New money for puppy rescues and snow storage: Nuggets from Frey's budget proposal

This year witnessed a post-pandemic crush of pets put up for adoption, overwhelming the skeleton crew at Minneapolis Animal Care and Control, the city-run shelter.

Some relief could be coming via Mayor Jacob Frey's proposed 2024 budget, which he unveiled Tuesday.

Frey's proposal includes $275,000 in new spending for the shelter, which would fund two additional employees and increase supplies for the dogs, cats and other critters that find themselves housed there.

It's one of several relatively small-dollar — but interesting — items tucked inside Frey's roughly $1.8 billion proposal.

Here are a few others.

Snow storage?

New developments are springing up or planned for many of the city's vacant areas, such as Upper Harbor Terminal, where Minneapolis stores excess snow from places like downtown, where snow isn't just plowed but hauled off.

Public Works officials think the time is now to secure new dumping grounds. So Frey is proposing $1 million for a potential plot purchase.

Pot dispensaries

It became legal this month to smoke pot recreationally in Minnesota, but legal retail sales might not begin until early 2025. Minneapolis right now has essentially no rules on how to regulate dispensaries.

To that end, Frey is proposing adding $315,000 a year for the city's Department of Community Planning and Economic Development to plan and implement new policies — with an eye toward helping businesses owned by people of color to navigate the yet-unwritten regulatory scheme.

Bad landlords

Frey is proposing an additional $300,000 in software, and two new city positions, to better monitor problem rental properties and respond to tenant complaints about derelict conditions.