Minneapolis council formally votes to block minimum wage, police insurance petitions

The Minneapolis City Council formally voted Friday to block charter amendment proposals on minimum wage and police insurance from going to voters in November.

The votes came two days after a contentious committee meeting in which supporters packed the council chambers, demanding that council members forward the two charter amendment petitions to the ballot. One petition called for the city to raise the minimum wage to $15 over the next few years, while the other would require all Minneapolis police officers to carry professional liability insurance -- and pay increased premiums if they were involved in cases of misconduct.

Friday, the council repeated its preliminary decision from two days earlier, agreeing with City Attorney Susan Segal that both proposals did not meet legal requirements for a charter amendment. The council voted 10-2 to block the minimum wage proposal, with Council Members Alondra Cano and Cam Gordon casting votes in opposition.

Cano and Gordon, along with Council Member Andrew Johnson, also split from the council majority on the vote on the police insurance proposal. The three said they believed the petitioners do have the legal standing to put the item to a vote.

Following the votes, members of the Committee for Professional Policing held a press conference outside the council chambers, where they announced plans to file a lawsuit on Friday. Michelle Gross said the group is confident its proposal meets legal standards -- and that a judge will order the council to send the issue to voters.

"There is nothing manifestly unconstitutional about our amendment, and there is nothing manifestly unconstitutional about police accountability," she said.

Meanwhile, members of the group 15 Now say they're planning to meet with attorneys over the weekend and file a lawsuit against the city on Monday.