In tight budget times, Meet Minneapolis becomes a target

Several of the Minneapolis City Council members looking to protect money for sustainability, new homeowner outreach and other programs in next year's budget have turned their budget knives to a new target: the organization that markets the city to visitors.

In a sometimes-heated committee meeting last week, some council members pointed to a $500,000 allotment in Mayor Betsy Hodges' proposal earmarked for marketing efforts by Meet Minneapolis, the marketing arm of the convention center. They said marketing likely provided less of a benefit to the city than did some of the programs that saw their budgets reduced in the council's preliminary, 7-6 vote. That action reduced the planned property tax levy increase from 2.4 percent to 2.2 percent, a savings of $620,000 or about $2.50 per year for the owner of a $180,000 house.

The Meet Minneapolis money remains in the budget for now, but some of the six council members who voted against the reductions say they'll wage a last-ditch effort to cut it to save other programs' funding. That proposal will be introduced at the council's Dec. 10 meeting, in which it will hold a final public hearing on the budget before taking a vote.

Council Member Andrew Johnson said he'd like to cut the marketing money, along with funds dedicated to help with downtown events like the Holidazzle Village market. Both of those items are also under consideration by Council Member Cam Gordon, who posted online that he plans to introduce a new proposal and sees the Meet Minneapolis funding as a "potential target."

"I wonder sometimes about the $400,000 for the new Holidazzle [Village], and what the half a million dollars is going to do for the convention center and Meet Minneapolis," he said at last week's budget committee meeting. "I wonder about those things: Who are they benefiting? What I don't really wonder about is who is going to benefit from trying to actually tackle the disparities going on in our city and the rest of the inequities that are going on there."

Johnson posted his own assessment of the council's vote: "An increase to fly corporate execs into town and wine and dine them on the taxpayer's dollar was included, yet an increase in funding to diversify boards and commissions and make them more representative of our city by recruiting and training leaders of color was eliminated."

He said later that the convention center and Meet Minneapolis are "already able to conduct their business," including bringing in out-of-town customers it hopes to land as convention clients.

But Melvin Tennant, the president and CEO of Meet Minneapolis, said additional money is needed to help capitalize on growing interest in Minneapolis as a destination. He pointed to successes this year in securing several months of record hotel occupancy and landing big events for the next several years, including the Super Bowl and the NCAA Men's Final Four basketball tournament.

"Our goal is to make sure that we take full advantage of the successes we've had," he said. "And while we understand all the pressing priorities that our city has, we feel as though Meet Minneapolis is an investment in the future."

Tennant said the $500,000 would be used to help with digital marketing, including targeted updates sent to a database of visitors his agency maintains. It would help fund travel for Meet Minneapolis officials to trade shows and other events around the country and also would pay for travel and other expenses for visiting customers.

"Getting customers into town is a big part of our sales strategy … Our ability to book a convention increases significantly if the customers actually see the destination," Tennant said. "I think you would look at it in any product you're buying; you'd be hard pressed to make a major purchase, sight unseen."

Without the additional money, Tennant said, Meet Minneapolis could continue with marketing work but wouldn't have as significant a reach. He said he's certain more funding would pay off with more visitors.