Frey vetoes Minneapolis budget approved by City Council Tuesday night

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Wednesday vetoed the $1.9 billion budget passed by the City Council Tuesday night, although he signed off on the property tax levy set by the council, which is 6.8% higher than the 2024 levy, according to a statement from his office.

It’s unclear when a Minneapolis mayor last vetoed a city budget — if ever. The council approved the budget by a 10-3 vote, enough to override the veto, if that margin holds. Nine votes are needed to override.

The council approved the levy — which was a smaller increase than the 8.1% increase Frey proposed in August — after three days of marathon budget markup meetings where the council considered a record number of amendments.

Minutes after the more progressive wing of the council ended a news conference at City Hall trumpeting their work Wednesday, Frey’s office put out a news release saying he approved the levy but vetoed the budget appropriations due to “serious concerns over fiscal responsibility.” The statement said it adds $6.53 million in new cash spending, undermining the city’s financial health by depleting cash reserves and diverting money away from core services to fund new, unvetted, ward-specific projects.

In the wee hours Tuesday night, the council approved a batch of changes to Frey’s proposed budget directing funding to specific nonprofits and projects, including the Latino Center for Community Engagement, Mercado Central economic development project, One Southside Clinic project and Mni Sota Fund Indigenous Wealth Building Center.

The council also steered money toward public safety initiatives in the neighborhoods of Hiawatha, Whittier, Longfellow and Midtown Phillips, saying the city has failed certain areas.

Frey said the council’s budget would increase property taxes for years to come and cuts essentials like police recruitment, in favor of “pet projects.”

“Fiscally, times are tight—federal funding will likely be withheld and state dollars are in short supply. We need to be responsible with our tax dollars,” he said in the release.

Frey said the council passed the largest number of budget amendments in recent history — nearly double the number passed last year — which he described as an “an alarming trend of prioritizing new, unvetted initiatives over the core functions that keep Minneapolis running smoothly, make our city safer, and maintain equity for all residents. They also largely reduce City departments’ ability to do their important core work on a daily basis, while adding more work to their plate to chase the whims of their unvetted ideas.”

The council could vote on whether to override as soon as Thursday morning.

Shortly after Frey’s announcement, City Council President Elliott Payne, who voted in favor of the budget, released the following statement:

“The fact that the Mayor is willing to veto the entire 2025 City budget because his co-equal branch of government made amendments that accounted for less than 2% of the total $1.88 billion city budget is absurd. Council members learned of Mayor Frey’s intention to veto through a press release, before he even received the formal budget packet from the Clerk’s office at the time of his announcement. This is unfortunately part of a larger pattern of an unwillingness to work with the Legislative branch of the city. The fact that the mayor is willing to risk the jobs of over 4,000 city employees and the reduction of basic city services in order to try and score political points is absolutely disheartening. The final budget was passed with 10 votes last night and 62 amendments passed with at least supermajority support. I will do everything in my power to work with my colleagues to overturn this reckless veto.”

City Council Member Emily Koski, who serves as vice chair of the Budget Committee and who is challenging Frey in next year’s election, took issue with Frey’s characterization of the council’s budget changes.

“The mayor accused the council of ‘fiscal irresponsibility,’ when it was he who proposed the highest property tax levy in over a decade, he who blatantly ignored the financial realities our city faces and chose to place additional financial strains on our residents,” Koski’s statement read, in part. “His accusations seem particularly misplaced given his own actions.”

This story will be updated.