Local Politics
  1. Home
  2. US
  3. Minnesota
  4. Minneapolis
  5. Issues

Mobile Crisis Response Contract

At a glance

Based on human-uploaded captions, which may still contain errors in names and numbers.

  • What: a proposed contract (budgeted at about $5.9 million) with Community Bridges, Inc., an Arizona-based vendor chosen through a competitive process, to run an expanded mobile crisis response service. It would replace the incumbent Behavioral Crisis Response program run by Canopy Roots. This was item 22 on the Public Health, Safety and Equity report. Council Member Whiting noted that the settlement agreement and consent decree require the City to provide mobile crisis response.
  • Where it stands: on October 15 the Council voted 7-5 to deny the contract, following the committee's recommendation. Debate then turned to a separate motion waiving the City's procurement rules so the administration could extend the incumbent contract. The captions end during that debate, so the result of the waiver vote is not in the record.
  • Next: the denial goes to Mayor Frey and is subject to veto; if vetoed, the Council must vote on an override. Council Member Wonsley, Council Member Chavez, Council Member Stevenson and Council President Payne plan a legislative directive next cycle asking the administration for a plan to bring the service in-house.

The proposal and the administration's case

  • Deputy Commissioner Jeffreys said the program moved from Neighborhood Safety to the Fire Department at the end of 2024, was then evaluated for two years, and the expanded scope (more call types, better data and follow-up, response from individual fire stations, response-time goals) came out of that review and national peer conferences.
  • Seven vendors applied. The RFP was completed in July, a selection was made in August, and briefings began in September. Community Bridges was chosen for experience in other, more diverse cities; it has no existing Minnesota presence and would hire a local lead and local responders, with Arizona leadership helping to start the program.
  • Bringing the service in-house was judged not ready: it would take months to more than a year, and Deputy City Attorney Abelson said the Minnesota Health Records Act and Government Data Practices Act leave gaps, because social-service data held by the City can become public. Deputy Commissioner Jeffreys said an early estimate put an in-house program at about $6 million for fewer staff.
  • Both sides said the incumbent contract had been extended several times. Council Member Palmisano recalled it started in June 2021 for two years with up to three years of options.

Main concerns

  • Scope change: Council Member Wonsley opposed folding in unsheltered-homelessness and quality-of-life calls, which she said duplicate the Homeless Response Team and Community Safety Ambassadors and risk mission creep. Council Member Chughtai said licensed clinicians should not be doing needle cleanup.
  • Transition and gap in service: Council Member Chughtai and Council Member Chowdhury said replacing the vendor and hiring a leadership team and all responders in about 11 weeks before January 1 is unrealistic. Council Member Whiting, Council Member Vetaw, Council Member Palmisano, Council Member Shaffer and Council Member Rainville argued a lapse would be worse and that the Council had delayed the item, and supported approval.
  • Engagement: Council Member Chowdhury objected that the change was made without community or caller input. Deputy Commissioner Jeffreys said wider engagement was skipped because the service was meant to feel the same to users.
  • Local knowledge: Vice President Osman asked how the vendor knows Minneapolis; Deputy Commissioner Jeffreys said it has worked in diverse, multilingual cities and will hire locally.
  • In-house push: Council Member Wonsley, Council Member Stevenson, Council Member Chughtai and Council President Payne favor bringing the service in-house; Council Member Shaffer said about $6 million for fewer staff is not realistic given the budget.

Procedure and votes

  • Council Member Wonsley raised the Shotspotter contract as a precedent for a short interim extension; Council Member Rainville objected that this was off topic and appealed the chair's ruling that it was germane. The chair was sustained, 9-3.
  • Deputy City Attorney Abelson said an extension of the incumbent contract needs the incumbent's agreement and is not barred by state law, but does not fit City procurement policy, which the Council or administration can waive.
  • Council President Payne tabled the item, and after a recess of about 20 minutes the City Attorney presented a waiver motion. The denial passed 7-5: Council President Payne, Vice President Osman, Council Member Chowdhury, Council Member Chavez, Council Member Stevenson, Council Member Wonsley and Council Member Chughtai for; Council Member Rainville, Council Member Vetaw, Council Member Palmisano, Council Member Shaffer and Council Member Whiting against.
  • On the waiver motion, Council Member Shaffer raised that the incumbent's performance audit is not due at Council until later; Council Member Palmisano said she would support it while criticizing the drafting and the 18-month length; Council Member Chowdhury wanted the extended period to include resident engagement. The City Attorney said the waiver itself extends nothing; a contract would have to come back for a Council vote.

Sources

Discussion time

About 111 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting Minutes
2026-10-15 - City Council 111

Log

2026-10-15 - City Council

Marked agenda: the Community Bridges contract was denied. An addendum waiving procurement policies so the Administration can extend the Canopy Roots contract for up to 18 months was adopted, which settles the item left open at the end of the video captions.