City Briefs

MAXIMUM PROPERTY TAX LEVY SET

The Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) has approved the levy increase of 6.5% as proposed by Mayor Jacob Frey. At the September meeting, BET member Steve Brandt moved to amend the resolution by reducing the general fund levy from $286,963,777 to $283,379,823, and the total property tax levy from $444,386,708 to $440,794,754. That would have lowered the increase to 5.6% but was voted down on a 4 to 2 vote, with elected BET Board President Samantha Pree-Stinson joining Brandt in support of it. Following that vote, the mayor’s proposal was approved on the same 4 to 2 vote, with District 1 Park Commissioner Billy Menz, Council President Andrea Jenkins and Ward 11 Council Member Emily Koski joining the mayor in supporting a maximum levy increase of 6.5%, or $27 million, in 2023. The City Council could still approve a lower amount as part of the budget they are set to approve in December.

2022 ELECTION

Early voting for the Nov. 8 general election is underway. You can vote early at the Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services center at 980 E Hennepin Ave. or at the elections service area in the Hennepin County Government Center, Skyway Level, 300 6th St. S. On Election Day, anyone who hasn’t voted early can only vote at their assigned polling place. All polling places are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. If you are going to vote on election day you may have a new polling place because of the redistricting process. Find your polling place at www.pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us. To see your sample ballot visit https:// www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/.

CITY ANNOUNCES NEW SAFETY ENDEAVOR

In September, Mayor Frey announced a new public safety effort he is calling “Operation Endeavor.” Cedric Alexander, recently appointed Commissioner of Community Safety, wrote that, “Operation Endeavor will be an all-hands approach where our resources – assets from the five departments under the Office of Community Safety, prosecutors, and officers at all levels of government, our community partners, and business leaders – will be strategically deployed in various roles.” At the press conference where it was announced, Mayor Jacob Frey said it will be “a comprehensive approach to public safety and it will coordinate city services - from police to prosecutors to violence prevention groups - and crack down on crime.” Alexander and Frey were joined at the conference by Minnesota’s Commissioner of Public Safety John Harrington, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, Minneapolis Police Commander Jason Case, Police Chief Amelia Huffman and Jennifer White from the Office of Violence Prevention.

CITY GOVERNMENT RESTRUCTURING

The City Council received a presentation on the draft government structure ordinance authored by Ward 13 Council Member Linea Palmisano on Sept 20. If approved, the ordinance would remove and replace significant portions of the city’s Code of Ordinances to implement a new government structure as recommended by Mayor Frey. On Oct. 4 , there was a “mark-up session” where amendments to the draft were considered. On Oct. 18 at 1:30 p.m., there will be a public hearing prior to final council consideration set for Oct. 20 at 9:30 a.m. The proposed ordinance significantly restricts the City Council’s role and limits its ability to direct leadership of departments or offices except in the cases of the City Clerk, City Attorney, and Auditor. The Mayor will be granted exclusive authority to direct all other departments which will be generally divided into two super-divisions, called the offices of community safety and public services. The City Attorney is the only division where both the council and the mayor will maintain shared authority to direct, although only the mayor would have authority to terminate the City Attorney’s employment with the city.

YARD WASTE PICK UP

Yard waste pickup returned to a weekly collection schedule starting Oct. 3 and the yard waste collection season has been extended through the end of November.

HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT CLOSURE PROCESS

The city recently updated its website on homelessness and encampment response, which includes a flowchart explaining the city’s encampment closure process. Ward 1 Council Member Elliot Payne reports, “City leadership decided timelines with encampments will only be shared with an internal work group. Updates will only be provided to staff outside that work group once encampments have already been cleared.” In July an ordinance relating to the city’s encampment response policy was introduced by Ward 12 Council Member Aisha Chughtai and Ward 9 Council Member Jason Chavez, who hope to craft a new encampment response policy this year.

RENT STABILIZATION WORK GROUP

The city’s new Rent Stabilization Work Group had its first meeting Sept. 13. The group is scheduled to meet through December and submit recommendations to the mayor and city council in early 2023 for an ordinance following the charter amendment approved last fall that authorizes the council to regulate rent increases. 44TH ST. APARTMENTS Following approval by the city’s planning commission and a city council committee, the city council is likely to also approve the Neighbors by the Lake, LLC’s plans for a new apartment building at 2815, 2817, 2821 44th St. W. in Linden Hills. The project, if completed, will result in a 4-story, 38-unit building with 27 below-grade parking spaces, and 42 bike parking spaces. It requires a rezoning from R2B to R4, and a height increase from three to four stories. The project was granted a “climate resiliency premium” because it will meet the Minnesota Sustainable Building 2030 (SB 2030) 2010-2014 Energy Standard, and a achieve a 60% carbon reduction from the 2003 average building baseline.