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Crime, Law and Justice
Jon Collins

Minneapolis mayor, council meet in special session over plan for police incentives

Two council members speak to each other
Minneapolis City Council member Robin Wonsley listens to council member Emily Koski before a council meeting at Minneapolis City Hall on July 18.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

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The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey are headed for a showdown Friday afternoon at a special meeting called by the mayor to consider more than $15 million in bonuses for Minneapolis police officers and recruits. 

The incentives of between $15,000 and $18,000 over three years were agreed to last week during negotiations between the city and the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis. In exchange for the boosts in pay, the union agreed to give Chief Brian O’Hara authority to schedule officers for vacant shifts more promptly. 

The agreement, which requires approval from the city council, ran into trouble at the city council’s Budget Committee on Tuesday, where Chair Emily Koski castigated the mayor and his administration for not communicating with the council, saying, “We keep getting backed into a corner with false narratives thrown in our faces — and I’m tired of it.” 

Both the mayor and chief said the incentives are required to make Minneapolis competitive in recruiting and retaining officers. The department has been losing officers for years, even after a different incentive program was launched last year.

As of the end of October, the number of officers not on leave was 186 short of the 731 required by the city’s charter. 

The Budget Committee ultimately voted 7-5 not to add the agreement to the day’s agenda. 

That led Frey to call for a special meeting of the council Friday afternoon. He said in a press conference on Wednesday that he believes council members were “well informed” about the agreement. 

“I recognize that police officers are working their tails off right now, I also recognize that to stay competitive we’ve also got to offer competitive salaries,” Frey said. “That’s not just the case in the police profession, that’s the case in every profession right now.” 

Frey said he can’t outline the exact impact incentives might have on hiring but that incentives aren’t the only tool the city can use to retain and recruit police officers. 

In a statement, Koski said the mayor and his administration haven’t provided research showing that incentives for police officers are effective or offered a plan to actually increase staffing levels at the Minneapolis Police Department.  

“All the information available clearly and conclusively shows that sign-on and retention bonuses do not work for Police Departments across the nation, including here in the City of Minneapolis,” Koski said. “We can’t continue doing the same thing over and over again all the while expecting different results.”

If the council votes down the incentive agreement, Frey said negotiations will continue with the police union. Negotiations over the broader contract started in September and are ongoing.