Six pieces of advice for Minneapolis leaders

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No American city has been more stressed in recent years than Minneapolis. COVID-19 fundamentally changed work and movement patterns. The heinous murder of George Floyd unleashed immediate civil unrest, and a longer-term reckoning with unacceptable racial disparities. Increasing threats to public safety as law enforcement agencies were hollowing out shook the confidence of residents.

It hasn’t been an easy time. But through it all, our city persevered. Many of us are optimistic about the future. A recent poll conducted by All of Minneapolis revealed more than twice as many people feel Minneapolis is headed in the right than wrong direction (47% to 20%).

Hope is a good starting point. It needs to be followed by common-sense policies that engage the entire community in moving toward a vibrant and opportunity-rich Minneapolis.

City Hall, stay in your lane and be a good partner. The core responsibilities of municipal government are in the areas of public works (streets, water and sanitation, and the like) and public safety (chiefly police and fire). There are many other important concerns for city officials, but they are often best addressed in partnership with other levels of government, especially Hennepin County, and the private and community sectors. Maintaining focus on basic city services is also the best way to keep control of already high property tax burdens.

Prioritize economic recovery and job growth downtown and throughout city commercial corridors and nodes. This is ripe for cooperative efforts between government at all levels and the business sector, from our largest companies to the corner hardware store. Frankly, at times the best city contribution is to stay out of the way and do no harm. For example, proliferation of underused bike lanes at the expense of neighborhood business success is wrongheaded.

Actively support growth of the housing stock across the income spectrum as the best way to enhance affordability. Increasing the supply of housing in Minneapolis at all price levels requires creating an environment that fosters private investment. Direct assistance to low-income households is also an effective way to help with affordability. In downtown, encouraging office to residential conversion projects where feasible will help rejuvenate the core.

Double down on our most unique and attractive assets. Minneapolis has many attributes, including a diverse economy with more than our share of Fortune 500 companies, award-winning parks, a thriving arts, culture and sports scene, incredible restaurants — many owned by immigrant entrepreneurs who enrich our community — and so much more. Let’s extol our virtues and strengths as we also tackle challenges.

Invest in a multifaceted public safety strategy that includes support for rebuilding the Minneapolis Police Department with the capacity to fully implement reforms. The number of police officers reporting for duty has reached a record low. At the same time, non-policing programs like crisis responders and community-based violence interrupters have grown rapidly. There is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to rebuild the MPD in a way that earns community trust and creates departmental culture and capacity to embrace internal changes. As to the large investment in non-policing programs, measuring their effectiveness and organizing them as part of a seamless continuum of safety initiatives is a sensible way to proceed.

Deal with the serious drug and mental health problems affecting unhoused neighbors in unsafe homeless encampments. Recognizing the fundamental safety challenges presented by encampments — to highly vulnerable people gathering there and adjoining neighbors alike — is the first step toward crafting an effective response. Encampments can’t be allowed. Instead, the focus must be on securing safe shelter for our unhoused neighbors and offering resources to address their underlying life challenges.

These common-sense priorities will move us forward. A different set of ideas will sidetrack progress. They include: insisting on rent control which will thwart housing growth; burying businesses in “City Hall knows best” rules and regulations; increasing property taxes for dubious new program and staff expenses; undermining efforts to revitalize the MPD, and perpetuating unsafe homeless encampments.

The goal of increasing vibrancy and opportunity in Minneapolis over the remainder of this decade is widely shared. The question to consider is, which policies move Minneapolis forward in a positive direction, and which keep us mired in the anguish and tumult of the last several years.

Steve Cramer is a former Minneapolis City Council member (Ward 11) and a retired president and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council.