Minneapolis City Council overrides mayor’s veto of 2025 budget

NINA MOINI: Well, it's been quite a dramatic week for local government in Minneapolis as the city finalizes its budget for next year. Minneapolis Mayor, Jacob Frey, has found himself at odds with the city council over money. He even went so far as to use his veto power. This morning, the Minneapolis City Council overrode that veto. On Morning Edition with Cathy Wurzer, Mayor Frey called the budget, "irresponsible."

JACOB FREY: They have every ability to override this veto. That is their prerogative as the legislative branch. But I also have the ability to veto and then to use the bully pulpit to tell people what's in this budget.

Is it problematic? Absolutely. I've either voted for or signed into law 10 budgets at this point. This is the 11th. I don't take this lightly. But this budget is reckless.

NINA MOINI: The new budget for Minneapolis adds more than $6 million in new spending, much of it taken from the city's reserves. Joining us now to talk about the new budget and the mayor's veto power is MPR News reporter, Cari Spencer, who's been following this very closely. Thank you for being here, Cari.

CARI SPENCER: Thanks for having me.

NINA MOINI: So you were covering the budget negotiations. And they take a while, span several days, multiple hours, long meetings. What happened there? And why did it take so long?

CARI SPENCER: Yeah, well, the council started late last week with a list of over 70 budget amendments, which is way more than what's been the previous standard in past years. You might have had a dozen or two, though, it has been increasing.

Last year, there were 48. And then most of those 70 plus amendments came with lengthy discussions, including, oftentimes, debates over the funding sources for those amendments. Council member, Linea Palmisano, frequently opposed the use of one-time dollars for initiatives or programs. She also said that approach was unfair. She said the way that they were portioning those funds should have been decided in a competitive process instead of in the budget.

However, members who supported that amended budget said it was directly addressing unmet needs of Minneapolis residents, and that this was a necessary approach. They were saying that the status quo has been failing residents who've been waiting for help, and that these are the people that they have a closer understanding of as representatives of specific neighborhoods in their wards.

NINA MOINI: OK, so Mayor Frey, obviously, not happy with this budget. What were some of his concerns?

CARI SPENCER: Well, the mayor says that this budget prioritizes wants over needs, that it puts too much money toward, quote, "ward-specific pet projects," and that it takes funding from departments that provide essential services like filling potholes and repairing street lights. A number of the council's proposals go toward safety initiatives in specific neighborhoods like Midtown Phillips. But he says that impacts the goal of an overarching comprehensive public safety approach.

He also calls out some specific cuts, like redirecting half a million dollars for the police recruitment campaign elsewhere, and cutting $1.8 million from the police department, which is just under 1% of that budget. Despite his opposition to how the council wants to spend some of the budget next year, he did approve the property tax levy increase. That's an increase of just under 7%.

And it's also worth noting that the mayor had initially proposed an 8.1% increase. But the council passed a series of amendments that brought it down.

NINA MOINI: OK, what are council members saying about Frey's veto?

CARI SPENCER: Some of them are actually leveling the same critiques against him, calling his move reckless and fiscally irresponsible. After he announced that veto, several council members quickly fired back, accusing him of playing politics. Council President, Elliott Payne, pointed out that the amendments account for less than 2% of the total $1.88 billion budget.

Council member, Emily Koski, who's running for mayor, noted that Frey was the one who first proposed a levy that would weigh heavier on taxpayers. She also called him out of touch with residents for calling their proposals pet projects. She said their budget was one that reprioritized spending in order to meet the needs of residents.

NINA MOINI: And Cari, you've actually done some extensive reporting on Frey's use of that veto power. He's vetoed 17 actions you found since he first took office in 2018, which is more vetoes than the previous two Minneapolis mayors combined, you reported. What seems to be this disconnect between Mayor Frey and the council?

CARI SPENCER: Yeah, well, there's so much at play here. But I think two factors that keep popping up are, one, this new government structure change to a strong mayor system, and two, just a difference in politics. Everyone's liberal in Minneapolis City Hall. But the most recent council election brought the council majority further left than Frey.

And since then, he's vetoed the most actions he's ever vetoed in one year. There were seven vetoes this year. And he cast the majority as a group that works performatively and too quickly without care to expertise. But then many of them see him as this barrier to progressive change.

They're a body that, in the words of the Council President, moves urgently and with purpose. He says not all residents needs are being met. And it's necessary to treat those as crises.

By October, this council had actually introduced about the same amount of ordinances as the previous two years combined. And Frey says that's led to some actions that don't meet the mark. He's accused them of, in his words, not doing their homework and prioritizing ideology over good governance. Though, the Council President rejects that and says they are doing their homework.

And then, also, if you zoom back, there's also this change to government structure that voters approved in 2021 that portions more executive authority to the mayor, including giving him the sole authority to fire department heads. In both past and present, council members have said that's led to less trust and less communication between the legislative and executive branch in Minneapolis. So that's also heightened some of the tension surrounding these differing approaches.

NINA MOINI: Lots going on there. Thank you for keeping a close eye on it. We know you'll continue to do so, Cari.

CARI SPENCER: Thank you.

NINA MOINI: That was reporter, Cari Spencer. We also have coverage, by the way, on the recently passed budget in Saint Paul. You can find all of that information at mprnews.org.