Minneapolis Review

Today, Mayor Jacob Frey’s 2023 budget was adopted by the City Council and will be formalized for implementation. This was the mayor’s first biennial budget and focuses on delivering fundamental City of Minneapolis services with excellence and precision.

The mayor’s budget includes significant investments in the Office of Community Safety and the Office of Public Service – in addition to continued funding and commitment for affordable housing projects, inclusive economic recovery work, and expansions to climate and public health initiatives. The mayor’s budget also includes intentional staffing plans under the new government structure.

Mayor Frey’s adopted budget totals $1.66 billion in 2023 and $1.71 billion in 2024. The tax levy increase for 2023 will be 6.5% and is predicted to be 6.2% for 2024.

"This budget sets precedent,” said Frey. “Coming off the heels of a new government structure, setting the right monetary allocations in place was not optional. The decisions made now will bolster many future administrations to come. Add in the fact that this is our very first two-year budget, and you have a recipe for long-lasting improvement to our City services – creating an efficient, effective, and equitable government. I want to thank my Council colleagues for their work this budget cycle, especially Council Budget Committee Chair Emily Koski and the City’s Budget Director Amelia Cruver for their partnership and leadership on this foundational biennial budget.”

“I am immensely grateful to my colleagues on the City Council for engaging in the budget process, and for working together to approve this budget,” said Council Member and Budget Committee Chair Emily Koski. “With this budget, we are making significant investments in our shared priorities – city capacity, public safety, economic inclusion, affordable housing, climate change and public health – and we are responding to the needs of the City of Minneapolis and of our community members. Thank you to the City Staff who have worked tirelessly throughout this budget process – my staff, Budget Director Amelia Cruver, our City Attorneys, and Ken Dahler in the City Clerk’s Office!”

Highlights from the mayor’s budget:

Affordable Housing

• Increases to a total of $16.8 million in 2023 and $18 million in 2024 for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, helping to preserve and produce hundreds of housing units that are affordable to homes with incomes at or below 50% AMI
• Ensures the sustainability of people’s access to the Right to Counsel policy with additional ongoing funding of $500,000, bringing the ongoing annual total to $750,000 and leveraging resources from other jurisdictional and non-profit partners
• Invests over $3 million in the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, building on previous ARPA investments and an ongoing $1 million commitment
• Expands funding for NOAH Preservation by an addition $1.5 million in 2023 and Minneapolis Homes by $2 million in 2024

City Capacity and Performance

• Adds nearly $3.88 million in 2023 and $4.37 million in 2024 to improve roads, trails, and 311 response – including concrete repair, litter pickup, mowing, sealcoat operations, and more
• Invests in programs and initiatives for Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, a newly elevated and standalone department
• Brings back over 50 FTEs to the City's workforce by 2024, matching the pre-pandemic workforce size
• Funds voluntary body worn cameras for traffic and animal control agents to keep them safe in the field

Climate and Public Health

• Addresses the opioid epidemic with over $600,000 in ongoing funds for immediate opioid addiction treatment services
• Creates access to abortion in Minneapolis with a one-time investment of $300,000
• Expands school-based clinics with $440,000 in ongoing funding for youth healthcare services like mental health, primary care, and long-term well-being
• Adds over $500,000 in two years for the Green Cost Share program which will help businesses reduce environmental pollution through solar energy and weatherization projects
• Expands electrical vehicle stations with $700,000 between 2023 and 2024, leveraging an estimated $2-3 million in additional federal funds to support electric vehicles and carbon emission reduction

Economic Inclusion

• Builds on ARPA investments by adding $2 million to the Commercial Property Development Fund to provide ownership opportunities to BIPOC business owners
• Supports economic development along 38th Street with $500,000 one-time funding to Dreamland, a multi-tenant small business and event center
• Facilitates a business incubator on West Broadway with a $1 million investment in the ZaRah project
• Invest $250,000 in the Rise Up Center, a hub for BIPOC-workforce development in the green building and clean energy fields
• Provide $400,000 in funding for competitive grants to support cultural malls impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

Community Safety

• Transitions the Office of Violence Prevention to ongoing general funds in 2024 (using $3.3 million ARPA funds in 2023) in the Department of Neighborhood Safety, a newly elevated and standalone department
• Funds 731 sworn officers in the Police Department and 4 classes of new recruits in each year of the budget, additionally investing $8.6 million for overtime and $1.5 million for contracting with other law enforcement entities
• Expands the Behavioral Crisis Response program with a $1.45 million investment in 2023 and $2.9 million in 2024, helping provide unarmed, mental health professionals as responders in behavioral health crisis situations – bringing the ongoing annual investment in this work to over $6.4 million by 2024
• Adds new staff positions to the City Attorney's office to improve charging decisions made on city criminal cases, and to dedicate staff to address findings identified in the Minnesota Department of Human Rights investigation
• Appropriates $12.95 million for enhancing street lighting throughout the City - including funding for system replacement in Steven Square, Loring Park, Como, and Marcy Holmes along with lightbulb and fixture repair and replacement in North Minneapolis
• Expands code compliance and traffic control in Regulatory Services by $932,897 in ongoing funding for 9 positions to provide 24-hour service – one Field Supervisor and eight Code Compliance Specialists, increasing their ability to handle increases in parking complaints, traffic management and special events, including responding to overnight 911 calls for traffic control issues

The legislative record of the 2022 budget process is available here.

Read the complete biennial budget documents online.

Original source can be found here.