Minneapolis 911 director presents 2026 MECC budget, flags staffing and cybersecurity risks

Joni Hodney, director of the Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center, told the City Council Budget Committee on Sept. 15 that MECC processed nearly 400,000 emergency and non‑emergency calls in 2025 and is working to balance rising service complexity with constrained resources. Hodney presented the mayor’s recommended 2026 budget for MECC and answered questions from council members about staffing, technology investments and operational risks.

The presentation matters because MECC is the city’s primary point of contact for life‑threatening calls and other urgent public safety requests; changes to its staffing, technology or operations could affect response reliability across Minneapolis. Hodney said MECC is tracking performance with the city’s Outcomes Minneapolis dashboards and aiming to meet the National Emergency Number Association standard of answering 90% of calls within 15 seconds.

Hodney outlined MECC’s recent achievements and remaining risks. She said MECC is “getting back to that, 95%, 90% of the time” for answer‑rate expectations but can dip during busy summer months. She described quality assurance work that currently scores 93% of reviewed calls at or above an 80% threshold. Hodney noted that MECC launched “the first embedded social worker in MECC beginning the start of this month” and that the social worker is expected to begin taking calls Oct. 1 to help triage mental‑health and complex calls that tie up telecommunicators for longer periods.

On finances and staffing, Hodney said wages and fringe benefits make up the majority of MECC costs. The radio shop, which transferred into MECC in 2025, has operating expenses “just over $2,000,000” and generates approximately $400,000 in service revenue, she said. Hodney said the adopted 2025 budget showed 93 full‑time employees for the radio shop and 911 combined and that the mayor’s recommended 2026 budget reduces MECC FTEs by one vacant position. She told the committee MECC currently has five vacancies, four of which are through background checks and expected to start training in October; one vacancy is being held to accommodate the proposed reduction.

Hodney warned of technical and human risks. She said MECC “is acutely aware and watching for cyber security risks in the 9 11 system” and that MECC works closely with city IT to monitor security. She also stressed staff wellness and burnout as an operational risk, saying MECC must avoid exceeding its capacity when accepting new non‑emergency responsibilities so it does not stray from its core mission to handle emergencies. To reduce labor pressures, Hodney proposed investments in software to automate quality assurance and call‑handling assistance; she said she will present possible tools to the Oversight Committee on Sept. 29.

Council members asked about the radio shop’s staffing history, the vacancy that would be cut, and whether eliminating that position would increase overtime. Hodney said the vacant position has been long term and that holding it vacant may increase overtime, particularly in summer months, although MECC has recently reduced overtime costs by improving staffing alignment. Vice Chair Koski and Council Member Palmisano asked Hodney to provide future updates on the embedded social worker and on software proposals.

The committee received and filed the presentation. No formal vote was taken on the budget at the hearing; the presentation was entered into the record for subsequent budget deliberations.