MPRB 2025 budget focuses on caring for park assets

At their Dec. 10, 2024 meeting, the Board of Commissioners adopted a 2025-2026 Budget for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) that focuses caring for park amenities and infrastructure, protecting the environment and natural resources it manages, serving the youth of Minneapolis through quality programming and investing in employees who deliver services.

“This budget was particularly challenging for several reasons. We needed to balance between the organizational needs and community impacts with an eye on delivering quality park services that Minneapolis residents want and use,” said Board President Meg Forney. “We passed a budget that is focused on sustaining our dedicated, talented staff but were unable to meet all the inflationary needs of the organization. As a result, we are stretching existing resources and implementing some service level reductions.”

The 2025 Budget totals $155 million, including $109 million for the general operating fund, $17 million for the enterprise operating fund, $2 million for the special revenue fund, and $27 million for capital project funding. The budget utilizes the maximum 8.27 percent tax levy approved by the Board of Estimate and Taxation in September. The MPRB’s 8.27 percent property tax levy increase is 1.5 percent of the total 6.9% property tax levy adopted Dec. 10 by the Minneapolis City Council. The MPRB’s tax levy amounts to an approximate $31 annual increase in property taxes on a $323,000 home.  

The 2025-2026 budget is the MPRB’s first two-year budget process. The MPRB’s 2025 Annual Budget will be appropriated and the 2026 budget plan will be established, with time for further analysis and refinement during 2025.

The adopted 2025 budget  includes $3,132,000 for the provision for wage and fringe adjustments as negotiated in recent settlements and $150,000 to reduce barriers to program participation by providing a city-wide, need-based free and sliding fee scale youth programming strategy. It does not include $1.5 million in additional levy funds that MPRB had sought to address inflationary pressures that are impacting the MPRB Budget, funds to provide the standard level of service for Graco Park that opened this fall and features a new building opening in early 2025, and a new position to support assessing and tracking lifecycles for all asset types within the MPRB system. The $1.5 million funding gap resulted in service level impacts to the organization and the public, as outlined in the budget.

The adopted budget supports the neighborhood park and regional park capital investments and utilizes criteria-based systems for project scheduling. According to MPRB representatives, racial equity work continues to be demonstrated in the 2025-26 Budget in five distinct areas: 2025 department budget actions; neighborhood park capital improvement and rehabilitation funding; regional park capital improvement funding; recreation center funding; and 2025 budget adjustments.

The 2025 Budget includes an 8.27 percent tax levy increase and the 2026 budget plan is forecasted based on a 6.3 percent tax levy increase (1.1 percent increase on total city tax levy) and plans to maintain current service levels and provide the standard level of service for Graco Park and Upper Harbor Terminal Parks.

The budget also supports the MPRB’s commitment to strategic long-term planning through the 2023-2026 Strategic Directions, Performance Goals, and Priority Comprehensive Plan Strategies adopted by the Board in May 2022. The five strategic directions are: act boldly for our climate; cultivate each community’s place and honor cultural traditions in Minneapolis parks; implement quality youth and intergenerational programs; care for park assets to meet evolving needs and practices; and steward our natural resources.

To address the budget gaps and to activate Graco Park, at a reduced level, the 2025 adopted budget uses one-time funds and transfers of funds, including savings from not operating the North Commons Water Park due to planned demolition of the pool to build a new recreation center and pool; reducing ice rinks from 22 park locations to 17 locations during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons; and reducing recreation center hours during non-peak times, by one hour per weekday, on four additional federal holidays, and Sundays at five sites.

Departmental initiatives, budget impacts and changes for 2025-26 include:

• Asset Management – includes shifts of staffing, materials, supplies, and contractual services to the Enterprise Fund for Sculpture Garden and pay parking lot maintenance to better align the activities between the funds; a reduction in five ice rink sites by the end of 2026 due to uncertain climate fluctuations, the environments, and warming room rental costs and will include further analysis especially rinks located on lakes; and an increase in materials and supplies due to inflation. The 2025 budget also includes an allocation of one-time savings from the closing of North Commons Waterpark and a one-time reduction in the General Fund transfer for operation facilities rehabilitation to fund the addition of seasonal maintenance hours, overtime, materials, supplies, contractual services, and equipment at Graco Park due to system equity investment not being supported by property taxes. The 2026 budget plan includes proposed funding to provide the standard level of service for care and maintenance of Graco and Upper Harbor Terminal Parks through a planned property tax increase.
• Athletic Programs, Aquatics, Golf & Ice Arenas – includes the closing of the North Commons Waterpark that suffers from cracks in the pool basin and leaks in piping and mechanical equipment, requiring nearly constant attention to keep the pool reasonably operable during season. While those conditions have been addressed without a pool closure in recent years, the MPRB’s effort to deliver a major recreation center project at North Commons Park requires demolition of major portions of the pool to allow for planned construction. The MPRB will request bids for pool demolition in March 2025 leading to the start of demolition activities as early as May 2025. The temporary operating savings from the waterpark closure are being utilized to provide maintenance and activation at a reduced level at Graco Park. The 2025 budget also includes revenue changes based on comparative market rates and trends for the sailing program, non-resident waterpark season passes, pool rental fees, adult volleyball leagues, and field rentals. The 2025 budget also includes an increase in golf fees based on trends; an increase in revenue from charging all high schools for golf course use through a per player season pass; and the conversion of four seasonal parkkeepers to two full-time parkkeepers. The 2026 budget plan includes an increase to golf fees based on comparative market rates. The budget includes an increase to ice rental fees in both 2025 and 2026 based on comparative market rates.
• Environmental Management – Beginning in 2024, the City of Minneapolis implemented a stormwater charge through its monthly stormwater utility fees on behalf of the MPRB and allocates the funding to the MPRB. The MPRB’s Stormwater Enterprise Fund is used to sustain, protect, and enhance the stormwater management system on parkland for which the MPRB is responsible. The funding is also be used to cover the annual costs of water quality and stormwater monitoring of Minneapolis water bodies and water quality education to community members. These cost items are associated with the current National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase I permit requirements of which the MPRB and City co-permittees. The 2025 budget includes an inflationary increase on the base funding in 2025 and 2026 for the water quality and stormwater monitoring of Minneapolis water bodies and water quality education to community members; and a 2026 budget plan to add full-time water quality position and increase supplies, and contractual services to further enhance the program to provide more technical, engineering, or contracting repair work. The 2026 budget plan also includes an increase to seasonal natural resources specialists to increase from six to nine months of the year to cover crucial seasonal work that takes place from spring to fall for Natural Areas Maintenance.
• Forestry – includes an increase in contractual services for the grinding and disposal of tree debris; a transfer from the Special Revenue Fund for revenue generated from tree preservation projects in which sponsors of the projects reimburse the MPRB for the value of public trees affected by the project along with a corresponding increase to tree purchases; and a transfer of available proceeds from The Urban Tree Carbon Offset Program reserve fund along with a corresponding increase to tree purchases.
• Strategic Planning – includes an increase in contractual services to continue the work of the MPRB Indigenous Parks Liaison and MPRB Native American Park Council, including Indigenous Acknowledgement development, training, and Indigenous Reconciliation Plan development.
• Visitor Services – includes a decrease in Ambassador provisional staffing which will be used to establish an enhanced outdoor supervision pilot program in the Youth & Recreation Center Programs Department; various revenue increases and decreases due to trends; one-time savings from the closing of North Commons Waterpark to fund special services attendant hours at Graco Park due to system equity investment not being supported by property taxes; and an allocation of one-time savings to fund the replacement of an inflatable movie screen. The 2026 budget plan includes proposed funding for the activation of Graco and Upper Harbor Terminal Parks through a planned property tax levy increase.
• Youth and Recreation Center Programs – includes the expansion to city-wide, needs-based free and reduced cost youth programming; an increase in Rec Plus fees based on comparative market rates and an increase in Rec Plus materials, supplies, and training; increase in winter outdoor programming in partnership with environmental education at Webber Park to replace the closing of the ice rink; an increase in recreation centers material and supplies to address the impact of inflation; and a decrease in contractual services as recreation program staff are required to provide more direct programming at the recreation centers. The 2025 budget also includes the closing of recreation centers on four additional federal holidays (Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and Veterans Day); the establishment of an enhanced outdoor supervision pilot program at parks that experience high outdoor usage during major holidays; and based on actual park usage, the reduction of recreation center public hours by one hour per weekday during the school year and summer and closing East Phillips, Farview, Northeast, Pearl, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parks on Sundays which results in no public hours at recreation centers on Sundays. The 2025 budget includes fee increases based on comparative market rates for room rental fees and summer camp fees; and the establishment of youth sports camps/clinics and a commercial permit use fee.

The Superintendent’s recommended budget was presented in October and all related budget documents are available for viewing at www.minneapolisparks.org/budget. The adopted budget book will be posted online in January.