A Letter from Mayor Frey on Neighborhoods and His Proposed 2020 Budget

Via an August 27 e-announcement from David Rubedor, Director of Neighborhood and Community Relations, City of Minneapolis:

2020 Budget Letter from Mayor Frey

On August 15, the mayor presented his proposed budget for 2020 at his yearly budget address. In his budget, he outlines a path forward for funding of the Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR) Department and neighborhood organizations.

I would like to share with you a letter from the mayor regarding his budget plan:

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Dear neighborhood and community leaders:

On August 15, I shared my 2020 Budget priorities with the public and City Council. Our proposed 2020 budget includes funding for several tailored strategies for economic inclusion, affordable housing, and police-community relations.

Our budget proposal also includes an array of measures to protect the city’s financial security in the years ahead – a number of which will be relevant for those who work with our city’s neighborhood organizations.

The state-created consolidated Tax Increment Finance district – which has funded neighborhood associations and NCR for years – is set to expire in 2020. That would leave a big hole in the City’s budget of over 7 million dollars in 2021. It would have been easy to kick the can down the road. But I felt strongly that we could not leave our neighborhoods and an entire City department in limbo.

Instead, we have laid out a proactive plan to provide funding for this work and an opportunity for Council Members to make the best decisions for the future, freed from the looming question of whether any funding is available. In other words, we are ensuring that even with the elimination of TIF funding, NCR and neighborhood organizations are funded at current service levels from the general fund. With the issue of funding resolved in the short term, we can now shape both NCR and neighborhood funding in the best way possible for our city.

For further information on this funding change, please feel free to reach out to Jaime Makepeace on my staff, who can walk through any outstanding issues. You should also feel free to share your opinion and experience with your Council Member or at any of the upcoming budget hearings taking place through the end of the year.

Thank you for all you do for our city and diverse communities.

Yours truly,

Mayor Jacob Frey

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If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

David Rubedor

Director of Neighborhood and Community Relations
ADA Title II Coordinator

City of Minneapolis – Neighborhood and Community Relations
Crown Roller Mill, Room 425 105 5th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Office: 612-673-3129
David.Rubedor@minneapolismn.gov
www.minneapolismn.gov/ncr