The city of Minneapolis would pay about 200 low-income families $500 a month for two years as part of a guaranteed income program that Mayor Jacob Frey wants to fund with American Rescue Plan dollars.
Frey on Friday released his proposal for spending $89 million of the $271 million federal pandemic relief money, a plan that includes allocations for housing assistance, violence prevention programs and a fund for city employees furloughed during the pandemic.
A growing cohort of local governments across the country have launched modest programs of guaranteed income in the past few years in attempts to make a case for statewide or federal policies.
"The whole concept is that people know what they need — whether that's food or housing or fixing your car or assistance at day care. People are best equipped to determine how to use resources that are made available to them," Frey said in an interview Friday.
Low-income families that live in Minneapolis and are referred to the city by its nonprofit partners would be eligible for the program.
Frey proposed spending $3 million to cover the monthly payments and associated administrative costs.
The mayor said he is encouraged by the initial results of similar programs, such as those in Stockton, Calif., and St. Paul, which last October started giving $500 monthly payments to 150 families.
A report on the early stages of St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter's 18-month pilot described at least one family using the cash to celebrate the holidays.
