November 22 Updates from the Office of Mayor Frey

Update from Mayor Jacob Frey | November 22, 2023

Facts About the Police Contract Negotiations

First of all, the City’s Labor Relations team deserves a big thank you. They have been at the negotiating table on behalf of the City, doing the hard work of negotiating a new contract that both brings about meaningful change and helps recruit and retain new officers. 

Second, there’s been a lot of discussion around our ongoing police contract negotiations over the past week, including the Star Tribune Editorial Board asking the City Council to "try again" and reconsider the incentives. Here are a few key facts. 

Incentives are a key part of the overall strategy 

Departments locally and across the country are implementing recruitment and/or retention bonuses. Will incentives alone fix this problem? Of course not. But the claim that these incentives will make no difference at all defies best-practice guidance and common sense.   

In order to be competitive, we need to offer these types of incentives as part of our overall strategy. The Department of Justice recommends retention incentives as a key component.

Public meetings and accessible public information 

The City and the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis (POFM) have been at the bargaining table since September 6. All meetings have been open to the public – anyone can attend.  

Officer incentive pay has been publicly featured as a top priority since the City’s very first formal proposal. This proposal has been discussed during public meetings and has been publicized on the City’s website for months. The fact that the City was seeking incentives in this negotiations process is not new information. 

Additionally, the City held three community listening session in summer 2022. The feedback gathered through those sessions has been on the City's website since November 2022. Priority areas that emerged from community feedback were "recruitment and retention" and “increases in compensation to attract quality candidates”.  

City Council engagement in the process 

There has been no shortage of opportunities for the City Council to engage in the police contract work.  

In April 2022, Mayor Frey convened an internal City workgroup focused on developing a shared set of priorities in advance of the police union contract negotiations. This workgroup includes Council President Andrea Jenkins, Council Member Lisa Goodman, Council Member Aisha Chughtai, Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw and City staff. 

Over the past year and months before negotiations started, the workgroup has met regularly. The four Council Members have represented the City Council in this ongoing, collaborative work—making sure that Council has had a voice at the table and policymaker expectations are aligned.    

In convening this workgroup, Mayor Frey became the first Minneapolis mayor to invite the Council to partner in the POFM contract work. The full City Council also received two closed-session briefings this year on the status of ongoing contract negotiations, the most recent of which was on November 2.   

Critically low staffing number and market conditions 

Down nearly 300 officers, the MPD has reached a critically low level of staffing. The current market conditions nationally for hiring police officers necessitate offering significant hiring and retention incentives. Recruitment incentives in metropolitan areas range from $500 - $10,000 annually—with much larger incentives nationally. 

Minneapolis is competing in a market that dictates these incentives have to happen to remain competitive. Some jurisdictions offer lateral hiring bonuses, which result in officers transferring from one jurisdiction to another.  

Reforms 

A consistent theme we have heard from community members, Council Members, and from the MPD is that we need to address the decades-worth of managerial authority that has been given away in past contracts. The letter of agreement would have given us a huge reform regarding how the Chief is able to staff the department and be responsive for the current needs of the city.   

Since the letter of agreement did not pass Council, it's possible this reform will not happen in the full contract negotiations. The Chief – and the community – will have to continue to wait at least 28 days to fill a shift. This will directly impact the level of service we are able to provide to our community members. 

We will continue pushing for additional reforms throughout the rest of the ongoing contract negotiations.

Continued Officer Recruitment and Retention Efforts

We need to attempt every available option for adding and retaining more police officers in Minneapolis. That has been made clear by residents at the ballot box, through the courts, and has been a top priority for Mayor Frey's administration since taking office. 

Last week, the City Council voted against a letter of agreement struck between the City of Minneapolis and the POFM. The agreement would have given recruitment and retention incentives to officers – and would have given the City and the MPD a huge reform to gain back managerial authority over assigning shifts. 

But the proposed recruitment and retention incentives included in the letter of agreement are just one part of the broader strategy to bring in and keep officers who reflect our values. Other pieces of the City's overall strategy include, but are not limited to: 

1. Last year, we dedicated $7 million for retention, recruitment, and hiring support enterprise-wide as part of our federal relief spending proposal – $1 million of that was for MPD specifically. The City’s HR team is working directly with a vendor to develop and produce a top tier recruitment media and marketing campaign for both MPD officers and 911 dispatchers – this is anticipated to be rolled out in early 2024. 
2. The MPD has also been applying both a local and national lens to the department’s boots-on-the-ground efforts, including: Step-Up summer internship for local youth, attending career fairs around the City in cultural corridors, regularly visiting colleges across the country, including visiting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (resulted in a partnership with HBCU Alabama A&M University), and going to military bases across the country. 
3. Chief O’Hara and his leadership team have also been pushing for licensure reform at the Capitol – those measures would expand opportunities to recruit from new pools of candidates. 
4. The City and the MPD have also taken steps to streamline the application and background checks process to get qualified applicants in the door as fast as possible. 
5. The City has moved civilian recruiters from MPD to HR in order to more effectively assist candidates through the hiring process. 

This is a full-court press to reduce barriers and replenish the ranks so we can provide our residents with safety services.

Mayor Frey, Commissioner Barnette, and City Leaders Highlight Safety Beyond Policing Work

Last week, Mayor Jacob Frey, Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette, and Performance Management & Innovation Director Kira Hasbargen provided an update on safety beyond policing work at the City, including next steps to begin implementation of the Minneapolis Safe and Thriving Communities Report.

To help guide the initial implementation work, the City will be entering a single-source contract with the New York University School of Law’s Policing Project. The contract, vetted by City staff, was unanimously approved by the City Council on Thursday.

Back in July, Mayor Frey, alongside City leaders and Dr. Antonio Oftelie, released the 143-page Safe and Thriving Communities Report outlining a long-term vision and future recommendations for continuing to build out an ecosystem for safety beyond policing. Currently, the Office of Community Safety and the Office of Public Service (via the Performance Management & Innovation department) are collaborating to build out the foundation of the report’s recommendations.

Mayor Frey Supports Pay Increase for Rideshare Drivers, Would Sign Ordinance This Year

Last week, Mayor Frey expressed his continued support for paying Minneapolis rideshare drivers a fair and equitable wage. The mayor supports a $1.17 per-mile and 34 cents per-minute pay for drivers – which would roughly double the current rate of pay.

He is ready to sign this into law this year, but City Council Members have delayed discussion of the city’s Transportation Network Companies rideshare ordinance. It was supposed to be publicly discussed on November 28 – but Council Members removed it from the agenda and have pushed the discussion to next year.  

Mayor Frey Nominates Margaret Anderson Kelliher for City Operations Officer

Mayor Frey has nominated Margaret Anderson Kelliher to the appointed role of City Operations Officer for the City of Minneapolis. Anderson Kelliher has a long and proven track record of leading complex and strategic government work, especially in times of change. She has held top roles for the Minnesota House of Representatives, State of Minnesota Department of Transportation, and currently for the City of Minneapolis’ Public Works Department.

As City Operations Officer, Anderson Kelliher would oversee the City’s Office of Public Service and its 17 departments, including the 311 Service Center, Regulatory Services, Race, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Community Planning and Economic Development, and Communications. She would also provide enterprise-wide leadership and direction to thousands of employees to ensure the delivery of high-quality, coordinated city services.

“Every mayor in the country needs a leader like Margaret Anderson Kelliher – someone who has been navigating challenges and solving problems for their entire public service career,” said Mayor Frey. “Margaret’s governing resume is second to none and her community ties are built over decades – that combination of commitment and expertise is exactly what we need in our City Operations Officer. I know she is the right person to continue building out the Office of Public Service as a hub of effective, efficient, and equitable government services for Minneapolis residents, and I’m grateful for her willingness to continue serving the City of Minneapolis in this capacity.”

Mayor Frey, City of Minneapolis Highlight Success of Evie Carshare Program

Mayor Jacob Frey and the City of Minneapolis – in conjunction with Mayor Melvin Carter and the City of Saint Paul – celebrated the success of Evie Carshare, the City’s first all-electric fleet of shared vehicles. In 2022, Mayor Frey alongside Mayor Carter and Senator Tina Smith, announced the launch of the carshare network in the Twin Cities – the first 100% renewably powered and municipally owned carshare in the country.

Since launching, the program has provided 150,000 trips to people across the Twin Cities and logged 1.5 million zero-emission miles, helping to reduce the region’s carbon footprint. In his 2024 proposed budget, Mayor Frey has allocated $730,000 to expand the electrical vehicle stations, while leveraging an additional $2-3 million in federal funds to support electric vehicles and carbon emission reduction.

“Electric vehicles are the future and the continued success of this carshare program is evidence of that,” said Mayor Frey. “By embracing electric vehicles, Minneapolis is improving mobility options for residents, reducing emissions, and leading the way toward a greener, smarter, and more sustainable future for generations to come. We’re so grateful to have the EV Spot Network program in the Twin Cities and look forward to our continued partnership with them.” 

View the 2022 HOURCAR Impact Report.

How to Get Your COVID-19, Flu and RSV Vaccines This Year

Immunizations are available this fall and winter in the United States that can help protect against three major respiratory diseases: COVID-19, flu and RSV. Immunization against these viruses remains the best protection for reducing the risk of serious illness, hospitalizations, long-term health impacts and death.

Recommendations for these immunizations vary based on age, pregnancy status or medical conditions.

To find flu and COVID-19 vaccines, visit vaccines.gov.