Barret Lane to continue as Minneapolis' emergency management director

The man who led Minneapolis' emergency management office through the unrest that followed George Floyd's murder will serve another term after the City Council on Thursday approved his nomination.

The council's split vote on Thursday clears the way for Barret Lane, who has led the office for a decade, to continue in the role until at least January 2026.

The emergency management office was one of several city departments that came under scrutiny in two after-action reports detailing how failures in city government hampered the response to the unrest that followed Floyd's murder and severely damaged swaths of the city.

Throughout a series of public meetings, some council members supported Lane, saying he experienced unprecedented crises and had since taken steps to better prepare the city for future emergencies. Others suggested it was time for new leadership.

Their discussions touched on a question that has arisen in the nominations for other key department leaders as well: When should they hold individuals accountable for problems in Minneapolis, and when should city government as a whole take the blame?

The Office of Emergency Management is responsible for preparing the plans that outline how the city will respond to a variety of crises, including natural disasters, bridge collapses and other events with mass casualties. It's also responsible for helping to coordinate the city's response, should those emergencies actually happen.

Two after-action reports — one commissioned by the city and another by the state — said the response to the unrest that followed Floyd's murder could have been better, with more planning and communication. One said the city had an emergency plan that is "well-written, comprehensive and consistent with nationally recognized practices" but failed to adequately implement it.

Mayor Jacob Frey announced in May that he was nominating Lane for an additional term, saying he had "earned trust from leaders across the enterprise and is continuing to shape a more effective, cohesive emergency response system." Emergency management leaders from St. Paul, Hennepin and Ramsey counties wrote in supporting his selection as well.

Throughout a series of public meetings, council members asked Lane pointed questions about his office's response to the unrest, with some saying he failed to effectively communicate throughout the emergency. Lane told council members that police chose to "simply run this on their own" and that his office was "not engaged," a scenario that "obviously didn't work well."

Council members postponed a vote on Lane's nomination multiple times. Their meeting Thursday — during which they cast their final votes — was the shortest on the topic, with just two council members addressing it.

Council President Andrea Jenkins said they had postponed the vote so council members could study how the staff might fit into a new Community Safety Office aimed at better coordinating services throughout the city and so they could select the new commissioner to lead those efforts.

Council Member Jason Chavez said the delay wasn't related to the new office, "but it's just that this body didn't have enough votes to confirm the nomination." It was a statement some council members agreed with and others disputed.