Minneapolis leaders grapple over new police contract's impact on budget, reform
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Minneapolis City Council members took public comment on a proposed police contract on June 25. Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios
A Minneapolis City Council committee could decide Monday whether to advance a new contract with the police officers union to a final vote.
The big picture: The fate of the union deal is tangled in a debate between Mayor Jacob Frey and council leaders about funding both the contract and civilian-led public safety projects — while also leading an overhaul of the Minneapolis Police Department.
What's inside: The tentative agreement includes a 21.7% salary increase for MPD officers that would increase the city's ongoing costs by $9.1 million starting next year.
State of play: Several council members want assurances that Frey won't cover the costs by diverting one-time state funding earmarked for other civilian-led policing alternatives, including a "safety ambassador" pilot program.
What they're saying: That money "is for transforming public safety, not for going back to the old way," Council president Elliott Payne told Axios.
The other side: With Minneapolis facing a budget crunch, Frey has argued the move would ease the financial pain of the union deal on taxpayers.
- His staff have also expressed doubts that they have the bandwidth to carry out council members' policing alternative proposals.
The fine print: Payne said the council could still approve the contract and resolve the budget differences later.
Context: MPD will soon face two court orders to reform patterns of racially biased, heavy-handed policing.
- Several council members have expressed concern over whether the union deal does enough to enable those reforms.
Friction point: For decades, city officials said union contracts blocked efforts to hold officers accountable for alleged misconduct.
- Groups like Mpls For A Better Police Contract fault city leaders for failing to insist on enough changes in past and present contract negotiations.
- Yes, but: City staff argue the court settlements are the best place to negotiate reforms, and that baking new provisions into the contract would limit those settlements' ability to dictate terms.
The intrigue: Council members wary of the contract acknowledged that it does contain significant wins for reform, including the ability for Chief Brian O'Hara to hire civilians and dictate officer deployment.
- But those powers last only through 2026.
"For the first time in a long time, instead of the contract running the department, the chief actually runs the department," council member Jeremiah Ellison said last week.
- However, "I don't want that freedom to only last for a year-and-a-half."
What we're watching: After hearing public testimony on the contract on Monday, the council committee will decide whether to advance it to a final vote on July 18.
Go deeper: ICYMI, our special issue of the newsletter on MPD and its chief.