Minneapolis City Council Adopts 2025 Budget With 6.9% Property Tax Hike

Minneapolis City Council Adopts 2025 Budget With 6.9% Property Tax Hike

Property taxes were one of the big issues of the night, as the Council approved the highest increase in about 15 years.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council voted Tuesday night to adopt the 2025 budget which includes $1.8 billion in expenses and the largest property tax hike in more than a decade.

Property taxes were one of the big issues of the night, as the Council approved the highest increase in property taxes since 2010. Mayor Jacob Frey initially submitted a budget with an 8.3% hike but the City Council worked the number down to 6.9%. They did so by reducing raises for the 160 highest-paid city staff members, deferring the implementation of technology projects and delaying the purchase of an internal computer software package.

Council members had to vote on a record 74 amendments during a meeting that stretched on late into the night, passing 71 of them. Many of those amendments focused on public safety efforts in the city. Members voted to expand the city's Behavioral Crisis Response and to fund five civilian investigators to be added to the police force to look into non-violent cases.

Additionally, the council approved more resources to help homeless people, fund senior services and maintain a homeownership preservation program.

“A budget is a reflection of values — the Mayor’s proposed budget valued bloated bureaucracy and high property taxes, the Council stepped in to reflect the values and needs of our residents - decreased property taxes and funded programs that impact their everyday lives,” said Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai, Chair of the Budget Committee, in a released statement.

The 6.9% increase will result in the owner of a home valued at $331,000 paying an additional $170 in city property taxes.

Frey released a statement late Tuesday saying he would review the council's passed budget and decide whether to sign it.

The council and Mayor Jacob Frey have battled over priorities for the city. In an earlier meeting, multiple council members assailed Frey's proposed budget, alleging he added $36.8 million in new spending without making cuts. Declared 2025 mayoral candidate Emily Koski called Frey's financial plan "out of touch" and said the council had "no choice but to step in" to avoid the highest property tax hike in over a decade.

Frey himself had called for a 1.9% reduction in the proposed property tax levy before the Dec. 6 meeting but blamed the hike on the 70-plus amendments that City Council members had attached to his budget. The mayor called for the council to "reign in new spending," accusing members of cutting city services and then farming out millions to outside organizations to do the same work; breaking up his public safety system for "ward-specific pet projects"; and funding "unvetted, short-term projects" that will deliver minimal results for the city.

"This is the chance to truly put our actions where our mouth is on property taxes," Frey said at the council's Dec. 6 meeting. "I want to work with you to drive down these taxes."

SOURCE: KARE 11