Minneapolis Resident? Send a Message to Mayor Frey: Please keep the new $4 million for low-income home weatherization programs

Starting at this exact point in the City Council’s July 23rd Climate & Infrastructure Committee meeting we learned something. We heard from a council member that Mayor Frey had expressed plans to divert the estimated new $4 Million of Climate Legacy Initiative funding away from its intended purpose and toward the general budget. At that point the Council meeting, the city staff attending then responded that they were unaware of those plans. For some context, the city staff at the time were presenting a report showing that we have fallen behind on meeting our Climate Equity Plan goals.

At multiple times for over a decade, Community Power has expressed the importance of both 1) Raising city funds dedicated to resource equitable climate action, especially to create opportunities for cost-burdened households to reduce their energy cost burden and 2) Protecting those funds from getting diverted away from their originally intended use. Implemented well and at scale, those funds - raised through a percentage of our Xcel and CenterPoint bills - should ideally be used toward that purpose of not only rapidly reducing local emissions but also lowering energy bills through the savings from efficiency and switches to clean energy.  

On August 12th - Mayor Frey released his recommended 2027 budget to the city council and gave the annual public speech marking the occasion. We heard the high-level overview on how different aspects of the budget fit together. The mayor did not speak about the Climate Legacy Initiative like he did in the 2025 annual budget address. In his 2027 recommended budget (which can be modified by the city council) the summary page for the health department provides a high-level overview of the Climate Legacy Initiative but does not go into granular enough detail to find out more regarding the estimated $4 million.  

All is not lost - your voice has made a difference before!

To his credit, in response to a similar push from Community Power back in 2019, Mayor Frey helped the City Council find $360,000 to restore a $600,000 gap in the sustainability budget. 

The sign we created in 2019 for the city budget hearing occasion. 

In addition, the 2023 Climate Legacy Initiative was $10 million thanks to many constituents writing and sending letters to the Mayor and Council. Help remind him what our goals are as a city!

Our advocacy - together as community members - will set the tone ahead of the next discussions of the budget process: 

Next Steps in the City Budget Process:

1. September - City Council will meet to discuss the budget and hold initial public hearings. The Board of Estimate and Taxation sets the maximum property tax levy though that does not affect franchise fee revenue. 
2. September - November - The City Council reviews department proposals and takes constituent input by holding additional public hearings.  are before voting on amendments to the mayor’s initial budget.
3. December: The City Council finalizes changes, adopts the budget, and sends it to the mayor.

Connect with Neighbors to Develop Messages on Protecting Funding for Equitable Climate Action in Minneapolis.  

We have to organize locally with neighbors to call on our elected leaders.

Turning climate action into real results starts with defending our democracy and good governance to help protect our ability to win the funding our communities need. 

Tell the City Council, too!

"Make the Climate Legacy Initiative into a dedicated fund and ramp it up to $118M per year by 2030"

Email to the full council at: [email protected]  or look up your specific Councilmember. 

Background why a "dedicated" fund is needed:

The fund is not yet legally protected - though City leaders have essentially committed in ordinance and in name of the fund - to be used for climate action. That's why formal dedication of a fund is essential to prevent these funds from changing winds and whims in City Hall. 

The ordinances which raised this extra $4-5 million do not specify the purposes for the funds but simply lay out how much for the city to collect. 

Mayor Frey used the 2023 Climate Legacy Initiative as a key victory of his time in office while campaigning for re-election in 2025. Mayor Frey again voiced commitment to protect the $10 million from the original Climate Legacy Initiative during one of the Minneapolis Clean Energy Partnership meetings in 2025 despite budgetary pressures. And yet, the more recent $4 million increase went unsigned by the mayor though it was supported and passed by a 10-3 vote on the City Council.

Towards a diversity of funding: 

The franchise fees and the "Climate Legacy Initiative" is one piece of the puzzle. Scientists and economists are clear: we can't overdo investment in climate mitigation and adaptation because the risks and harm are so great.

Because the utility franchise fee can’t be adjusted to create more funding more than once a year, we'll also need to rapidly consider and implement a diversity of nimble, locally controlled funding sources such as: Green Bonds, increases to the Pollution Control Annual Registration fee, a municipal Geothermal option, dedicated taxes on data centers, or other funding sources that the city can be creative about generating.

The Work _______________________________________________________________________

Advancing Energy Democracy
Organizing our efforts to maximize impact and drive change.

Community Power channels its expertise into three focused program areas. By addressing challenges at the state, city, and grassroots levels, we’re building a sustainable and equitable energy future for all.

Join Us in Building a Better Energy Future

Together, we can create an energy system that works for everyone. Ready to make an impact? Visit our website at www.communitypowermn.org, or reach out to us directly today. Let’s create change—together.     

-  Lee Samelson & Alice Madd