Public Statement by Mayor Rybak on Governor Pawlenty’s Support to Fight Crime
“I welcome the Governor’s support and involvement to help improve public safety in Minneapolis. The best way that Governor Pawlenty can support public safety is to restore to Minneapolis some of the $30 million in annual local government aid (LGA) that was cut by the State. These huge state cuts forced Minneapolis to reduce vital services across the board, including many police officers.
Make no mistake, we need more police officers in Minneapolis and we're doing everything we can to add them and apply them in the most effective way possible.
Last year the Governor and Legislature partially restored some of the annual LGA cuts to Minneapolis, which the City immediately used to fund 71 new police officers.
The State is currently planning to cut our LGA by $6.5 million dollars in 2007. If the State instead let us keep that $6.5 million on an ongoing basis, we could hire and keep 87 more officers next year. That would be on top of the 71 additional officers we have already funded for this year.
As the region’s economic engine, everyone in Minnesota benefits from a strong, vibrant Minneapolis. Our police officers are doing tremendous work to arrest criminals and prevent crime, but they need help. I welcome the Governor’s support.
I would enjoy and have requested an opportunity to meet directly with Governor Pawlenty to discuss how he could support best support our public safety challenges.”
Background:
In 2003, Minneapolis’ LGA funding from the State was $118 million. For 2003, 2004 and 2005, that amount was cut by $37 million. The State partially restored the City's LGA to $94 million in 2006. Of that amount, $6.5 million was one-time money, which the City used for one-time debt relief in order to free up ongoing dollars for additional officers. In 2006, the City has $87.5 million in ongoing LGA.
|