Mayor Rybak to revise city budget amid state funding cuts

City Department Heads Asked to Plan for Significant Fund Reductions

January 5, 2009 (MINNEAPOLIS) – Mayor R.T. Rybak today announced that he will prepare a revised 2009 budget for the City of Minneapolis following significant state funding cuts. Mayor Rybak will submit a revised budget to the City Council in mid to late February that balances the City’s finances in 2009 and begins to address expected long term reductions of state funding.

Due to the state’s current budget deficit, on December 26 the City of Minneapolis received $13 million less in state funding than expected, creating a serious challenge to the City’s 2009 budget recently adopted on December 10.

"These state budget reductions are significant, and are even more serious because we also must anticipate the likelihood of ongoing cuts in state aid," Mayor Rybak said. "Cuts of this magnitude are not modest and we cannot deal with them by just doing more with less. We need to be honest with residents that there will be real consequences as a result of the state’s budget deficit."

Mayor Rybak emphasized to the City Council and Department Heads that Minneapolis has faced budget cuts before, and from that experience city leaders have learned how important it is to act quickly to minimize the impact of state cuts that last for years.

"Over the last seven years Minneapolis has consistently taken a long term approach to our budget, and we need to continue that commitment," Rybak said. "In the coming weeks I will work closely with Department Heads to develop a budget that not only reflects potential cuts, but also examines the impact of those cuts on service levels for our residents. Everything will be on the table because we really don’t have any other choice."

"These are tough times, but now more than ever we need to be innovative, and bring our best ideas to the table," Rybak added. "Now is the time for all of us to think creatively and find new ways to deliver services.  The good news is that we have been through this before, and we know what to do."

Published Jan. 5, 2009