MinnPost’s Twin Cities Documenters program trains and pays community members to take notes at local government meetings. Below are Documenter Glen Johnson’s summary and observations from the May 4 meeting of the Minneapolis City Council’s Budget Committee, where the council received a report from Minneapolis police on overtime during Operation Metro Surge. You can find Glen’s full notes here, which include links to the agenda and video.

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Summary: 

• The council received a presentation on overtime expenses incurred by the Minneapolis Police Department during Operation Metro Surge. 
  • While this was not discussed in the meeting, adding the total costs for each time period requested in the report (Nov. 23-Jan. 3 on page 6, Jan. 7-Feb. 8 on page 5, and Feb. 9-March 29 on pages 12-13) shows that MPD spent a total of $13,396,848 on overtime and standby pay from Nov. 23-March 29. About $10.7 million of that was spent between Nov. 30-Feb. 22.
  • Questions from council members focused on how standby and overtime interacted with police rules about maximum hours worked. Council member Soren Stevenson asked how it’s even possible to work 14 hours per day as shown in the data. Kuklow advised that exceptions can be made in an emergency.
  • Council President Elliott Payne asked about who authorizes overtime. Chief of Police Brian O’Hara described the period as being constantly “on edge” during OMS and that approvals were done by himself and MPD leadership in consultation, while day-to-day overtime is approved at a lower level as needed.
  • Budget Chair Aisha Chughtai described 118 officers each making $8,000 to $20,000 for standby time in one month as “insane.”

• The council received two presentations related to new budgetary control rules put in place by the council in 2025. One detailed new roles created within existing departmental budgets by reallocating non-personnel funds. Another detailed the status of spending on 13 key initiatives (called “earmarks” in the report).

• The council received a presentation on the 2025 Q4 financial report. The general fund balance ($116 million) remains above the minimum balance set by policy, but has declined compared to the end of 2024. Other special fund balances remained flat year over year.  
  • By the end of this year, the general fund balance is projected to dip to 14% of the city’s budget, below the city’s standard minimum percentage of 17%.
  • Council member Wonsley asked about the unbudgeted settlement agreement costs, which differed within the report. Staff advised the total of $5.7 million includes $3.6 million in MPD costs while the remainder includes costs to the civil rights department and city attorney’s office. The $20 million over budget figure for MPD is a combination of the direct police budget and the settlement agreement.

Observations and follow up questions: 

Accessibility: Did you face any challenges that made it harder to document the meeting or that may have made it difficult for others to attend? For example: trouble accessing the location, difficulty hearing the discussion, lack of nameplates for elected officials, or the agenda being unclear, disorganized, or incomplete.

Scene: About how many members of the public attended the meeting? If watching virtually, what was the livestream count (if applicable)? Was anyone protesting outside? 

•  357 views next day after the meeting

Notable: Do you have any follow up questions or other observations to share? What stood out to you as interesting or confusing? Is there anything you’d like to see reporters look further into? Were there any particularly memorable quotes?

• The ongoing conversation around off-duty police fees and the delay in implementation has come up several times at council meetings. A legislative followup for information on which departments were causing the delay, and the reasons why, are coming back to council at some point.
• Tighter finances in 2026 and for the future 2027 budget came up in multiple agenda items and discussion. Expect this theme to appear in future council meetings this year.

How to get involved:

When is the next meeting for this board/committee? Any upcoming public hearings? Online surveys? 

• The City Council has its “Committee of the Whole” meeting on May 5. It has its full council meeting May 7 at 9 a.m.

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More context:

Read Documenter Glen Johnson’s full notes here, which include links to the agenda and audio recording. View our full database of notes here.

Want to become a Documenter? You can start by making an account here.

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