Below is a news release describing Mayor Sayles Belton's 2002 Budget
Address.
Mayor Sayles Belton Presents 2002 Budget
Minneapolis: Safe City/Strong City
November 8, 2001 (Minneapolis, MN)--Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton
today presented her 2002 Budget recommendations to the Minneapolis City
Council. The Mayor's priorities for the $1 billion City budget include
public safety and emergency preparedness, housing, community development,
infrastructure and strong City services.
Emergency preparedness was a top concern. "Minneapolis, though located
1,000 miles from ground zero, was jolted by the events of September 11th,"
said Mayor Sayles Belton. "I want to assure the people of Minneapolis that
we were prepared before September 11th, and we are ready today to protect
our citizens and our community... My 2002 budget makes significant
investments in further preparedness activities."
The Mayors 2002 budget includes:
* $1.3 million in operating budget dollars for the City's Geographic
Information System (GIS). This is the state of the art mapping technology
that allowed New York to react quickly on September 11th.
* Through grants and City funds, $1.9 million in preparedness
activities through the Fire Department including equipment purchases,
training, and hiring additional firefighters.
* Funding to expand the General Fund contingency budget to $1.4
million to help meet unexpected expenditures plus $4.3 million dedicated in
the capital program for future security enhancements.
The City's Preparedness plan is posted on the City's web site at
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/emergency/index.asp. Or, citizens can
obtain a paper copy by calling (612) 673-5350.
The Mayor also called on the City to secure federal resources for emergency
preparedness. "Minneapolis cannot shoulder the costs of ensuring public
safety against terrorism without help from the federal government and Office
of Homeland Security," said the Mayor. "The City has forwarded a list of
needs to President Bush and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge.
The Mayor addressed the City's general financial challenges in light of
limited revenue and changes in the ability to use Tax Increment Financing to
fund community development activities.
"As a result of State tax reform, City government must now find new ways to
generate revenue for the services citizens expect," said the Mayor. "The
tax bill will reduce total property tax levies in Minneapolis by nearly $100
million next year due to the state takeover of the basic education and
transit levies.
"Tax reform has significantly impacted the City's ability to use tax
increment financing (TIF) for community development. Without TIF as a
financing tool, the City of Minneapolis is facing a loss of $25 million a
year in development-related funding beginning in 2002. This means that the
City must restructure and refocus its development activities.
"In addition to these challenges, we continue to face financial pressures
due to rising salaries and health insurance for City employees. In the last
year alone, the cost of providing health insurance rose by $8.5 million, or
almost 18 percent."
Most of the City's General Fund budget supports essential services such as
fire, police and public works. In 2002, almost 70 percent of the General
Fund will go toward these basic services. In addition, the Mayor's budget
includes $4.1 million to continue to close the City's infrastructure gap,
including $2.6 million for public works and $1.5 million for parks.
The Mayor's budget keeps affordable housing at the top of the City's agenda.
"Preservation of existing affordable housing is imperative," said the Mayor.
"The current stock of affordable housing must be improved to make sure that
it is safe and healthy for our citizens. The City must continue to produce
more housing that is affordable to all people along life's continuum. We
have set production goals and we must continue to achieve and surpass those
goals. Creation of housing along commercial corridors and in the commercial
nodes of our City offers the City the greatest opportunity to increase
housing options.
In this budget, the Mayor recommends approximately $9.5 million in CDBG
funds to support the preservation and creation of affordable housing
including support for:
* Lead abatement;
* Homeownership opportunities;
* Housing rehabilitation;
* Rehabbing vacant and board housing; and
* Creating multifamily affordable housing.
Community development is another top priority. "The health of our city
depends on the health of our neighborhoods," said Mayor Sayles Belton.
"However, changes in tax law have changed the way we can collect revenue for
community development - an essential activity of the City. While this is a
challenge, it is also an opportunity to redefine how our City delivers
community development support to our neighborhoods."
The Mayor's 2002 Budget includes these recommendations:
* The Minneapolis Community Development Agency (MCDA) focus its
resources on four priorities - affordable housing, commercial corridors,
brownfields reclamation and supporting small businesses;
* An ordinance creating the Minneapolis Development Board, which will
include seven citizen members with significant authority over development
planning and project approval;
* Integrating the administration the Neighborhood Revitalization
Program (NRP) into the MCDA and Planning Department. Teams of staff from
the MCDA and Planning Department will be assigned to each of the 11
communities in Minneapolis to work with neighborhoods on planning and
implementation.
"I propose moving 5.0 FTE from the NRP to the Planning Department so that
they can effectively support neighborhoods as they develop NRP plans," said
the Mayor. "The MCDA will assume greater responsibility for the
implementation of neighborhood plans; I propose moving 3.0 FTE from the NRP
to the MCDA to make this happen. The NRP would maintain 4.0 FTE to provide
administrative support to neighborhoods as they begin planning process,
provide training to neighborhood organizations so that they can plan and
implement effectively, and monitor citywide NRP activities and outcomes.
"This proposal will provide more planning and implementation expertise to
neighborhoods as they enter Phase II. It will strengthen the connections
between neighborhoods and public agencies and will likely result in City
plans and policy that better reflect neighborhood priorities."
The Mayor's budget also includes capital investments that live up to
commitments the City has made to organizations in the community:
* $150,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to the
Minneapolis Urban League, in the second of a two year commitment to their
capital campaign; and
* $323,000 in CDBG funds to Eastside Neighborhood Services, in the
last installment of the City's commitment to their capital campaign.
Other capital investments include:
* Funding for Near North Redevelopment for replacement of streets and
other public infrastructure to prepare for the redevelopment of one of the
largest sections of the City in decades.
Tax Policy
The Mayor's 2002 budget recommends a 7.3 percent increase in property tax
revenue, or an additional $7 million for the City's general levies.
If the Park and Library Boards set their levies at the maximum amounts
provided by the Board of Estimate and Taxation, the total property tax
increase for general city levies and the independent boards will be a
11.6-percent, or a $15.4 million increase over 2001 levies.
"In closing, this is a sound, responsible budget that can deliver quality,
essential services," said the Mayor. "This budget will keep Minneapolis a
safe city and a strong city for 2002 and beyond."
XXX
NOTE: After 2 p.m. today full text of the Mayor's Budget Framework address
can be found on the City of Minneapolis website:
www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/mayor
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