Council accepts two late gifts after debate over compliance with city policy

Two gift-acceptance items were the subject of sharp criticism and a separate roll call on Nov. 6 after Vice President Chugtai pulled them for individual consideration.

Vice President Chugtai and other members said the requests had been submitted late and that departments must follow the city's adopted gift-acceptance rules. "It is really, really inappropriate and unacceptable that we are out of compliance with our adopted city policy on gift acceptances," one council member said during the discussion, adding they would vote against these items and urging departments to treat the policy as mandatory.

A departmental representative on the record said Minneapolis Police Department staff were drafting a policy to improve timeliness and consistency of submittal and that the department would coordinate with the city's finance office. Council member Palmisano said MPD staff had circulated a draft policy on Nov. 4 and that it still needed revision within the department.

After discussion, the clerk called the roll on the two gift acceptances. The record shows the items carried with 9 ayes and 1 nay. Several council members said they expected stricter compliance in the future and warned that late submissions would not be routinely supported going forward.

The action accepted the gifts but also prompted commitments from departments to improve internal processes for submitting gift-acceptance requests in a timely fashion.