Metropolitan Council Committee: Budget & Finance July 6, 2026 · Monday, July 6, 2026 · 49m

The one where Metro handed a school building to a nonprofit for $350K a year, called it 'well below market rate' out lou

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PENCIL's CEO Christiane Buggs, a Bordeaux native who once sat on the school board, came to Budget & Finance to defend a lease of the Lillard school building at roughly $350,000 a year. Her case was volume: three million dollars of free supplies into MNPS classrooms, free shopping days for every kindergarten and first-grade teacher, a pop-up shop in every zip code since 2024. Courtney Johnston kept pulling the other thread, who set the price, who negotiated it, what the cap is actually for, whether teachers are guaranteed anything in writing. Nobody in the room could name the negotiator. Zulfat

From the room

“a corporate purchasing master agreement with InfoTech Research Group Inc. for information technology”
— Kyonzté Toombs

“pencil uh plans to do capital improvements on their own dime of roughly about five million dollars”
— David Braum

“we're taking on all a new HVAC, new piping because it's galvanized pipes, the asbestos remediation”
— Christiane Buggs

“I do know that any kind of amendments to the contract would have to come back through council anyway”
— David Braum

The decisions

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Also in the record

Records not linked to a specific agenda item

Conditions

Move the required presentation date later in the year so departments have finished their own internal reports
Clarifies that department STAFF (not volunteer commission members) may make the required annual presentation
Finance is not required to EVALUATE the abatements — only to show the aggregate total and how it compares to the overall budget (it may optionally opine on appropriateness)
The rebuilt playground at the Lillard building remains a community space that neighborhood kids can use
PENCIL funds all renovations; it asks Metro/MNPS only to cover catastrophic events outside PENCIL's control (e.g., a tornado destroying the roof)

Questions & answers

Burkley Allen: How will the opioid settlement money (amount unclear) be spent?

Burkley Allen: Will most of the opioid settlement money go to treatment (so people who want to change can get help) or just to data gathering?

Burkley Allen: Which treatment center will Street Works refer people to, and what educational materials will they hand out?

Burkley Allen: Is there an official adopted program for NDOT (or another agency) to walk downtown and remove protruding sign remnants/trip hazards — and if not, can we suggest one?

Jennifer Gamble: Which commissions and boards besides the IDB offer tax abatements, and are they listed in the legislation or are we to assume?

+21 more exchanges

Citations & precedent

Metropolitan Code of Laws sec. 2.08.030 · Kyonzté Toombs

Tennessee third-grade retention law (passed 2020, effective 2023) · Christiane Buggs

Procedure

Chair closes the voice vote on the item preceding item 31 (no abstentions); motion carries — Kyonzté Toombs
CM Allen floats a possible amendment to also require written minutes within a set time, because watching an hour-long video to learn one outcome is burdensome; she will discuss it with the Council Director before the bill returns — Burkley Allen
Chair Toombs concludes the agenda and adjourns the Budget and Finance Committee meeting — Kyonzté Toombs

The people

Practitioners & applicants

David Braum · Macy Amos · Christiane Buggs · Burkley Allen · Zulfat Suara

The intelligence

Every parcel, owner, and applicant in this meeting, cross-referenced against Zonable’s NYC ownership, enforcement & legislative graph — the record behind the record.

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Owner portfolios, open OATH/ECB violations, 311 & DOB permits across every parcel discussed, developer track records, and an “ask this meeting” chat.

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