Meeting Information

• Date: October 26, 2024
• Title: Committee of the Whole Meeting
• Present: Wonsley, Vetaw, Osman, Cashman, Chavez, Chowdhury, Koski, Chughtai
• Absent: Payne, Rainville, Jenkins, Palmisano
• Guests: Mayor Frey, Director of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Director of Performance Management and Innovation
• Votes: 2

Highlights

• Presentation on the 2025-2026 Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (REIB) budget
• Discussion on reclassification of LGBTQIA+ and transgender equity positions
• Presentation on the 2025-2026 Performance Management and Innovation (PMI) budget
• Debate over a legislative directive related to financial reporting and budget reallocation

Discussion

Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Budget Presentation

The Director of REIB presented the department’s 2025-2026 budget proposal. Key points included:

• Reclassification of program manager and project coordinator positions to equity and inclusion coordinators
• Development of a comprehensive racial equity framework
• Focus on internal-facing work to support other city departments

Council members expressed concerns about the reclassification of the transgender equity coordinator position. Council Member Jenkins worried that this change might deprioritize trans issues:

“It’s just been my experience when those things are intersected that LGBTQ issues, particularly trans issues are deprioritized, if you will. Which is why those positions were specifically created for those purposes.”

The director assured that the work would continue with an intersectional approach, but some council members remained skeptical. No vote was taken on this item.

Performance Management and Innovation Budget Presentation

The PMI Director presented the department’s 2025-2026 budget proposal, highlighting:

• Full staffing of the department after starting as a department of one
• Launch of Outcomes Minneapolis, the city’s performance management program
• Focus on data-driven decision making and continuous improvement

Council members expressed support for the department’s work but raised concerns about the timeline for implementing performance metrics in the budget process. Council President Payne stated:

“I had an expectation this budget cycle we would start seeing some of this cross silo outcomes-based KPIs. Or, at minimum, more KPIs as part of these budget presentations. We’re not seeing that. I’m disappointed in that.”

No vote was taken on this item.

Legislative Directive on Financial Reporting

Vice Chair Koski introduced a legislative directive in response to concerns about recent budget reallocations. The directive requested detailed information on financial reporting practices and an evaluation of recent financial reports.

Mayor Frey strongly opposed the directive, arguing that it was not properly vetted and undermined the expertise of city staff:

“We need to stop pretending that we are experts at the expense of the people that actually are. We need to believe administrative staff when they tell us that there is an extraordinarily large problem with a move that we’re making.”

Council members debated the necessity and timing of the directive. Some argued it was crucial for transparency, while others felt it was rushed and potentially harmful.

The vote passed 8-3.

Public Comments

There were no public comments during this meeting.