Minneapolis violence prevention funding in question after critical audit
Millions unaccounted for in Minneapolis Violence Prevention Program
Millions of taxpayer dollars spent on violence prevention efforts in Minneapolis are under the microscope after a critical internal audit revealed the city's Neighborhood Safety Department failed to properly oversee its contracts. FOX 9's Paul Blume has the latest.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Millions of taxpayer dollars spent on violence prevention efforts in Minneapolis are under the microscope after a critical internal audit revealed the city's Neighborhood Safety Department failed to properly oversee its contracts.
Minneapolis violence prevention audit
What we know:
The audit corroborates previous findings from the FOX 9 Investigators that revealed significant flaws in how the department monitored violence interruption work.
A review of contracts and invoices exposed organizations that allegedly double-billed the city and failed to provide detailed time sheets or basic receipts for their services.
The Minneapolis City Auditor noted an increased risk that the city is subject to fraud, waste and abuse in contracts where there is no sufficient reviewing of invoices and supporting documentation.
Mayor Jacob Frey is now proposing to slash the city’s Violence Interrupter budget in half, shifting focus toward hiring two dozen city safety ambassadors instead.
‘The findings are not entirely surprising’
What they're saying:
"The findings are not entirely surprising really at all," Frey said. "We have known the shortcomings of the whole framework for quite some time."
Known locally for their brightly-colored shirts while walking beats in high-crime neighborhoods, violence interrupters are designed to provide a community-based alternative to traditional law enforcement.
The groups are often made up of former gang members who use their experiences in-and-out of the criminal justice system to diffuse potentially volatile situations.
"There are some great violence interruption groups," explained Frey. "There are some great leaders that have deep contacts with community members, so they are better able to help keep people safe. And at the same time, we have recognized that there was difficulty both in tracking compliance and also tracking the causal connection to results."
Frey noted that while some groups built solid community relationships and made a difference, his concerns over spending oversight in a tight budget year ultimately led to the proposed cuts.
"When you are wrong, you admit it, and you try to do better," Frey added. "And that's what we are trying to do here."
What the audit proved
Dig deeper:
Previous FOX 9 data requests revealed that one violence prevention consultant billed over $270,000 for personnel, rent, and food, yet the city never produced a single receipt for the company. Despite those red flags, the city council kept funding the group for years.
Dean Thomson, the attorney who previously sued Minneapolis over these illegal contracting and billing practices, says the audit proves nothing has changed.
"Monies were being paid based on the flimsiest of invoices," Thomson said, noting some contractors billed $200,000 for 15 workers without providing timecards, proof of payment, or prevailing wage documentation. "That should have raised all sorts of alarms at City Hall, and it didn't."
Thomson questioned why a portion of the more than $32 million spent on violence prevention funding that went beyond traditional policing since 2020 wasn't allocated to a third-party auditor.
"This is how Feeding Our Future got off the rails," Thomson said. "No one was paying attention to how the money was being spent, and there was no backup for the invoices. The same thing here."
"If I were a taxpayer, I'd be outraged by this," he added. "This is cavalier expenditures of public money."
Billing system ‘is in a stronger and better place’
Why you should care:
Amanda Harrington, the Neighborhood Safety Director for the city, insists the billing system is in a "stronger and better place today."
Harrington noted the department now demands signed bank checks, cash validations, and written descriptions for community events.
"There's so much additional information that we are asking now," Harrington said. "It feels like night and day."
She confirmed that the city recently parted ways with a contractor who could not meet the new documentation standards and stressed that her department will delay payments to small organizations rather than pay unverified invoices.
City Council Vice President Jamal Osman, who is fighting to keep the Violence Interrupter program fully funded, agreed that the city must hold contractors accountable.
"One hundred percent, that should not be negotiable," Osman said. "I think you should provide all the paperwork that is necessary if you are contracted to the City of Minneapolis and you are providing services to the residents of Minneapolis. That is not a question. That is something that I look for the administration to do. And if that is not happening, that’s concerning."
The audit is the latest blow to a violence prevention network already marred by high-profile missteps and questionable spending that followed the police murder of George Floyd.
Earlier this year, the Minnesota Attorney General sued the organization "We Push for Peace" and its former leaders, accusing them of siphoning more than $6.5 million in charitable assets.
State investigators allege the group's leaders diverted organization funds — including Minneapolis taxpayer dollars — to pay for Las Vegas trips, luxury vehicles, child support, and a private liquor store.
Additionally, a former violence prevention specialist for "21 Days of Peace" is currently on trial in federal court for allegedly providing a gun to a convicted felon during a shootout in north Minneapolis last March. The gunfire erupted following a community barbecue hosted by the organization.
Following the incident, the City of Minneapolis dropped more than $600,000 in proposed funding for the nonprofit.
Budget proposal goes to Council Tuesday
What's next:
Mayor Frey’s nearly $10M Neighborhood Safety budget proposal, including the Violence Interrupter cuts, goes before the city council on Tuesday.
Osman said he believes the program works, particularly in his Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, and he wants to keep it fully funded.
"I know for sure that some programs in the area that I represent has worked and continue to work," Osman said. "That is why we continue to fight, to make sure programs remain here. I am not saying they have all the answers. We still need police officers, professional trained officers in our streets, but I think relationship-building, knowing the community, talking to the youth that don't want to talk to the cops is a smart decision."
The Source: Information sourced from a Minneapolis City audit of violence prevention contracts and records previously obtained by the FOX 9 Investigators through public data requests.