Minneapolis Office of Community safety eliminated by city council ordinance

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis City Council members voted Thursday to eliminate the office overseeing the city’s police, fire and other public safety departments.

Council votes to eliminate office

What we know:

The council voted 9 to 4 to approve that ordinance on Thursday. Members Linea Palmisano, Elizabeth Shaffer, Jamison Whiting and Michael Rainville were the dissenting votes.

The nine vote margin means the council would have enough votes to overturn a veto if Mayor Frey were to reject the ordinance.

Dig deeper:

The vote comes as the current interim Community Safety commissioner, Todd Barnette, has announced his planned resignation by the end of the year. Barnette made that decision after the council failed to move forward with his reappointment as commissioner.

The Office of Community Safety oversees the Minneapolis Police Department, the fire department, emergency management, neighborhood safety, and 911.

Council members argue office didn't deliver results

What they're saying:

During Thursday's meeting, council members argued that despite the extra layer of administration, the office failed to hold the police department accountable for overspending.

Council members argued that the office offered an expensive extra layer of bureaucracy that delivered unclear results.

"So this is not a diss at them, but we have millions of dollars funneling through our public safety structure, and I want to see quantifiable receipts," said Council Member Pearll Warren. "This is not an attack on progress. I'm not voting against community safety. I'm asking whether the structure we created is delivering the accountability that we promised, because it's not."

"One of the reasons why I'm supporting this ordinance today is because I do agree with the authors that these will lead to better results and less bureaucracy," added Council Member Jason Chavez. "That's it, simply put."

"I think we can still live up to what the promise of what that office was meant to be, and build something different out and also be able to recognize that $2.1 million for coordination did not provide the return on its investment," said Council Member Aurin Chowdhury.

The other side:

Some opponents acknowledged problems with the office, but argued for restructuring it rather than eliminating it.

Council Member Elizabeth Shaffer argued for cutting the office's budget while retaining the structure.

"So to me, at this moment in time, to completely eliminate the Office of Community Safety would be another change that we as a council would create, adding to an already crowded smorgasbord of public safety issues," said Shaffer. "We have enough to work on without adding something else. My first choice in this matter would be to retain the Office of Community Safety and to make significant, deeper cuts through the budget process."

Council Member Linea Palmisano argued the council would lose some say in public safety matters by cutting the office.

"By putting all supervision of these departments into the mayor's office, we give up our own authority and lose the ability to appoint somebody ourselves," said Palmisano. "I am open to differently structuring and supervising this work, but not to completely dismantling it."

What's next:

Mayor Jacob Frey and leaders within the Office of Community Safety are expected to speak following Thursday's council meeting on the vote.