At its July 16 Committee of the Whole meeting, Minneapolis City Council will consider a resolution in support of Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) workers (2024-00781). On July 15, MPRB Superintendent Al Bangoura sent City Council Members a letter explaining the MPRB’s position on raising property taxes to meet the request of Local 363 for wage increases.
Dear Council Members:
Tomorrow, you are scheduled to consider a resolution in support of Park Board workers (Resolution 2024-00781) which would support the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) raising property taxes to meet the request of Local 363 for wage increases.
The MPRB has always maintained fair and competitive wages for our employees, including members of Local 363. The MPRB’s last, best and final offer made on July 1, 2024 matched and exceeded the contract the City Council approved earlier this year for City Local 363 workers. The City believed that was a fair and competitive contract and it is the foundation of the MPRB’s offer.
The MPRB’s last, best and final offer is included in the 9.94% property tax increase request being considered by the Board of Commissioners. A 9.94% MPRB property tax increase alone results in a 1.74% increase for the City taxpayers as a whole. The July 14 counteroffer from Local 363 which would cost $7.5 million would represent a 12.3% levy property tax increase for the MPRB alone and an overall increase for all City taxpayers of 2.5% in 2025. This would be the single largest property tax increase in over 30 years by the MPRB.
The counteroffer received from Local 363 on Sunday July 14, increased the gap between the MPRB’s last, best and final offer and the previous offer provided by Local 363. The previous Local 363 offer was valued at $6.7 million and the current Local 363 counteroffer is $7.5 million, representing an increase in the gap between the MPRB’s last, best and final and the Local 363 offer from $2.1million to $2.9 million. This would increase the gap between MPRB wages and City of Minneapolis wages for similar positions. This would also represent a historic increase beyond what the City provided to its’ Local 363 employees.
The attached chart compares the City’s approved contract wages, MPRB last, best and final, and the July 14 offer from Local 363.
The MPRB continues to work toward a contract and is negotiations today at the state Bureau of Mediation Services that will be fair to employees and provide great service to Minneapolis taxpayers. As we hear from the City Council Members, contracts that include historic wage increases need to be paired with contract language changes that increase accountability and position the organization to deliver the best services. That type of change was not included in the counteroffer from Local 363. It is important to note that to accomplish the wage increase there would need to be reduction in staff. This will require even more contract changes to accomplish same or better work with less staffing.
Respectfully,
Alfred Bangoura