Meeting Information
- Date: October 21, 2024
- Title: Budget Committee Meeting
- Present: Chughtai (Chair), Rainville, Vetaw, Cashman, Chavez, Chowdhury, Palmisano, Koski (Vice Chair), Osman
- Absent: Payne, Wonsley, Ellison, Jenkins (joined later)
- Guests: Todd Barnette (Commissioner of Community Safety), Laurie Burns (Outgoing Interim Director of Emergency Management), Tim Sexton (Director of Public Works)
- Votes: 0
Highlights
- Presentation of 2025 Mayor’s Recommended Budget for Office of Community Safety
- Presentation of 2025 Budget for Emergency Management Department
- Presentation of 2025 Budget for Public Works Department
- Discussion on recruitment campaign for Minneapolis Police Department
- Discussion on traffic calming measures and budget allocation
- Proposal for EV charging stations across the city
- Discussion on solid waste management and encampment clean-ups
Discussion
Office of Community Safety Budget Presentation
Commissioner Todd Barnette presented the 2025-2026 Office of Community Safety Budget. Key points included:
- A $3.6 million budget for 2025, a $1.5 million increase over 2024
- Focus on building a robust community safety ecosystem
- Continued implementation of the Safe and Thriving Community Report
- Opening of community safety centers
Council members raised questions about the effectiveness of the recruitment campaign for MPD and the allocation of funds for nighttime safety strategies.
Councilmember Chowdhury expressed concern about the return on investment for the recruitment campaign: “I’m kind of thinking like with the campaign, if there is data points around social media clicks, the number of times that QR code is actually hit, like those are data analytics and insights that I would be looking for, and for this campaign, it’s more of a science than an art to understand if it’s effective.”
No vote was taken on this presentation.
Emergency Management Budget Presentation
Outgoing Interim Director Laurie Burns presented the 2025 Budget for the Emergency Management Department. Key points included:
- A focus on preparedness, prevention, and response
- Continued implementation of the NIMS (National Incident Management System) Reset Project
- Challenges with heavy reliance on grant funding for staffing
Council members expressed appreciation for Burns’ service during the transition period. No significant debates or controversies were raised during this presentation.
No vote was taken on this presentation.
Public Works Budget Presentation
Director Tim Sexton presented the 2025 Budget for the Public Works Department. Key points included:
- A proposed budget increase primarily driven by increased personnel costs and internal service charges
- New initiatives including EV charging stations and a traffic safety camera pilot
- Continued focus on street maintenance, waste management, and water services
The presentation sparked discussions on several topics:
Traffic Calming: Council members expressed concern about the reduction in funding for the Neighborhood Traffic Calming program from $500,000 to $100,000. Vice Chair Koski stated: “This is such a strong participatory type of program and finally, I feel like residents are feeling like they are seen and heard with some of the programs that they’re looking at. So I think that it’s important that we continue these conversations.”
EV Charging Stations: A proposal for $354,000 to buy and maintain EV chargers throughout the city was discussed. Council members were interested in the placement and public accessibility of these stations.
Solid Waste Management and Encampment Clean-ups: The department proposed $300,000 for evaluating a Clean Cities funding program and supporting community-based waste reduction strategies, as well as $180,000 for encampment clean-up support.
No votes were taken on these proposals, but council members expressed interest in following up on several topics, particularly the traffic calming budget and EV charging station locations.
Public Comments
There were no public comments recorded in this transcript.