At a public safety roundtable with city leaders and first responders in Eagan today, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan outlined what their public safety budget – including $300 million for cities, counties, and tribes – would mean for communities across the state. A detailed list of the funding that would be made available to each community is now available online. Under their budget, the average city in Minnesota would receive about $240,000 to invest in public safety.
“Protecting Minnesotans’ safety is our top priority. By taking a comprehensive, modern approach to public safety, our budget provides communities the resources they need to keep every neighborhood safe,” said Governor Walz. “Whether it’s providing communities with the funding to attract and hire new officers, purchase a new fire truck, or invest in modern technology, our plan recognizes that the public safety needs of a community are best met locally.”
“When putting together this budget, we listened to what local fire and police chiefs were telling us – and what we heard was that they need direct support,” Governor Walz continued. “With a detailed analysis released today, we know that this funding would provide cities like St. Cloud, Duluth, Rochester, and Eagan with over $1,000,000 each to provide for their communities’ public safety.”
“Our budget empowers local communities to address their most urgent public safety needs,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “Public safety looks different across the state. That’s why we’re pursuing a comprehensive, holistic approach to public safety that invests in local law enforcement and community-based initiatives so that everyone in Minnesota is safe, valued, and protected in their community.”
“As a City, we’ve worked as partners with our public safety personnel to build and maintain community trust, and we are proud that 9 in 10 Eagan residents rate our public safety positively,” said Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire. “I want to thank Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan for investing in a public safety plan that allows us to continue serving our community the ways we know best.”
“As law enforcement agencies see recruitment decline nationwide, we welcome this state investment. This is a plan that supports local law enforcement,” said Police Chief Roger New. “This budget would allow us to invest in new technology, explore ways to further reach out to our community, and create and expand cadet recruitment programs, including funding to recruit and train nontraditional law enforcement candidates.”
“With this investment, the Eagan Fire Department could continue to invest in additional pathways to diversify our force and make sure our fire department reflects the community we are serving,” said Eagan Fire Chief Hugo Searle. “Additionally, one of the most important solutions for mental health issues is identifying unmet needs of patients in the community and connecting them with the resources early on. The grant funding provided by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor’s budget would allow the Eagan Fire Department to develop and deploy community health programs to do exactly that.”
This roundtable discussion followed a meeting the Governor and Lieutenant Governor had with school leaders in Minneapolis on Monday in the wake of increased gun violence.
Also on Monday, the Minnesota State Patrol began Highway Enforcement for Aggressive Traffic (HEAT) patrols on I-94 in Minneapolis. Troopers are focusing on excessive speed enforcement and criminal activity for 10 nights. On the first night, troopers stopped 37 vehicles for speeding, made seven DWI arrests, responded to two crashes, and arrested one person on an outstanding warrant. State Patrol aviation also located a stolen vehicle that fled from the area, allowing troopers on the ground to arrest the suspect after the vehicle was abandoned in the east metro.
An outline of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor’s public safety proposal is below.
Invest $300 million in local governments to improve public safety
The Walz-Flanagan budget invests $300 million over three years to cities, counties, and tribes across the state, encouraging and supporting new ways of meeting the evolving expectations of public safety in communities across Minnesota. The budget also invests in recruiting peace officers who represent the population of our state and reducing violent crime by providing investigative support to local agencies. The budget also funds several grant programs to invest in the changing needs of communities as they address increased crime, providing funding for Minnesota’s community-based crime prevention grants that fund such programs as probation, youth services, truancy programs, elder abuse prevention, neighborhood watch, resident engagement, and other community-driven intervention and prevention strategies.
Fund a Statewide Violent Crime Initiative
Increased violent crime is a threat to thriving communities across Minnesota. Effective violent crime strategies must employ a coordinated approach of prevention, intervention, and enforcement. This proposal will leverage forensic science to identify perpetrators of violence and clear the innocent, use analytics to strategically identify those committing violent crimes, and leverage partnerships to investigate violent crimes. Critical resource gaps currently exist in some of our most challenges communities. This investment will create the capacity to provide much needed assistance to address violent crime.
Invest in community groups to prioritize youth intervention and juvenile justice
Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan propose providing resources to programs serving youth, including after school activities, tutoring, mentoring, and other services for youth. The Walz-Flanagan budget also provides funding to develop community-based alternatives to juvenile detention, including ongoing funding to establish Community Outpost Houses and invest in TRUCE youth conflict resolution centers to connect community members can connect with outreach programs; learn about applicable government services; obtain community meeting spaces; host mentoring and tutoring programs; and provide youth conflict resolution, suicide awareness and counseling, health and wellness, entrepreneurship, and leadership programs. This proposal is focused on building relationships and trust within communities; providing opportunities to create relationships between community and local law enforcement; reducing crime; and providing youth with a place to resolve conflict in a positive non-violent manner. The budget also establishes Crossover Youth Practice Model and Dual Status Youth Programs in counties throughout Minnesota to support youth who are both in child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
