council does have a legal authority of oversight and um we can ask question we can receive um information and also council has uh procedures the council procedures belong to the council not the mayor.
Our work has uh at the very least stayed steady and in fact has increased uh particularly because of the uh large amount of federal litigation that we now have...
we should not devest more from that workhouse budget because again, we're going to owe it no matter what. And if we have underfunded, then we will we will be in a position of going over budget.
We are approximately 70% above the national average.
if we're going to make cuts, everybody shares in those cuts to the degree that they can. We are taking two FTE cuts as well and so uh I think that is that is important.
Then it might only be seen as a finance and budget exercise for departments working collaboratively or across problems. And really the goal of PMI is both programmatic evaluation and looking and creative uh help...
we don't have a lot of discretion when you see it in the previous slides uh where 82% is in personnel that um this type of reduction will be in FTE. So we will lose FTE which uh will have some impact to what our capacity will be in 2027.
And so it's like what are we actually doing financially with these funds and how are we overspending if it's not helping us actually essentially achieve a a in our settlement agreement compliance.
There is fees on the books and the fact that you all still resist to do this when we're proposing upwards to a 9% increase to the police department's budget is just preposterous to me.
I think the violence instructor program and the community safety ambassador program are two different programs that serve two different purposes. One should not be pitted against one another because it is going to have a drastic impact on the livelihood of our residents.
It feels like we got a budget presented to us by the mayor without anybody knowing what is being cut, what's being repurposed, what's being moved around...This budget process does not feel transparent to me.
What also sucks is to sit on this side of the deis and know that a vote I'm going to take could result in someone losing their job except I have no idea who's losing it. That's the gravity of like what we're dealing with.
Ordinances & Resolutions (11)
An item on the consent agenda to approve a directive seeking information on city contracts for 2026 and 2027.
A modified version of the legislative directive sent by the Ward 4 office prior to the meeting.
The Mayor's speech where he initially explained his approach to the current year's budget.
A letter from the Council President concerning staff coming to Council presentations for legislative directives.
A settlement agreement the city enterprise must comply with, advised by the City Attorney's office and relevant to OCS.
A decree the city enterprise must comply with, advised by the City Attorney's office and relevant to OCS.
Rules allowing for different means of bringing misdemeanor charges, including tab charging.
Statutory obligations that require victim witness specialists to inform victims of certain things.
A report related to safety reform initiatives that OCS focuses on.
An analysis related to safety reform initiatives that OCS focuses on.
A technology system referenced as a barrier to implementing off-duty police fees.