City attorney outlines achievements, warns of tighter 2026 budget and staff reductions

Minneapolis City Attorney Kristin Anderson told the Budget Committee on Oct. 6 that her office has reduced turnover, implemented paperless systems, expanded extreme-risk protection order petitions and defended city ordinances in high-profile litigation while facing continued budget reductions that cut roughly 3% from the office's 2026 mayoral recommendation.

Anderson said the office has stabilized staffing since 2022, reduced reliance on paper by deploying new criminal-division technology, and played a central role in implementing police-reform obligations under the city's settlement and consent-decree work with MDHR and ALIFA. She also described expanded use of Minnesota's extreme-risk protection orders and litigation to protect city funding as core achievements.

The presentation outlined why the budget matters: the city attorney's office recorded a nearly 4% reduction in 2025 and the mayor's recommended 2026 budget reduces the office by nearly 3%, for close to a 7% decline across two years. Anderson said those cuts translate to an overall net decrease of 3.3 budgeted FTEs in the 2026 recommendation, following a net decrease of 5 FTEs in 2025; across both years the…