What’s good for Minneapolis is good for Minnesota

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Visit Minneapolis any evening: you’ll find our city’s restaurant, theater, sports, arts and music scenes remain world class. It’s exciting to see people come back downtown, especially because our state’s long-term health still depends heavily on the vibrancy of Minneapolis.

But slowing population growth, a drop in commercial property values, worries about safety and insufficient school funding are headwinds in our recovery following COVID-19 and George Floyd’s murder. If these are left unchecked, the result will be further economic stagnation and property tax increases. If we are to bridge the urban and rural divide, we must all care about Minneapolis’ future. To bring our city back to its full potential, we need state leaders at the Capitol to make our city’s success a priority.

I moved to Minneapolis more than a decade ago and bought a home in the Wedge neighborhood. I love living in a vibrant community where I can walk to get groceries, have dinner at a local restaurant and see a show in my neighborhood. Meeting our city’s challenges requires dedication to this kind of urban life. Leadership at the state level should be unapologetic in pursuit of a city built by and for those who choose to live here.

Since the pandemic, Minneapolis’ population hasn’t been growing like the suburbs. As Bill Hudnut, the former mayor of Indianapolis who successfully championed downtown revitalization efforts, said: “You can’t be a suburb of nothing.” People make cities thrive, and we need a plan to draw them to Minneapolis. The best way to do that is to champion the city’s success through policies that support diverse and affordable housing options, small businesses and street-level commerce, safe and reliable transit, walkable neighborhoods and, most urgently, strong public schools.

Minnesota is known for its dedication to public education, but we are no longer living up to our reputation. Minneapolis Public Schools faces a $110 million budget deficit, and there has been little movement to increase funding at the Legislature. I’ve talked to countless parents and educators who are concerned about the future of Minneapolis’ public schools, and I understand why. This month, the school board voted to close schools and cut staff, which will lead to increases in class sizes. As a retired teacher framed the decades of underfunding, “It’s not a crisis, it’s a devastation.”

Making Minneapolis more attractive for new residents and families is one way to support school enrollment. It’s also a way to grow our tax base. Expiration of COVID funds and shrinking commercial property valuations are hurting the city’s budget. The latter has meant a drop in the tax revenue generated by downtown properties and has contributed to the city’s $21.6 million budget deficit. Residents will carry the tax burden to make up for it, homeowners and renters alike.

The way to avoid painful property tax increases and strengthen Minneapolis schools is by ensuring our city’s steady growth and sustainable development. We will make long-term progress in growing our tax base by making it easier and more affordable for people to choose to live here. I met with the Downtown Council, and its members are interested in rethinking our commercial districts, starting with converting vacant offices into residential units wherever possible. We should also consider piloting a land value tax to incentivize development of underutilized properties. By stimulating growth and stabilizing property taxes, we can begin to better resource our city for the betterment of community safety, public transit and our schools.

Downtown has started to bounce back post-pandemic, demonstrating the best of what our city can be: a resilient place that celebrates diversity, belonging and pride in the place we live. But there’s more work to do to make sure our state’s largest city remains a great, affordable place to live with amenities that people want, a place where opting to send kids to local public school is an easy choice for families. There’s a role for every level of government to advocate for solutions, which I will do at the Capitol. By guaranteeing Minneapolis’ success, I believe our entire state will benefit. After all, as Paul Wellstone famously said, “We all do better when we all do better.”

Katie Jones is a candidate in the Democratic primary for the Minnesota House in District 61A.