Budget Committee

Remote

Heard public testimony from 41 people on the mayor’s proposed 2026 budget.

Three prominent requests were:

• Restore a $349,178 cut to the city’s labor standards co-enforcement program, a program that partners with trusted local organizations to share information and training to workers on their rights. The cut comprises more than half of the program budget.
• Restore a $12,500 cut to Speak Minneapolis, a public access tv station that provides training and resources for youth and community members, funded through the cultural media budget.
• Find additional funding to support both the emergency housing voucher program that would provide services to 50 individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as the Stable Homes Stable Schools program, which addresses housing instability experienced by students and their families, instead of moving the voucher program’s $1.4 million to the Stable Homes Stable Schools program.

Other speakers (two for each of the following three issues) urged the city to end its contract with Zen City to track resident sentiment, due to the business’ surveillance work; add additional funding to cultural corridors programs to support small businesses; and address unsheltered homelessness in the city.