Minneapolis, MN
Frey finds money to spare North Commons Park from budget cut
“Do you know of any other unspent ARPA funding that will not be used for its allocated purposes?” he asked Discenza.
Discenza responded that the city didn’t yet know how much ARPA money was left unspent.
Frey wrote in his email to Chughtai and Koski that the other department cuts will remain.
The council initially proposed using contingency funds for Agate but didn’t have the 10 votes required to use those funds, which are intended for emergencies like natural disasters. City policy requires 1% of the operating budget to be set aside as an emergency fund.
Koski has pointed out that the city ended each of the last six years with an average $22 million in unspent funds. That money goes back into the general fund, where city financial policies require reserves equal to at least 17% of the overall budget. The city usually shoots for about 25%, which helps boost its bond ratings.