Proposed 2026 Minneapolis Park Board Budget focuses on caring for park assets, protecting the environment and natural resources, serving the city’s youth and investing in employees
Public comment opportunities scheduled Nov 5, 19 and Dec 3, 9
At the October 15 Board meeting, Superintendent Al Bangoura presented his Recommended 2026 Budget for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) that focuses on caring for park amenities and infrastructure, protecting the environment and natural resources it manages, serving the youth of Minneapolis through quality programming and investing in employees who deliver services.
“The Minneapolis Park system was founded more than 140 years ago by and for the residents of Minneapolis,” said Al Bangoura, Superintendent. “We acknowledge and deeply appreciate that Minneapolis parks belong to the residents of Minneapolis and that it is their unwavering and vocal support that allows us to continue delivering parks, programs and facilities that make Minneapolis a great place to live, play, work and visit.”
The Superintendent’s Recommended 2026 Budget represents the second year of MPRB’s first two-year budget process. The MPRB has long relied on multiyear plans to maintain financial health. The 2026 plan, adopted last year, served as the basis for the 2026 recommended budget.
The recommended 2026 budget includes a 6.11 percent tax levy increase, which amounts to an approximate $22 annual increase in property taxes – approximately $1.85 per month – for owners of a median $333,400 value home. In July, the Board approved a proposed 6.75 percent tax levy increase to maintain current services and to care for park assets. This request did not align with Mayor Frey’s recommendation for a 4.92 percent increase to the MPRB tax levy. On September 17, the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) passed a 2026 maximum tax levy increase for the MPRB at 6.11 percent in support of Graco and Upper Harbor Parks.
“These are challenging financial times for everyone, including residents and public organizations that provide direct services to residents, notes Bangoura. “We are very cognizant of that and created a new process to ensure that no stone was left unturned in upholding our commitment to fiscal responsibility.”
In May 2025, the Superintendent created two MPRB staff work teams: one focused on identifying and generating $1 million in new revenue annually over the next three years, totaling $3 million, and the other tasked with identifying and evaluating potential service level reductions in the event of recession-level budget cuts, considering the relationship between programming and operations costs. Both teams’ input was included in creating the 2026 recommended budget.
The MPRB has proposed multiple initiatives to balance the 2026 budget, including new ideas to increase revenue through innovative, staff-led suggestions, temporarily holding employment vacancies, eliminating other vacant positions, and increases in fees in some categories such as childcare, golf and parking.
Currently, of every dollar Minneapolis homeowners pay for property taxes, 8.0 cents go to the MPRB to maintain 7,059 acres of parkland and water, manage the urban forest (park and boulevard trees), and support more than 31 million visits annually to the park system.
The Superintendent’s recommended budget marks the tenth year of the NPP20. The NPP20 was established through concurrent ordinances passed by the Minneapolis Mayor and City Council and MPRB Board of Commissioners in April and May 2016, respectively. It utilizes the Criteria-Based System for Capital and Rehabilitation Neighborhood Park Project Scheduling (Criteria-Based System) Ordinance passed by the MPRB Board of Commissioners in July 2016 and amended in 2023 to better address undeveloped parks.
“I am thankful the BET passed a levy rate that allows us to operate and activate Graco and Upper Harbor Parks,’ said Bangoura. “Upper Harbor Park is especially important as it offers a connection from North Minneapolis to the Mississippi River.”
The Superintendent’s Recommended 2026 Budget provides a total 2026 Budget of $160 million, including $114.4 million for the general operating fund, $17.3 million for the enterprise operating fund, $2.2 million for the special revenue fund and $26.4 million for capital project funding.
This proposed 2026 budget also supports the MPRB’s commitment to strategic long-term planning through the 2023-2026 Strategic Directions, Performance Goals, and Priority Comprehensive Plan Strategies adopted by the Board in May 2022. The five strategic directions are: act boldly for our climate; cultivate each community’s place and honor cultural traditions in Minneapolis parks; implement quality youth and intergenerational programs; care for park assets to meet evolving needs and practices; and steward our natural resources.
Strategic Direction A – Act boldly for our climate future
The Board is committed to acting boldly for our climate future by reducing our carbon footprint, implementing resiliency projects in service area long-term vision plans and the ecological system plan, and analyzing park visitor access modes to create baseline data for future decision-making. This budget supports these goals through departmental budget actions, and for the first time, MPRB leadership was able to utilize visitor data to support the budget decision-making process.
Strategic Direction B – Cultivate each community’s place and honor cultural traditions in Minneapolis parks
The MPRB mission looks to dismantle historic inequities in the provision of park and recreation opportunities for all people, and the Board seeks to cultivate each community’s place and honor cultural traditions in Minneapolis parks through enhanced and unified organization-wide volunteer management and through enhanced community safety and Park Police engagement activities. This budget supports these goals through department budget actions and by continuing the Indigenous Acknowledgment work. It includes guidance from key Indigenous stakeholders for MPRB Commissioners to update and approve a revised MPRB Tobacco and Cannabis Policy and to work with Dakota leadership on a new naming process to be included in the MPRB’s Naming Policy.
Strategic Direction C – Implement quality youth and intergenerational programs
In 2021, the culmination of significant work and collaboration with the Mayor and City staff led to a historic $2.6 million investment in youth. This was realized through a six-year funding agreement that includes a combination of property tax levy and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. This budget provides for year five of this agreement and includes a property tax levy increase of $260,000. With ARPA funding having expired on December 31, 2024, and full property tax support not being realized until 2027, a $260,000 funding gap is closed by holding three youth program specialists positions vacant in 2026. This budget also supports this goal through department budget actions, holding
three youth program specialist positions vacant and expansion of the successful 2025 city-wide, needs-based free and reduced cost youth programming. Building on its success, the program will be expanded to include youth sports, intergenerational and senior programs in 2026.
Strategic Direction D – Care for park assets to meet evolving needs and practices
One of the most consistent requests received from all Commissioners is the desire to care for park assets to meet evolving needs and practices. The Board is committed to increasing the rate of parkway repaving or reconstruction, increasing the percentage of assets that are within their expected lifespan, establishing service standard levels for the top assets within the park system, and increasing the advancement of policy items identified in the system-wide master plan implementation tracker. This budget supports these goals through department budget actions, the implementation of parkway investment, and the care, maintenance, and activation of Graco and Upper Harbor Parks and restoration of the 2025 cuts to ice rink operations, including reopening of Powderhorn and Webber parks ice rinks on land.
Strategic Direction E – Steward our natural resources
The Board acknowledges its role as the steward of the park system’s natural resources and commits to natural area management, growing the public tree canopy, and improving water quality through best management practices. This budget supports these goals through department budget actions, enhanced natural area management with State operations and maintenance funding, the building of the Stormwater Management Program, and the addition of two full-time Natural Resource Specialist positions to support natural area management. The 2026 budget also funds the Stormwater Enterprise Funds.
The proposed budget and related documents are available for viewing at www.minneapolisparks.org/budget. The public may comment on the proposed budget during the times listed below.
- 5:45 pm, Wednesday, Nov. 5, Public Comment Session on MPRB Superintendent’s Recommended 2026 Budget – Administration and Finance Committee meeting, MPRB Headquarters, 2117 West River Road, Minneapolis. The Committee meeting will follow the Board’s regular meeting, which begins at 5 pm. Comments may be made during the Budget Comment period scheduled for 5:45 pm.
- 6:05 pm, Wednesday, Nov. 19, Public Hearing on Tax Levy and 2026 Budget – City of Minneapolis public hearing on 2026 tax levy and 2026 Budget, Public Service Center, Room 350, 250 South 4th Street, Minneapolis. Comments may be made during the 6:05pm public hearing.
- 5:30 pm, Wednesday, Nov. 19, Public Comment Session on MPRB Superintendent’s Recommended 2026 Budget – Regular Board meeting, MPRB Headquarters, 2117 West River Road, Minneapolis, which starts at 5 pm. Comments may be made during Open Time scheduled for 5:30 pm.
- 5:30 pm, Wednesday, Dec. 3, Public Comment Session on MPRB Superintendent’s Recommended 2026 Budget – Regular Board meeting, MPRB Headquarters, 2117 West River Road, Minneapolis, which starts at 5 pm. Comments may be made during Open Time scheduled for 5:30 pm.
- 6:05 pm, Tuesday, Dec. 9, Public Hearing and Board Approval of 2026 Budget – City of Minneapolis public hearing on 2026 tax levy and 2026-26 Budget, Public Service Center, Room 350, 250 South 4th Street, Minneapolis. Comments may be made during the 6:05 pm public hearing.
The budget and related documents are available for viewing at www.minneapolisparks.org/budget.