On Tuesday, August 15, 2023 Mayor Frey presented his 2024 Recommended Budget, which included funds for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) to maintain current park service levels, hire one new position to care for park assets, and invest critical new funding for parkway repairs and taking care of the MPRB’s stormwater infrastructure.
“Both the parkways and the lakes are fundamental to quality of life for Minneapolis residents, and the lakes are a critical element of the urban ecosystem,” said MPRB President Meg Forney. “Current Park Board Commissioners have been committed to securing updated funding to address the short-term and long-term repair and protection these assets, and we are grateful Mayor Frey, council members and city staff are working with us on this important need.”
The MPRB has been seeking funding since the late 1990s and, as parkways and lake conditions decline, park commissioners and staff have been working with current city leadership to address the funding needs. In April 2023, Park Commissioners passed two resolutions to request the City of Minneapolis increase funding for paving and restoration of parkways and to establish dedicated stormwater utility fee funding to support management of MPRB-owned stormwater infrastructure on parkland.
“Mayor Frey has been a champion for parks and we have worked closely these past several months to discuss with City leadership the need for maintaining current park service levels and vital need for dedicated funding for parkways and stormwater. Without additional dedicated funding, parkways will continue to decline and become unusable by the public. Without new dedicated funding, water bodies will continue to be impacted by stormwater, water quality will decline, and poor water quality will negatively impact public use of the city lakes,” said MPRB Superintendent Al Bangoura.
The dedicated funding for parkways and stormwater would be enacted through concurrent ordinances to be passed by the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) by January 1, 2024, with increased funding for parkway repairs starting in 2025 and reaching $2.7 million in 2027 and coming through bond sales, and $501,000 in new funding annually starting in 2024 for the MPRB stormwater management coming through a utility fee increase. The ordinances will ensure ongoing dedicated funds into the future and provide escalation factors to ensure the funding level keeps pace with the needs of the systems.
The Mayor’s Recommended 2024 Budget of $1.8 billion includes a 5.3% proposed tax levy increase for the MPRB totaling $4,169,095. This will allow the MPRB to maintain current service levels including inflationary pressure impacts. It also includes funds to support the Board adopted Strategic Direction to care for park assets to meet evolving needs and practices to provide one new professional position to identify and implement asset lifecycles to maximize maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and capital investments.
Currently, of every dollar homeowner’s pay for property taxes, 7.8 cents go to the MPRB.
“We provide parks and facilities to enrich the lives of every Minneapolis resident. With more than 30 million visits to the park system each year, we need to maintain current service levels and invest in how we track, assess and care for park assets within almost 200 parks located throughout the city,” said Al Bangoura, Superintendent for the MPRB.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is an independently governed park system featuring 185 park properties totaling 7,059 acres of land and water. It permanently preserves, protects, maintains, improves, and enhances its natural resources, parkland, and recreational opportunities for current and future generations of our region. Its Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, waterfront access, trail system, neighborhood parks, recreation centers, recreation amenities and diversified programming have made the park system an important component of what makes Minneapolis a great place to live, visit, play and work. An estimated 30.1 million annual visits are made to the nationally and locally acclaimed park system.