Progressive council members propose cutting Minneapolis safety office

Some progressive Minneapolis City Council members are pushing to eliminate a public safety department created in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. They argue it doesn’t meaningfully oversee city police — and that any important department responsibilities could be shifted elsewhere.

The Office of Community Safety oversees emergency services departments, including 911, fire and police. It was proposed by Mayor Jacob Frey in 2022 and passed by a majority of the City Council after a progressive proposal to replace the police department with a safety office was rejected by voters.

The office was part of a broader plan to create a new government structure that gave the mayor more control over departmental operations, which Frey at the time called a chance to “make a longstanding, multi-generational impact.”

At a committee meeting Tuesday, which included the whole council, council members voted to hold a public hearing on Oct. 27 about the ordinance that proposes to cut the Office of Community Safety.

The proposal was introduced by progressives Elliott Payne, the council president, and council member Robin Wonsley.

“We have not been able to see over the three years of its existence, again, that measurable benefit to the public,” Wonsley said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Wonsley said the office has added an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, failed to be an “oversight hawk” to prevent dramatic police overspending and hasn’t meaningfully improved clearance rates or safety outcomes.

However, the proposal would keep the Department of Neighborhood Safety, which is currently under the Office of Community Safety umbrella.

Wonsley said Tuesday that the city must double down on expanding safety programs “beyond policing,” but she said the office isn’t required for that.

“We know a bulk of that work is being championed in the Neighborhood Safety Department, and not necessarily the Office of Community Safety itself,” she said.

Eliminating the office would mean heads of departments like police and fire would report directly to the mayor like they did in the past. The ordinance would also move responsibilities from the Racial, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Department to the Neighborhood and Community Relations Department.

Frey sharply criticized the proposal.

“This wholesale elimination without a plan, combined with other proposed cuts to MPD, is not a serious proposal when it comes to public safety in our city,” Frey said in a statement.

“This office — one that these council members advocated for — manages services like mental health response, violence prevention, and police reform. If council members want these services in jeopardy, that’s on them,” Frey said.

Wonsley and Payne were among four council members who voted against creating the office in 2022.

Council member Elizabeth Shaffer said Tuesday that she looks forward to discussion and collaboration on the latest proposal “so that we do not end up with a veto” from the mayor.

The new proposal is not the first time this year that council members and the mayor have sparred over the Office of Community Safety. In April, the council rejected Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette’s renomination — and he plans to step down in the coming months.

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