Minneapolis council committee moves police contract discussion behind closed doors

March 2, 2017 at 3:30AM

The Minneapolis City Council's Executive Committee was expected to consider the specific terms of a new police contract at its public meeting in council chambers Wednesday morning.

Instead, the four committee members present — Mayor Betsy Hodges and Council Members Kevin Reich, Elizabeth Glidden, and Cam Gordon — retreated into an adjoining private room for about an hour, citing the sensitive nature of contract talks.

Council President Barb Johnson didn't attend Wednesday's meeting.

Last week, officials confirmed that a tentative contract deal was struck between the city and the union representing its roughly 860 sworn officers.

The tentative agreement, specifics of which haven't yet been released, is next expected to be discussed at an upcoming Ways and Means Committee meeting. It will eventually require full council approval.

The informal handshake brought to an end months of back-and-forth negotiations between the two sides. The last contract expired in December 2014.

about the writer

about the writer

Libor Jany

Reporter

Libor Jany is the Minneapolis crime reporter for the Star Tribune. He joined the newspaper in 2013, after stints in newsrooms in Connecticut, New Jersey, California and Mississippi. He spent his first year working out of the paper's Washington County bureau, focusing on transportation and education issues, before moving to the Dakota County team.

See More