Council Vice President Helps Broker the 2026 Budget Deal

Minneapolis adopted its roughly $2 billion 2026 budget in December 2025 in an 11-0 vote, with two members abstaining, after Mayor Jacob Frey and City Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai announced a negotiated deal that ended weeks of budget talks. Chughtai, who represents Ward 10 and chaired the council's Budget Committee, was the council's lead negotiator with the Frey administration.

The headline result was that the agreement avoided any increase to the city's property-tax levy and averted layoffs of frontline and union-represented workers, redirecting money toward priorities residents raised at public hearings. That was a notable retreat from where the cycle began: Frey's August 2025 proposal had paired a 7.8% levy increase with cuts, including an end to police "double-time" overtime, to hold the increase below a projected higher figure.

The deal was negotiated chiefly between the Frey administration, Chughtai and Council Member Jeremiah Ellison. Council Member Robin Wonsley criticized the process, calling the late amendments a "backroom deal" and faulting its transparency.

The contrast with the prior year was sharp. The 2025 budget passed only after the council overrode Frey's veto. The 2026 budget, by contrast, was announced as a joint agreement, a shift that followed the 2025 election and the loss of a veto-proof council majority.

For Lowry Hill and the lakes neighborhoods, the practical effect is that the city's portion of the property-tax bill is not rising for 2026, though the county, school and park levies appear separately on the same Hennepin County statement and follow their own schedules. Residents can read the adopted budget on the city's budget page and see the line-by-line breakdown on their county tax statement.