Minneapolis budget deal funds anti-homelessness program — for now
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Mayor Jacob Frey and City Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai jointly announced a city budget deal this week. Photos: Kyle Stokes/Axios
Minneapolis will fund a promising anti-homelessness program for the next three years — if Mayor Jacob Frey keeps a pledge that helped cinch a budget deal with the City Council this week.
Why it matters: The deal between Frey and the council avoids employee layoffs that Frey had opposed and a mayoral veto that might've jeopardized some of the council's priorities.
A major sticking point was how to fund a $1 million-per-year emergency housing voucher program modeled off of a successful pandemic-era initiative. It could shelter as many as 100 homeless families or individuals.
- Frey had objected to permanently reducing police funding to pay for the vouchers, which he believes Hennepin County ought to be funding, city officials told Axios.
What happened: The mayor signed the budget after council members agreed to instead use one-time funding for the vouchers.
- Frey also signed a letter promising to maintain the program for three years — though funding beyond the first year is not guaranteed.
What they're saying: "Crafting a budget is never easy, and there are certainly areas of disagreement in this one," Frey and council budget chair Aisha Chughtai said in a joint statement, saying their deal "reflects the values we do share."
The other side: Council member Robin Wonsley railed against the deal, blasting her usual allies for setting up a "fiscal cliff" in three years that risks putting voucher recipients back on the streets.
- Frey has his own reservations, saying the deal commits the city to spending that may drive up the city's property tax levy in future years.
The intrigue: The budget agreement tweaked earmarks on MPD spending, which may have had counterintuitive effects, Frey said.
- The mayor agreed to create an MPD task force to solve nonfatal shootings, like in St. Paul — but the council tweaked the wording of the proposal so it wouldn't force MPD to reassign investigators from the short-staffed homicide unit.
What we're watching: Whether this deal is a sign of a thaw between Frey and the council, which his critics will still control after new members take office next year.
- "Minneapolis voters were clear in their call for a collaborative approach from City Hall," Frey wrote in a letter to the council. "This agreement is proof that that call can be answered."