Documenters report: Minneapolis City Council reviews progress, budget for MPD state settlement agreement
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Twin Cities Documenters (via MinnPost)
MinnPost’s Twin Cities Documenters program trains and pays community members to take notes at local government meetings. Below are Documenter Missy W.’s summary and observations from the Oct. 13 meetings of the Minneapolis City Council Budget Committee. You can find Glen’s full notes here, which include links to the agenda and video recording, as well as our own audio recording of Open Forum.
The proposal would move MPD settlement agreement costs into the operating and capital budgets for the first time.
The $4 million in contractual services would include $1.5 million for Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELEFA), the outside evaluator that confirms whether the city is making progress towards settlement requirements, $2.4 million for training and implementation, and a one-time $100,000 for implementation support.
The proposed capital budget of $5.8 million includes $5.4 million for precinct improvements and two community safety centers (South Mpls Community Safety Center and North Community Safety Center) as well as $380,000 to work on Community Safety Training and Wellness Center options to support emergency services personnel, including police.
Chair Aisha Chughtai expressed concern that $20 million has been spent on the settlement agreement but a limited number of policies are complete and operational, with the first audits only starting this year. Staff replied that every new required policy needs to be implemented through training and then an ongoing audit process, which takes time.
The proposed budget would cut 6 full-time positions and $200,000, going from $11.4 million (60 full time employees) to $11.2 million (54 employees).
The director highlighted recent improvements in HR functions, which led to a reduced turnover rate (down to 8%) among city employees.
Council members expressed surprise to find out about a new plan to relocate the Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (REIB) department into The Office of Public Service (OPS), when the original proposed budget moved REIB into Human Resources. Chief Human Resources Officer Nikki Odom noted continuing discussions identified the need for a department that works both externally and internally to the city operations; Human Resources only operates internally.
Observations and follow up questions:
The presentation for the Technology Improvement Plan was not available before the meeting, but the chair advised this was moved to the next meeting.
Scene:
I attended this meeting in-person
I watched this meeting online
What is the viewcount on the video? (usually in the lower left corner)
350
Notable: Do you have any follow up questions or other observations to share?
The MPD Settlement Agreement will now be a budgeted item. Council members expressed concerns about the pace of progress on meeting specific actions detailed in the agreement to be considered compliant.
How to get involved:
The Budget Committee is made up of all 13 members of the Minneapolis City Council. The Budget Committee reviews proposed budgets from the mayor, which includes receiving annual department reports on performance.
The Minneapolis City Council planned for three public hearings as part of the 2027 budget process, and two of those public hearings remain: Monday, October 19th at 6:05 pm (Budget Committee) and Tuesday, December 15th at 6:05 pm (City Council meeting)
Community members who wish to comment on the 2027 city budget are encouraged to attend a hearing in-person, where they can sign up to speak.
