Plan to 'eliminate' Office of Community Safety advanced by Minneapolis City Council

Mpls City Council blocks safety commissioner reappointment again The Minneapolis City Council denied the reappointment of Public Safety Commissioner Barnette for the second time. FOX 9's Karen Scullin has the full report.  The Brief Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne and Council Minority Leader Robin Wonsley say they are advancing a proposal to eliminate the Office of Community Safety.The plan would eliminate the Office of Community Safety and the Performance Management and Innovation Department, while consolidating the work of the Racial Equity Inclusion and Belonging Department into the Neighborhood Community Relations Department.The council members say those departments have "failed to produce meaningful outcomes" and the plan would save taxpayers money. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minneapolis City Council is advancing a proposal that would "eliminate" and consolidate the Office of Community Safety (OCS) and other departments, stating they have not produced "meaningful outcomes." Minneapolis City Council proposes to eliminate departments What we know: City Council President Elliott Payne and Council Minority Leader Robin Wonsley say they are advancing a proposal to "restructure and consolidate" multiple departments into a single department.  The proposal would eliminate OCS and the Performance Management and Innovation Department, and would consolidate the work of the Racial Equity Inclusion and Belonging into the Neighborhood Community Relations Department.  The council members say their proposal's goal is to save taxpayers' money as the departments failed to "produce meaningful outcomes." All the departments were created in 2022.  ‘Unnecessary costs and bureaucratic bottlenecks’ What they're saying: Payne says that the restructuring would provide more progress on public safety and racial disparity issues by cutting "unnecessary costs and bureaucratic bottlenecks."  "These proposed changes to the government structure ensure that progress on issues such as public safety and racial disparities is not impacted by unnecessary costs and bureaucratic bottlenecks," said Payne. "Now more than ever, our city government must be responsive to the needs of residents, and its structure should reflect that." While Wonsley says that it is "good governance" to no longer invest in things that are "wasting taxpayer dollars," and specifically called out OCS for poor management.  "It is good governance to stop investing in things that are not producing meaningful outcomes and are wasting taxpayer dollars," said Wonsley. "The Office of Community Safety has also contributed to increased audit costs due to poor management. It’s our responsibility to cut unnecessary bureaucracy that does not contribute to public safety." The other side: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says that eliminating OCS would put services in jeopardy, and says the proposal has no plan behind the cuts.  "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. 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," said Frey.  OCS and the city council The backstory: The head of the OCS is Todd Barnette, who failed to gain approval for his reappointment by the city council over the summer.  After a long stalemate with the city council and not getting enough votes for his reappointment, Barnette announced he would resign from his position at the end of the year.  The council members who voted down Barnette raised an issue with overspending in the Minneapolis Police Department in 2025.  Barnette did say he would stay on as interim director until a new one was found.  What's next: OSC has a budget of $16 million, and the city council says funding from there and other departments to be eliminated may be allocated by the city council in early December. The proposal will have a public hearing on Oct. 27 and will be considered by the council as a whole on Oct. 29.  What we don't know: It is not currently known what will happen with the funding of the departments or what the plan is if the departments are eliminated or consolidated.  The Source: A press release from the Minneapolis City Council, a statement from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and past FOX 9 reporting.  Minneapolis City CouncilMinnesotaCrime and Public Safety