OUR MPLS is Not One Minneapolis

On December 1, the Minneapolis City Council Budget Subcommittee voted 7-6 to cut the mayor’s proposed property tax levy by .2 percent, meaning about $620,000 less in revenue. This decreased revenue would hit programs we as Voices for Racial Justice and OUR MPLS partners know add to the process of breaking down the disparities in Minneapolis. It was just about one year ago that the OUR MPLS partnership came together after an election that promised greater city leadership for racial equity to begin envisioning what we thought racial equity would look like. The result was the OUR MPLS Agenda for Racial and Economic Justice. Now a year later, we are faced with a City Council that shows lack of vision and deep division on the issues that should matter the most to a city with some the worst racial disparities in the nation. It is clear that OUR MPLS is far from being One Minneapolis.

The Problem

The issue is where these cuts would take place: funding for the One Minneapolis initiative (to support diverse leadership development and community engagement, which is already underfunded and currently supports the Politics is Local training); a racial disparities study that Council Member Glidden has stated is necessary to justify City efforts to close disparities in contracting; counseling and outreach for new homeowners; and substantial reduction of the funding for the Clean Energy Initiative.