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Politics and Government News
Brandt Williams
Minneapolis

Minneapolis mayor calls for budget boost for affordable housing

A man speaks at a podium.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey answers a reporter's question during a press conference in July.
Evan Frost | MPR News file

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Funding to expand the availability of affordable housing would increase by $7.2 million under the 2021 budget proposal released Wednesday by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. 

It was one of several priorities the mayor highlighted ahead of a Thursday presentation to the City Council’s budget committee.

The housing initiative includes support for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which helps finance the production and preservation of rental housing. 

The proposal also allocates $5 million to a fund to help businesses hurt by COVID-19 and the civil unrest which followed the police killing of George Floyd in May. 

The mayor's proposed budget also expands the city's mental health co-responder program which pairs police and mental health specialists. Frey also wants to spend $2.5 million for the violence interrupter program. Earlier this year the council used money from the police budget to hire a group of so-called "interrupters" who will try to prevent potentially violent confrontations.

Council member Steve Fletcher said these and other non-police based violence prevention efforts will reduce the workload for the police department. He said he supports using more money from the police budget to support them. 

“If we are actually reducing the number of calls we ask them to respond to and reducing the number of incidents that we ask them to participate in, I think it's totally appropriate to also reduce the funding department,” Fletcher said.  “We would do that with any other department.”

Frey is also proposing a 5.75 percent tax levy increase.  City officials say due to an overall boost to the city’s tax base, most homeowners will see a decrease in their property tax bills.