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BET reviews Guidehouse report; commissioners weigh income tax, transfer tax, PILOT and asset monetization
Summary
The Board of Estimate and Taxation reviewed a Guidehouse Inc. report on alternative municipal revenue options and discussed prioritizing a resolution to the city council; commissioners debated feasibility, state-approval hurdles and locally actionable pilots but made no policy decisions.
The Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation discussed a Guidehouse Inc. report on alternative municipal revenue sources at its April 22 meeting, with members identifying several options for follow-up and debating which to prioritize for a proposed resolution to the City Council's Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) committee.
President Steve Brandt said he and other commissioners had identified three priority approaches for further work: a local real estate transfer tax, a local option income tax, and monetizing underused city assets. "I think I agree uh with Commissioner Olson on my top three," Brandt said, describing those options as each having different tradeoffs in revenue potential and political cost.
Commissioners stressed the importance of feasibility and the distinction between measures that require state approval and those that can be pursued locally. Commissioner Palen urged drafting a BET resolution to forward to the City Council's IGR committee, noting many proposals (for example a city income tax or a larger local-option sales tax) would need state action. "We should draft up a resolution from this body and forward that to the IGR committee at city council," Palen said.
Debate focused on likely revenue vs. political difficulty. One commissioner observed a city real-estate transfer tax might yield a modest amount ("not likely to raise more than say $10 million a year"), while payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) pilots and targeted asset monetization were described as options that can be pursued without state approval. Commissioners also discussed an "empty homes" or vacancy tax aimed at discouraging long-term empty properties and suggested pairing revenue ideas with housing policy incentives.
Several participants said coalition-building with nearby jurisdictions (St. Paul was referenced) could improve prospects for certain pilots. Commissioners emphasized a staged approach: narrow priorities, draft a resolution to the City Council and pursue further analysis and outreach rather than seek immediate legislative change.
No formal votes or commitments to specific revenue measures were made. The board agreed to consider drafting a resolution and to continue follow-up work with city staff and council partners.
