The Minneapolis City Council announced on Thursday it launched an inquiry against the Office of Mayor Jacob Frey, saying its plans to provide $1.5 million to save a downtown homeless shelter was met with threats of budget cuts.
The city council announced last week it would provide $1.5 million to the Agate Board and Lodge Housing to save it from permanent closure, with the downtown facility set to temporarily close in October because it needs multiple repairs.
The council initially planned to use reserve funds to cover the cost. However, in committee, the resolution only gained nine votes, one less than needed to use the contingency funds.
Council Member Jason Chavez filed a motion on Sept. 19, amending the bill to use funds from the Community Planning and Economic Development Department instead, and the decision was approved by a 9-3 vote.
According to the council, the money distributed is only 0.74% of city departments’ budgets, which they say has been “chronically underspent,” citing city data that states Minneapolis has ended each of the last six years with an average $21.7 million budget surplus, and is expecting to end this year with a $38.5 million surplus.