Minneapolis neighborhoods stand to regain almost $2.7 million of the money stripped from them in December by the City Council, if a proposal that has gained preliminary approval goes through.
Minneapolis may free some frozen NRP funds
The Neighborhood Revitalization Program would handle allocating the money among the city's neighborhoods.
March 15, 2011 at 1:34AM
The $2.68 million that would be released represents 21 percent of $12.68 million in Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) funding that was frozen by the council to buffer potential property tax increases in 2012 and 2013.
The council plans to take $5 million annually from funds that ordinarily would finance non-NRP neighborhood programs and divert it to the general city budget to hold down tax increases.
In addition, the council froze the $12.68 million in NRP money that already had been collected but not yet spent by neighborhoods. Of that total, $10 million would be used over two years to replace the money diverted from the other neighborhood programs for tax relief.
The recommendation to release the rest of the frozen NRP money came from David Rubedor, who directs city neighborhood programs. The council approved the plan last week meeting as a committee of the whole, but the change still must go through the council process.
The job of allocating the $2.68 million among neighborhoods was left to the NRP. Director Bob Miller said he'll recommend to his board that the money be distributed in proportion to how much neighborhoods lost in the freeze.
NRP allows neighborhoods to spend money that was collected over a 20-year period for priorities set by residents for improvements.
STEVE BRANDT
