Minneapolis Mayor Frey proposes revised 2020 budget proposal to city council

Thursday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey presented the second phase of his revised 2020 budget proposal to the Minneapolis City Council to address the $97.8 million in revenue losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a news release from the city, the proposal avoids mass layoffs of city employees by relying on existing spending freezes, use of cash reserves, program cuts and furloughs. The budget also prioritizes preserving housing, economic development and racial equity work that will benefit the communities of color that have been hit the hardest by the virus.

"This budget helps avoid mass layoffs while preserving our core work and essential work," Frey said. "It would be fiscally irresponsible to use all of our ‘rainy day’ funds now. We are in the very early stages of what promises to be a long flood, and this work will remain ongoing."

Frey’s budget revision proposes no more than six furlough days for any employee between now and the end of the year, with most employees experiencing less. The mayor will also be taking a voluntary pay cut equivalent to the percentage of pay lost by the greatest number of furlough days. These furloughs mentioned would begin in August.

Across city departments, employees have volunteered about 19,000 hours of budgetary leave, allowing the city to have $600,000 in savings. That number is equal to roughly half a furlough day per employee.

Frey’s phase one response to the impact of COVID-19 included spending and hiring freezes. The measures have saved about $58 million to date, according to the city of Minneapolis.

To see a full summary of the phase, click here.

The timeline for the budget markup and adoption process goes as follows:

• July 9: Frey delivers budget presentation to city council
• July 10: City budget director provides overview to city council and fields questions
• July 14: City council holds its first public hearing on the revised budget
• July 17: First city council budget markup
• July 22: The city council will hold its second and final public hearing
• July 24: Final city council markup and adoption of the revised budget

Minneapolis could face quarter-billion-dollar budget crunch due to COVID-19 and recent unrest