Running for political office in Minneapolis may not be so expensive after all.

The city's charter commission yesterday approved smaller increases in filing fees to run for mayor and council member, amending an earlier proposal that would have dramatically hiked the cost to appear on the ballot from $20 to $500 for mayor and $20 to $250 for a council seat.

Instead, the commission voted to raise the fees to $250 for mayor and $100 for council member.

The panel also approved a proposed increase of $20 to $50 to run for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and kept in place the $20 fee to run for the Board of Estimate and Taxation.

Proponents said it would discourage frivolous candidates and noted that the fees had stayed the same since 1967.

But commission chairman Barry Clegg said some members of the panel "just thought those numbers were too high and would discourage good candidates from running .. and people wanted to make it affordable for legitimate challengers and not out of reach."

Additionally, the commission yesterday approved adjusting filing fees once a decade to reflect changes in the cost of living, rounded to the nearest $10.

The action next goes to the City Council, where it must win approval from all 13 members to take effect.