At the October 18 Board meeting, Superintendent Al Bangoura presented his Recommended 2024 Budget for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) that focuses caring for park amenities and infrastructure, protecting the environment and natural resources it manages, and serving the youth of Minneapolis through quality programming.
This year we are celebrating 140 years of Minneapolis Parks history with more than 30 million visits to the park system each year.
In September, the Board voted unanimously to support the request to the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) to set the MPRB’s maximum property tax levy at an estimated amount of $82,652,380, a 5.35 percent increase from 2023. The levy increase for the MPRB will result in a 0.94 percent increase in city property taxes overall, which amounts to an approximate $17 annual increase in property taxes – less than $2 per month – for owners of a median $329,000 value home. Currently, of every dollar homeowner’s pay for property taxes, 7.8 cents go to the MPRB.
The proposed tax levy included two distinct elements. The first is to maintain current service levels, including inflationary pressures impacting the MPRB budget and $260,000 needed to support the MPRB’s 2021 six-year arrangement with the City for the historic $2.6 million youth investment that began in 2022. The second element of the MPRB maximum tax levy request is $124,000 to support the Board adopted Strategic Direction D – Care for Park Assets to Meet Evolving Needs and Practices. This care of park assets investment will provide for an analyst as the MPRB moves to identify and implement an asset management lifecycle for asset types within the MPRB system. The addition of the position will be utilized towards the maximization of existing funding for maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and capital.
The Superintendent’s Recommended 2024 Budget supports the neighborhood park and regional park capital investments and utilizes criteria-based systems for project scheduling. Racial equity work continues to be demonstrated in the Superintendent’s Recommended 2024 Budget in five distinct areas: 2024 department budget actions; neighborhood park capital improvement and rehabilitation funding; regional park capital improvement funding; recreation center funding; and 2024 budget adjustments.
The Superintendent’s Recommended 2024 Budget includes the maximum tax levy increase of $82,652,380, for a total 2024 Budget of $156 million, including $103 million for the general operating fund, $17 million for the enterprise operating fund, $2 million for the special revenue fund and $34 million for capital project funding.
Public comment opportunities are scheduled Nov. 1, 15 and Dec 5. View the proposed budget and related documents at minneapolisparks.org/budget or call 612-230-6400 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.