A City 'Built to Last': What Frey's Budget Address Promised

Frey delivered the address from the Public Service Building under the theme "built to last," telling residents that "a great city doesn't happen by accident — it's built to last" (minneapolismn.gov/government/mayor/speeches/2026-recommended-budget-address/). Simply sustaining current operations would have raised the levy about 13%; the mayor's office said staff found savings and cuts, including ending police double-overtime pay and trimming personnel budgets, to bring the proposed increase down to 7.8% (startribune.com/mayor-jacob-frey-2026-budget-proposal/601453270).

Frey emphasized protecting core services, avoiding layoffs and continuing investment in affordable housing, public safety, climate and downtown vitality. For Lowry Hill and the lakes neighborhoods, the promises that matter most are concrete: that the tax increase would be held down, that services would not be slashed, and that infrastructure, including the city's share of corridor work like Hennepin Avenue, would keep being funded.

A budget address is a proposal, not a guarantee. In December the City Council adopted an amended roughly $2 billion budget after passing more than 40 amendments, landing on a levy increase of about 8%, an estimated $240 more for the median single-family homeowner (minnpost.com/metro/2025/12/minneapolis-city-council-approves-2b-budget/). Amendments added funding for emergency housing vouchers, shelter operations and downtown public restrooms.

Residents can compare Frey's full address with the budget the council passed on the city's website, then watch the substance behind the slogan over the year: whether services hold, infrastructure is funded and the fiscal picture proves as durable as the theme promised.