The Minneapolis City Council is considering Mayor Jacob Frey's proposed 2024 budget for policing. It's the first spending plan that pins taxpayer costs on the specific jobs required to comply with court orders to end racist and unconstitutional policing, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The mayor calls for $7.6 million in 2024 and 34 full-time positions across four city departments. That's all new spending and new positions. It includes lawyers, IT people, and workers to pore over body-worn camera footage, counselors for cops, trainers for cops, trainers for trainers, and overtime. The biggest concentration of manpower will be borne by the Police Department, which is forming a 28-member "implementation team." The team would consist of an array of workers with specialized tasks, and workloads that can't be absorbed within existing staffing, which is already well below required levels, police officials say.
Those are not the only costs associated with the effort, which will be largely prescribed by a court-approved settlement with the state Department of Human Rights and an anticipated court-approved consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. The city has set aside $8.4 million in a reserve fund for public safety reform, much of which could pay for changes not specifically required by court orders but supported by the city. Other costs, yet to be detailed, will include one-time expenditures such as computers, computer software, contracts with outside experts, and office space. Also a $1.5 million budget for the salary and possibly staff for a yet-to-be-named "independent evaluator" or "monitor", expected to monitor everything on behalf of both the federal and state courts to make sure Minneapolis is following through. By the end of this year, the city will have already spent close to $5 million in 2022 and 2023 toward some of those costs. The spending will now come at a faster clip. The $7.6 million proposed for next year includes costs that, if ultimately adopted by the council, will likely ensure close to $6 million in new annual spending for years to come. "Change isn't cheap," Frey said. "And change isn't optional."
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