Committee - Regular Meeting

I'm going to wait till the crowd moves. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Administration Operations and Budget Committee of Tuesday, August 25th, 2026. We start our agenda, item one, with there's going to be two presentations. The first presentation today is our reoccurring 2026 budget update. I'm going to hand this over to Administrator Wetland to kick things off. Thank you.

Chair, go tell commissioners. Thank you. As you've heard in our July update, there are substantial budget challenges that we're facing in 2026 and into 2027. The goal of these budget update presentations is to provide transparency and information to you and to our residents regarding the tracking and monitoring of the county's financial health throughout the year. This is our fifth update of the year and in today's presentation, you'll hear about our progress from January through July. Throughout this process, we continue to ground our work in disparity elimination and aligning our work to the mission, vision, and core values of the organization. We remain steadfast in our commitment of service to residents as we ensure the county acts with stewardship of public resources. I'm going to ask Joe Matthews, the county's chief financial officer, to provide the budget update. Thank you, Mr. Matthews.

Thank you, Madam Chair, Commissioners. Again, this is a short agenda that we're going to cover here. If we can go ahead and go to the next slide, we'll just jump right in. One, just want to recap again, this has our financials month to month. The blue bar would be our spending for 2026. The light gray is the prior year's actual spending. So you can just see a bit of a comparison. You'll note that in most months we're actually spending less than we did in the prior year. And the red line from the lower left going up to the upper right is a linear representation of our annual budget for the year. And the solid blue line is our actual spend. You can see that we've been consistently below budget all the way through July. That margin has grown a little bit over the past few months, but it's not always perfectly linear as we adapt to changing conditions. And then new this month, you'll see a dotted line going out to December. And that's based on the forecast that we do with our departments at the end of the second quarter. and helps us identify where we think we'll end the year. I do want to point out that forecasts this early in the year are always somewhat variable, but we are very encouraged by the fiscal management that our departments have had, and we do expect that we will, in fact, end the year under budget. We can go to the next slide. This one's also new. This is a similar graph, but just for the county's general fund. The general fund takes out some of the, I'll just say, lumpier financial patterns from our debt service fund and some of our other enterprise funds, and shows the core of most of our departments with the exception of human services, which is in fund 20, the human services fund. But you'll also note here that this fund is primarily driven by personnel services expenses. You'll see that when you look at just the general fund alone, we do spend slightly more than the prior year in most months. That's reflective of increased staffing costs primarily. I also want to point out that we do have some unevenness with the financials. In particular, in January in 2025, we had some increased spending. And again, in May in 2025, there was a bit of a spike. Those two are primarily being driven actually by advances in our uncompensated care to HCMC, which we normally pay monthly. And so we paid in advance in January and then again in May of that year. which is really what drove that spike in 2025. But for the most part, it's relatively consistent with some variation for the number of pay periods in a given month. But again, overall, we are expecting to be under budget. And I want to thank our departments for their financial management throughout the year, as well as your leadership and guidance and that of county administration. Can we go ahead and go to the, let's go one more. Again, this is where we stand as far as grants that have been terminated by the federal government. Right now there are four. The total cost that has been canceled is about $3.3 million. These have not changed since we presented this last month, but just want to make sure that you, again, affirm kind of where we stand. These are grants that we had planned to expend. For the most part, we have successfully expended the bulk of these funds, but there is $3.3 million in spending that is not going to be received as we had anticipated. As we move ahead, let's go ahead and go to the next one. This slide is very different than what we have been showing up to this point. We have really been tracking the estimated annual impact of a number of federal changes. This is the first time you are seeing a more dialed-in expectation for the 2027 budget. And so the first line item that we have is the total anticipated impact from the SNAP changes in 2027. That's $11 million. $8 million of that is for a decrease in administrative revenues. An additional $3 million is anticipated due to further reduced revenues from the SNAP error rate. But I want to highlight that that grows significantly for 2028 as those cuts become fully phased in. Only a portion of these, some of these are starting later this year. But again, they're being phased in over time. The second one is our anticipated impact from Medicaid reductions. And so we had been looking at about $27 million affecting all clinics within Hennepin County's system. For 2027, based on how we expect that to land, we are anticipating additional property tax needs of about $9.8 million. And we are expecting that to continue into 2028. I want to remind folks, these 2028 numbers do not include an assumption for inflation. We're really basing it on our current costs, and given all of the fluidity in federal and state policy, we have not made an adjustment for inflation at this point. There are two other items that I want to highlight that are due to state policy changes that were enacted in prior legislative sessions. Both of these were an effort. The state was going to have a work group look for assumed savings. If those savings materialize, these cuts may have been avoided. We are not anticipating that that group will identify the necessary savings. And I want to highlight that these are mandated services. These are not discretionary. And so these are services that the county must provide and will receive less revenue for. Again, these cuts would become effective starting in the state's fiscal year, which begins on July 1st of 2027. And so we are expecting half of the amount to hit in next year's budget. And then in 2028, these will be fully phased in. So in short, right now, and again, it's the very beginning of putting together the proposed budget process and the full review that you will all conduct this fall, but we are anticipating that our proposed budget will have $27.7 million in property tax needs due to federal and state changes for services that we must provide that we cannot avoid we will look for opportunities to try to reduce costs but the revenues are reducing to pay for those services so that will have an impact on the levy that our residents will pay And then as we go to 2028, I just want to highlight that those costs become very significant. And beyond that, it'll depend on what interventions the state or federal government choose to take or not take to mitigate those. Next slide, please. We are continuing with our budget management strategies we discussed with you previously. We continue to hold very tightly on hiring. That doesn't mean we aren't hiring. We are hiring in critical areas. We are trying to make sure that we have staff in our most critical facilities and our services that really impact residents. And we are also trying to hold other positions open as long as possible or to review and see if we can potentially eliminate some as we move forward. And we'll talk more about that in the proposed budget. We continue to review contracts and RFPs, trying to make sure that we're getting the best value for our investments. We have largely completed our review of capital projects and the Capital Budgeting Task Force will be wrapping up their work in the coming weeks. and making their recommendations. And then finally, you're all aware that there'll be planning that will go on for the future of the hospital. And there is a task force that was created by the legislature that we'll start meeting tomorrow and work through the next two years, but predominantly making recommendations for next January. Next slide, please. As far as next steps, just want to highlight that this is the last meeting that we have dedicated to updates on the 2026 budget. It doesn't mean that we're going to stop managing it, but much of your time and attention is going to be shifted towards the 2027 proposed budget. and talking about what departments are doing to work through the future. We will bring you the proposed budget. Administrator Rutland will present it on September 22nd, and we'll continue to execute on the strategies that we have in place for 2026. I also want to continue to express our appreciation for the hard work that has been done at all levels of the organization to work towards budget goals while maintaining our commitments to residents, the mission, vision, and values of our organization, and the work we're doing to eliminate disparities in our community. And with that, Chair Gattel, I will turn it back over to you.

Thank you. I really appreciate the estimated cost shifts detail here on the sheet that we have. That's very helpful. I think we always wanted to get closer to a real actual number so we know what the headwinds are ahead of us in this future. I'll turn it over and see if colleagues have questions and comments. I'll start with Commissioner Fernando and then Commissioner Connolly.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I also want to express gratitude for the property tax impact slide, because especially as we enter the fall, that is how residents will be experiencing this. And the numbers here are alarming. I mean, these are five levy points when we think about it as a levy. So thank you for the prioritization here. I wanted to confirm an understanding. So for the grants terminated, Total grant award amount canceled. So we are not factoring in when we, the county, are fighting in court to be able to maintain funds. I just want to make sure I'm accurate.

Madam Chair, Commissioner Fernando, that is correct. These are grants that were canceled. We have about $107 million worth of federal funds that are under various protective orders. We are pleased that we've seen success through the legal process. Some, we've been a direct plaintiff in those cases or part of the case directly. Some, the state attorney general has been involved, and we have benefited from protections that have been won in court through that process. But that totals about $107 million. We watch that and work with the county attorney's civil division staff, as well as grants management and compliance, and we are looking at those literally on a daily basis as we go through.

Yes, Madam Chair, just a comment on that. For those watching at home, there is a larger number that we are seeing reported in the news that is being kind of removed or being placed under threat. And local governments here in Minnesota, in partnership with our state, we are fighting and seeking to protect the various services and the funds. So that's not always as easily seen in public and want to acknowledge our partners with gratitude. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Commissioner Conley. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the update. What really hit me was the dollar amounts, right? So there was a slide that showed the dollar amounts that are broken out via the federal government and the state. And these are all cost shifts that total around $27 million. So could you, for 2027, jumps way up to $51 million by 2028. So we're seeing cost shifts that we have to account for Right now, we've already got hit with the $8 million in SNAP. What is the state contributing? Because this is all based on error rate. Can you clarify that part?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner Conley, for SNAP, I believe the state is funding about $10 million or replacing about $10 million of the lost revenue. That's not the full amount. This is reflective of what we are being asked to shoulder. We certainly are hopeful that as the legislature comes back, this will be an ongoing discussion the next legislative session, and I'm sure that there will be proposals for you all to consider in your platform this fall related to these topics.

Thank you, Madam Chair. That's exactly where I was going. We've got a state platform coming up, colleagues. And so I'm sure with the help of AMC, all 87 counties are feeling this. And so we will need to do some advocacy to change what the state is chipping in. That's an entirely too big cost shift to property tax that we can't absorb, especially if there's talk at the federal government of a delay. If we don't get that, that's looking pretty dim for us for 2028. I don't think we've seen this level of disinvestment from the state and feds combined before, at least since I've been here. Can you speak to that?

Madam Chair, Commissioner Conley, no, typically we don't see a disinvestment at both levels. I will say we're hopeful. The state's financial forecasts recently have been fairly positive, and I think there was concern about potentially more headwinds for the state level than we've seen. Hopefully that will continue. Certainly, if you read the economic news, there's a lot of concern about what will happen with our economy as we move into the future. So far, the U.S. and the Minnesota economy, the economy in particular, has all been very strong. And we hope that continues. But I would just caution, you know, historically when the state has financial difficulties, counties do typically share in that pain.

That's true. Thank you. Okay. Commissioner Green. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Matthews, for both today's presentation and also to you and the team for this approach that we've had this year. You know, as I said to County Administrator Wendland earlier, like, okay, we sort of, we knew this was coming, but to see the figures in black and white is very sobering. And I want to sort of double down on something that Commissioner Fernando said, which is that there is this larger amount that's still in litigation. And one thing that we sort of all collectively agreed on was we didn't want to have conjecture in these figures. We wanted them to be solid. But as a result, they don't show this additional potential that is out there. I thank you also for naming that we're sort of transitioning now to the 2027 budget process. And the last remark I wanted to make was that I just came from at the end of last week from a meeting of the Association of Minnesota Counties. And there's shared concern across Minnesota's counties about these cuts. And one of the things that was impressed upon me, and I felt it was very relevant for us as Hennepin County commissioners, was there's this discussion, of course, in Minnesota about there's Hennepin, we're just enormous, the size of some states, and other counties tend to be smaller, lower population, smaller budget, smaller tax base. And one thing that was highlighted to me was that in many counties, they have a much larger percentage of their population that is going to be left without support by these cuts. And so even if the dollars look smaller than they look for Hennepin County, it has this, like, sort of a different reverberation, let's say, through not just the budget but through the community. And I thought that was good for me to be reminded of that and sharing with all of you in the same spirit. And just a reminder that we have so much in common with our sibling counties in Minnesota. And as much as we continue to work together, I know that that will be part of the plan at the legislature. Thank you, IGR co-chairs. And so, just wanted to mention that. Thank you. Commissioner Lundy.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to thank staff for bringing this forward as such so that we can see the pain and the potential pain, because there's two spots that could get us. Because I think it's just being very honest with everybody. I also think it's worthwhile to be honest that the federal government hasn't changed how much money they take from us. Our taxes haven't changed a bit. the money they still collect goes to these funds. They're just not sending the money out. So we're not saving a dime on taxes, and based on the new forecast for the budget, the debt, we're not saving money there either. So the hypocrisy of it all is mind-boggling that they're saving money, but I'm not seeing it. I look around, and maybe others are. The counties are actually seeing cost shifts, which causes us to have to raise property taxes, if we want to cover this, while our federal taxes remain the same. and so i think about that i think about on our efforts on the blue line the full funding and grant agreement we're not the only project that's waiting for that money that they're not sending out and so it to me it's the the double hypocrisy of not saving us any money on taxes and that not sending money out that they're supposed to because this money all is appropriated every year just like ours in our budget and they collect the money for it it's just not coming out And so we have to do what we can to account for what we can control. And unfortunately, that we only have a couple levers that we can pull. So I just want to thank staff. I know all of Hennepin County staff is working hard to save money. And there's also means that people are not getting replaced. That means people are working harder. They're doing things that they haven't had to do. There's more stress. There's more pain. And I just want to acknowledge that and know that on the other counterbalances property tax owners are looking at cities counties schools with the same worry like enough and so i think we're all in the same boat and i think being transparent and honest which what i believe this report helps us do is the only way to kind of proceed so thank you commissioner anderson

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, echo the thanks of the work that's gone into all of the budget presentations that we've seen so far. And not just the budget presentations, but the work that's gone into, like, standardizing and showing us the extent of the mandated services you know you you mentioned like the the state cost shifts that we experienced as well as the federal we don't have an option of doing these things like we have to do this and we have a certain amount of work that we have to put into it that is mandated by either the state or the federal government And that is, I think, really kind of at the center. When we say it's a cost shift, it's not just that they're removing money, it's that they're still expecting us to do the work. And so the work still has to happen. And without the funds to reimburse us for the work that they tell us we need to do, then we have to raise it through property taxes. And I know, like, not a this year thing, right? We've done a lot of work in identifying what is mandatory and what is the core set of work. But I think having some kind of overall evaluation of how much of our property taxes are going towards mandated services. You know, that's kind of the next step in kind of this evaluation that I think we should be looking at is if we're going to be asking. And I think, you know, it's a legitimate thing to share in the costs of providing services to our residents. We, I think, are a wonderful example of experimenting, going above and beyond, finding ways of doing things better and sometimes more efficiently that is outside of what is required of us. But I think the more we can capture that, the better off we are able to tell our story, especially at the state when we're advocating at the capital. and saying, you know, we're doing this work, and we think that that is an overall public benefit that the state should have a part in reimbursing us for. So I want to hear a little bit more of, like, in the upcoming years, not right now, an evaluation of, like, how much of it, of what we're collecting is going into state mandated services. So, thank you.

Commissioner Adelson, did you want to speak? Okay. No, thank you again and appreciate that. So we're going to move on to item 1B, which is our second presentation for today. It's an annual update on Hennepin History Museum from the Executive Director, John Crippen. Before we jump into the presentation, I'd like to take a couple of minutes to recognize the key role that John played in the county's semi-quincentennial planning team, helping to design and implement programming aligned with the county's adopted themes of the power of peace and unfinished revolutions. He has been instrumental in elevating the story of Eliza Winston, now featured in an exhibit at the Hennepin History Museum. He served as the moderator for the panel that explored Eliza Winston's fight to freedom in Minnesota and the lasting impact of her 1860 court case. Mr. Crippen also served as the Hennepin County's host for the traveling screening of all episodes of Ken Burns' documentary, The American Revolution, presented in partnership with the Twin Cities PBS. Lots of accolades. Hennepin History Museum and Hennepin County Library. For this partnership, I extend my thanks to you and to the board at the Hennepin History Museum. And Mr. Crippen, I'll turn it over to you.

Thank you, Commissioner, Madam Chair. Thank you all for your time. You obviously have a busy day and lots of serious things to worry about. So I'm happy to be here to show you for a brief few moments some of the value that you're getting from your investment, if you will. I think we can, well, just, yeah, we can go to the next slide. So thank you all for your support in so many ways, your annual financial support. is critical to what we're doing, and we're doing our best to match that with our private fundraising, which continues to accelerate. But I really appreciate, to a person, how each of you have engaged with us in different ways, offering me program ideas, coming to events, supporting the work that we do. Really appreciate doing that. We've had a good few years. It's been a couple of years since I've been in front of all of you together. As I say, we're having year over year increases in donations and membership. We were able to take advantage of some federal COVID relief funds that came in late to jumpstart our reserve funds. And I have to say kudos to Commissioner Gautel for driving us in the right direction over these last six, seven years. to build up the financial security of Hennepin History Museum. So we're finally in a place where we have short-term operating reserves, longer-term reserves that we can use to invest in growth in the future. So we're in a much better place than we were just a number of years ago. And that's the partnership that we've been doing together. So I thank you all for that. Just wanted to do a few highlights from the last year or so of what we've been up to. If we could go to the next slide. Last year, we got a grant from the Humanities Center, Minnesota Humanities Center, to do what we called Hennepin Fest. And it was a music festival focused on women in the arts, women exploring history in the present day. And I think the quote that goes along these photos speaks for itself. It was just this great experience before a lot of the dark episodes of the last year started to unfold where people came together as community And we reactivated the park outside across from our museum. It was just a fabulous model for how we can take history and do it in the present day and activate community action. So that was a lot of fun. If we can go to the next one. Madam Chair already mentioned the Eliza Winston story. This has been an interesting experience for us. We opened this exhibit last fall. I was a little nervous, not too nervous. I knew the story was powerful, but we've kind of made our mark in the last few years talking about more recent history, which I believe is a way we have to do things, people's lived experience. So we're going all the way back to 1860. and make a little nervous, like, are people going to resonate with this? Well, it turns out, as I say there, history may not repeat, but it often rhymes. So we're now delving into, with the Eliza Winston story, states' rights northern style, where the young state of Minnesota looked at the federal government and said, we don't care about the Fugitive Slave Act. This woman's free, and a Hennepin District Court is going to to make that happen. But it was also on the eve of the Civil War. And in our darker times these days, we're talking about this fractured world we live in. And how were they negotiating that? How did it fall apart the year later? How are we negotiating that? We can use history to help people think about their current lives as well. And just focusing on Eliza Winston. For so long, her story was kind of buried underneath community activists who said, all right, we're going to take credit for making her free. This was really a personal journey on her part. And we built this exhibit with Chris Lehman, co-curator. He had written a book about Eliza, and we pulled off of that. So just thinking about the personal courage that people make when they're in really difficult times and how they can move on. This has led from book to exhibit to poetry and poetry readings. We're now working with community activists down in the Lake Harriet area to commemorate Eliza there. It's just a fun project that's had some good legs. If we could go to the next slide. But we're living in the present, too. This is a copy of our most recent magazine, and I think you all got a copy of that, but Graham Faulkner's got another for you. So if you don't need a second copy yourself, please share it around. But we were living with this as well as everyone else. As you know, we're in the Whittier neighborhood, so we were dealing within the center of all of that. So in our latest magazine, we went out on a little bit of a limb and said, we're going to use this magazine not just to tell historical narratives, but document history as it's happening. And so we did a photo essay, shared a photo essay from photographer Chris June are working with him to get his photos into our collection so that we can document this for future generations. I also wanted to point out, we've ran out of paper copies for now, but this is our report to community from 2025. Again, Graham is going to print some out for you and share it with you on email so you can look through by the numbers, by the deeper dive stories, how we're meshing with our strategic plan. If we could go to the next, please. Our new best friend at the state level is the Minnesota Humanities Center. We got another two legacy grants through them in the past few months that are really going to do some transformative work for us. The first one was a $40,000 grant to create an exhibit that will open next spring about Dakota women and their perspective on the world. And it's going to be really personal, really direct, which we're excited about. There are lots of people doing indigenous history right now It's had a renaissance in the last 10 years, 20 years or so. But between the History Center and Shakopee with Hocha Kata Tea and Awamani Omni Okodeapi, there's a lot of big stuff happening, which the bigger it gets, the more generalized it tends to get. So we're excited with this exhibit to bring some personal stories in in ways that some of the bigger places aren't able to do. But we also got a larger grant, $100,000 from the Humanities Center, to do a repatriation project for our American Indian collection. Repatriation being, if we identify there are objects that belong to other families or tribal nations, we will give those back to them. trying to push the envelope on how museums do this work. Museums have a bad reputation, I just have to say, for hoarding their stuff and saying, this is ours, and you've got to prove it's not. And we're going into this project flipping that script and saying, we don't know why we have this stuff, and we don't presume that it should be here. So we're going to ask you, do you know about connections to these things, and would it be more appropriate with this family, with that tribal nation, So that's going to be work going on over the coming year. And I think we're going to be putting ourselves and Hennepin County on the map for some groundbreaking things. If we could jump to the next one. Keep moving through here. Just some stats. Lots of these are in the annual report, which you can look at. And I didn't want to flood you with more numbered slides because you get a lot of that. One of the key success things for us, or here it says foundation of our success, Eighty-three percent of our programming is done in partnership. That's just the way we have to do it with a small staff. We don't complain about our small staff. We actually love this statistic. It keeps us honest. It keeps us doing the right thing. It keeps us available for what Commissioner Gotell mentioned of being able to jump on the county's initiative to do some semi-sequentennial, sorry, still don't get that word right. So we were honored to be able to participate with your staff to do work like that. Through this partnership programming, we're reaching about 100,000 people a year, not just in the museum, but with our publications, with social media and online presence, things like that. And we're continuing to do more. We want to keep pushing the limits of how can people be more aware of us. One of the fun things in the last couple of years has been we've been able to participate in the Dayton's Holiday Market, both here downtown and out at Southdale. And it's just another way for... several hundred thousand people to be aware that there is a Hennepin History Museum, and we're doing some exciting things. One of the things that we're working on with this one, because it's been getting a lot of attention, is turning this into a poster and seeing how many people might want to get this for their collection. Yes, Commissioner Conley, I'll make sure you get So yeah, it's really resonating with folks when we talk about the history that's happening in real time. Last but not least, if we could go to the last slide, which It doesn't really illustrate, except this is the core of our mission statement and our vision about uniting communities with everyone represented. A few new and upcoming things. We just opened a pop-up exhibit, traveling exhibit, about the Mexican band in Minnesota. Another 19th century thing that's really cool. Turns out the Mexican National Band played at the Minneapolis Exposition every day for the six weeks of the expo in 1886. We're celebrating the 140th anniversary of that feat with the Minnesota Latino Museum. They approached us a few months ago and said, did you know about this story? And we said, we didn't know that much about it. And so we put this quick exhibit together. September 3rd, you're all welcome. I'll send you a follow-up. We're doing an open house in the museum about this exhibit. And October 28th, the Mexican Consulate has gotten excited about this. And we're going to be having an event on October 28th at Orchestra Hall. So... I'll let you all know more about that as well. I've talked to you in the past about Ha Ha Wakbadan, which is the Dakota name for Basset Creek. We've used those oral histories we did a number of years ago for fueling programming. And what's now become a cherished annual tradition is a water blessing on Indigenous Peoples Day. So that'll be October 12th at Westwood Hills Nature Center. We're going there. along the creek to different cities. So this one will be St. Louis Park. So that'll be great to do again. Doing some more political programming because it's election season. We try to stay out of the daily elections, but throw some things in. So we'll be doing some programming as well on that. And last but not least, this is just a teaser for what we've been spending a lot of time on. The board of the museum, as Commissioners Anderson and Gotel know, has finally gotten serious about dealing with our facility and what do we do about that. So We worked with a local architecture firm and got a pre-designed feasibility study done. They answered question one, can it be fixed? Yes, it can. And question two, how much is it going to cost? And they gave us a pretty good number, but that number is going to change and grow as numbers do. So we're in the process of assessing our capacity for capital campaigns, both with private funding and public funding and looking at what that mix is. So we'll be in touch over coming months as we figure all those questions out and decide if that's a direction we can go. We're going to figure out something. We're gonna stop kicking the can down the road. We're gonna solve this problem that's been bedeviling us for quite some time. So that's what we've been up to. It's been kind of a busy time.

Well, thank you, Mr. Crippen. I really appreciate you being here. And I just want to say how thankful I am for the sustainability that you put under the bedrock of this Hennepin History Museum. A lot of us really love this and find it endearing. I also find that under your leadership that the programming has just soared and so has the participation because of the work that you have been doing. So I just want to say thank you. And I'm going to open it up to my colleagues, Commissioner Green and then Anderson.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Kirpin, for the presentation. I want to assert somewhat piggly that you're in my district. Yes. And you're not the highest profile museum. Correct.

That is not news to you.

And yet, you're always doing something really vital. And by vital, I mean alive and relevant. And so I really appreciate that. And I feel like your presentation today is no exception. Thank you. So thank you for that. And definitely, I think, let all of us know about the events, because there were many things that I'd love to attend and be a part of.

Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that comment in part because, My reflection over the last several years is this is a really difficult time to be a large organization with a lot of institutional weight and patterns and what have you. It's a dangerous time to be a small nonprofit. but it's a time where we can take advantage of the opportunities and jump on them. The Mexican Band, we didn't know about this in January, but we were able to say, yeah, a few thousand dollars, we can just do this. Whereas a larger organization often will struggle with that and say, well, we'll see if we can get you on the agenda. So we try to take advantage of what strength we do have. Thank you.

Well, thank you for saying yes. I feel like that's the coaching that we all get. Say yes, and you're saying yes.

We start with maybe, and we work to get to yes as fast as we can.

Commissioner Anderson.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you so much for coming and giving the presentation and all of the work that you've been doing have always just been, since being introduced to the History Museum, have just always been so impressed with how you've approached the job of collecting and presenting history to people in relevant ways. And you had so many different great examples of it. And I also just want to highlight the amount of collaboration and partnership that you put into being able to formulate these exhibits. You have done so many amazing, unique things through this that have told stories about what has happened historically in Hennepin County and what is currently happening in Hennepin County that I think most of us have no idea that these communities are even vibrant. You know, I think you, there was a, There are so many different examples, but it's just there's always a new surprise. And being able to find those partners to tell those stories in new and relevant ways I think is just – very commendable and applaudable. So I thank you for the work that you're doing for that. Well, thank you.

You illustrated the core of our mission. We're creating spaces for communities, plural, to tell their stories. And so we try to do that, create that platform for folks.

Commissioner Lundy.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to thank everyone, the volunteers, for the efforts. And just ask, because I always say, don't ask a question unless you're willing to volunteer. Because I do think it's Minneapolis-focused. And I think that when, you know, my district has, I believe, you know, 20 to 22 percent are foreign born. We talk about immigrants and they come from all over. It's not just one area. It is, as I say, the rainbow is very rainbowish. It's got everything. We have different tribal things that people have fled here seeking refuge. And I think that's very topical. And so I guess rather than complain, I'm going to ask to find time to meet with you because I do think it's a missing story. that ICE was very active in District 1. But you didn't see that because people only thought it was Minneapolis where they were very active. But it was all over the place, and people were having businesses closed. People weren't showing up for work. But most news tends to be Minneapolis-centric. Suburbs tend not to hit there. So I would like to find a way to help with that. I think there's so many stories of groups that have come here, Hmong community, Vietnamese, like Lao, you know, Liberians during the Civil War. You know, there are still, right now, Civil War happening, and people are living here now in fear of that and their relatives. I think those stories are very resonant, and they actually, they don't replace history. I think that's, people think that they've got to replace history. You can do an and. You add another chapter. History books get longer. They don't get shorter. And they don't get rid of the stuff at the beginning. I think the first people that... lived here, then you have people that moved here, and you keep having this kind of a refresh, which is, I believe, as American as you can get. So I would like to just ask for that chance to start to talk about that.

Yeah, thank you, Commissioner. Absolutely. I just had a preliminary meeting this morning. Folks at McAllister have been invited to apply for a large grant from the Mellon Foundation to document this history that's happened in 2026. And they were looking at both Hennepin and Ramsey counties, not Minneapolis and St. Paul. And so there's an opportunity for us to put together a package to say, how can we step in and help these communities document what they've been through. So the timing is actually really, really good.

And I would suggest leaving the standard Minnesota groups to come up because you're going to find out that the connections between the Brooklins, which I think was in the paper being the most diverse in the state, we don't have the same connections to these what I call institutional groups. Things that right we just don't have them people will come up to visit so they can put on a grant application They they were here working with us, but they disappear So I do think it's really important to really reach out there are churches there Leaders there that elders that I think really could help with that effort.

Thank you Thank You Commissioner Conley Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Crippen, for the presentation. What amazing work you've been up to. I really appreciate how your work is intentional. The exhibits at the Hennepin History Museum are very intentional. They're very truth-telling. As you know, I've been a huge fan of this uplifting of the story of Eliza Winston, which led me to a panel discussion at the Hennepin History Museum. where I got my book, It Takes Courage, signed by Dr. Lehman. So thank you. And it opened up just this conversation about history that also impacts today, right? My team and I recently visited the marker for Eliza Winston on St. Anthony, Maine. The language used was very much outdated. And so as you do work in Lake Harriet, it sounds like, around that area as where kind of she moved to, I know that you and the museum will be very cognizant of how we use language to talk about these stories. that just have shaped Minnesota. And something that stuck out from what you said as upcoming is this move to return artifacts to where they rightfully belong and how museums do get a bad rap for that. There's a scene in a movie that I love dearly that talks about he's in a museum. Folks might know what movie I'm talking about. And he's asking about where did all these artifacts come from? And the curator was a little bit, you know, you know what I'm talking about?

I don't actually know which movie, but Black Panther. Oh, right. Yeah. The opening scene, right? Yep.

Anyway, that's, sorry, you know what I was going. That's like the same spirit is that museums hoard and they collect and they collect and they collect, but there's, there's whole nations of people that had these artifacts stolen from them. And then we just showcase them. So I think it's admirable, honorable, and the right thing to do. to look at how to return what was taken. So just keep up the great work. I am a huge fan of all that you do. And I think my adventure into Hennepin History Museum started with a conversation around Minnesota being on the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. And you had Elisa there who was talking about her research. And that led us to various different places in District 4 that were a part of this network. And it all started by just attending a conversation at the Hennepin History Museum. So keep up this incredible work. It's great. And I'm really happy to hear about the Capitol ambitions of the museum itself. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Anyone else? I just want to thank you for coming and doing your update, and we'll look forward to seeing you next year with another great update.

Yeah, my pleasure. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.

We will move on to item two, which is minutes from the previous meeting of August 13, 2025. May I have a motion?

So moved.

Any corrections or changes? All those in favor signify by aye. Aye. Motion carries. Next item three is a public hearing on the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act local plan. The public hearing will be conducted in person and via telephone. Persons not in attendance today but interested in commenting are invited to call a toll-free conference number now, and that number is 1-855- Again, I'll say that number again, 1-855-340-8151. And I think it's displaying on the screen. It is. While we wait for callers, I'd like to ask Ms. Nola Slager-Johnson and Ms. Mei Zhang to provide background. Thank you. Welcome.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair, Commissioners. My name is Nola Slachter-Johnson, and I am with the Department of Workforce Development here at Hennepin County. Today's public hearing provides an opportunity for public review and comment on our proposed Hennepin-Carver Workforce Development Area 9 WIOA Local Plan Update. This local plan is required under the federal WIOA, which is the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act, and serves as our strategic roadmap for our local workforce development system. Our workforce system is where workforce development, education, training, economic development, employers, labor, community-based organizations, and other partners come together to align our resources, our expertise and services around our shared workforce goals. It is through this alignment that we can better connect residents to opportunity, help employers meet their talent needs, and respond collectively to the changing needs of our regional economy. This plan builds from a strong foundation of partnerships across suburban and Hennepin, across suburban Hennepin and Carver counties rather. While recognizing that our greatest opportunity is how we align our work. No single program, organization, or funding source can meet the workforce needs of our residents and employers alone. By better connecting our resources, services, data, and expertise, we can reduce duplication, close gaps between systems, and create clearer pathways for both residents and employers. The local plan provides the shared direction for doing that work together. The proposed local plan has been made available for public review and comment. Feedback through this process will be considered and incorporated into the plan prior to our submission to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. And I can take additional questions at this time. Questions from my colleagues and everything.

I want to thank you for the presentation today. And I will ask staff if there are any callers. I've been informed that there are no callers at this time. Okay. So is there anyone here in person who would like to speak to this? I would welcome anyone for three minutes to speak on this topic. I'll check one more time for any callers online. I've been informed again there's still no callers on the line. Okay, so then as if there's no callers, I'll take a motion to close the public hearing.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor signify by aye. Aye. Motion carries. The public hearing is closed. We will move on to item four. There's a couple of routine items. Item four is to amend an agreement with Metro LLC for media planning, media procurement, and limited creative services to advance county strategic priorities extending the end date to 12-31 of 28, including including a not to exceed, increasing the not to exceed by $1.5 million for a new not to exceed of $3.5 million. Do I have a motion? Move approval.

Second.

Does anybody want any explanations on this one? All those in favor signify by aye. Aye. Motion carries. Item 4B is approval of the submission of Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act Local Plan to the State of Minnesota. I'll move this. Second. Does anybody else have any conversation, discussion? All those in favor, signify by aye. Aye. The motion carries. Items for discussion and action. Item 4C is Commissioner Compensation. Mr. Rogan, I believe. Oh, Commissioner. Is that Administrator Butlin? Okay.

Chair Goethe, Commissioners, per Minnesota statute, adjustments in Commissioner salaries shall be adopted by the County Board by resolution prior to a general election to take effect on January 1 of the succeeding year. Additionally, County Attorney and Sheriff salaries shall be determined by the Board of County Commissioners. Based on that, the three Board actions in front of you, Items 4C through 4E, set the salary for Commissioners, the Sheriff, and the County Attorney for 2027 and 2028. The recommended compensation is consistent with historical patterns, and notice requesting the adjustments must be sent to the county administrator by the dates listed in the board action.

Thank you. I'll take a motion for items 4C through 4E.

I'll move it.

It's been moved and seconded. Any further discussion? Commissioner Anderson?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to be really unpopular. Sorry, guys. Is there a possibility, at least for 4C, I know that we've asked staff departments to hold themselves to a 2% kind of a broadly 2% increase for next year's budget. And I would move, and if there's not a second, that's fine, to adjust the commissioner's compensation for next year's to 2% and then adjust the dollar amount correspondingly.

Is that a motion?

That was a motion.

Discussion.

Again, like I said, I know that we are approaching a very difficult budget year, and we've asked every county department to hold themselves to a 2% increase. I know our staff are receiving the cola increases um that is in line with this but uh you know we are we operate a little bit differently on this floor and i think part of our obligation is to is to still lead by example and try to match what our workforce is dealing with and right now they're dealing with what is effectively a cut and not meeting the COLA increases that their contracts afford them. And so my proposal is to have our salary match.

Commissioner Irene, and then Connie.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the motion for the amendment. I'll be voting against that. The 4%, Matt, I hear you on the 2% for department goals. My understanding from the administration is that the 4% matches the contract and that the 2% for the 2028 year is 2% because the contract is not in set yet for that year. So that's why I'll be voting against it. Additionally, because there's a block before us The percentage is consistent across the nine positions, three board actions is what I will be voting in favor of. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Commissioner Conley? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I was going to say something along the same lines, which was are you motioning to, because all three, 4C, D, and E, are 4 and 2?

Mine was only for this body, for 4C.

Thank you. I just want to make a comment that I won't be supporting that motion either. Most likely because, again, this was a contract thing that we negotiated, and for years and years we have not compensated this office. And as we look to the future for other commissioners to take into some of these seats as some of us retire and come off, We need to make it – it's not an outrageous amount if we look at the colleagues. And there was a great study that Commissioner Fernando brought to us about compensation across the nation for commissioners, and we are well below that average. And so I won't be voting for that. And so for the motion on item 4C only – excuse me?

Yeah, for the –

Yep, for the amendment on 4C only. All those in favor signify by aye.

Aye.

All those opposed? Nay. The nays have it. So we'll go back to the original motion, which I'll ask for the slate of items 4C, D, and E. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Any further discussion? All those in favor signify by aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. And that concludes our agenda.