New Releases

RSS Available for Mayor's News

RSS allows you to stay informed by getting the latest news from the Mayor's office without having to revisit our Web site.

Subscribe to Mayor's RSS feed

Learn more about RSS.

Mayor Rybak’s Budget Adopted by City Council

Budget Seeks Safer Streets, Continued Economic Growth, Transit

December 12, 2007 (MINNEAPOLIS) – Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak tonight lauded the City Council for adopting his 2008 city budget that significantly increases funding for a wide range of anti-crime initiatives. The City Council voted 11-2 in favor of a $1.4 billion budget that includes $200 million in public safety programs, funds the largest police force in more than five years and addresses the root causes of crime with funding to prevent youth violence and build economic opportunity.

“This is a common sense budget that puts public safety first, focuses on basic city services and invests in jobs, housing and other strategies that create ladders of opportunity,” Rybak said. “With this budget we are showing that Minneapolis is a city that works.”

Facing difficult budget choices due to the loss of $35 million in state aid and growing pension obligations, Rybak said that a commitment to tough fiscal responsibility has allowed Minneapolis to invest in key priorities amidst daunting fiscal challenges.

“We have reduced our debt each of the last five years, and with this budget we will now have eliminated $86.5 million of debt since 2002, which means we have $7.6 million more to spend this year alone on basic services like public safety,” Rybak said.

Bolstered by Results, Rybak Calls for a Continued Focus on Public Safety

Although violent crime is falling, down 12 percent city-wide and down in every police precinct, Rybak said that crime is still too high and that vigilance is needed to make Minneapolis safe.

“We are making progress,” Rybak said. “But we have a long way to go. That’s why this budget, as we have for the last three years, makes significant investments in public safety – far more than any other part of the city government.”

Calling crime a “complex problem that requires a complex set of comprehensive solutions,” Mayor Rybak’s plan starts with more police and tough enforcement, protects livability, remains dedicated to crime prevention, and demands accountability and consistent results.

“Our most powerful tool to fight crime is more police officers on the street,” Rybak said. “We’ve been aggressively hiring more than 100 diverse officers for two years and we are going to continue. With this 2008 budget we will be adding funding for 18 more sworn officers and the civilian support that they need to be more effective. With these new officers, we will have 880 budgeted sworn officers, more than we have had any year since 2002.”

The police department has grown significantly in the past few years, from $98 million in 2003 to $112 million in 2007. The city budget funds another significant increase for a total police department budget of $121.2 million. Since Rybak and the City Council launched their long-term financial planning in 2003, the police department has grown - and in 2008 will continue to grow - faster than any other city department.

“I can’t think of a better way to focus our limited resources than to continue our fight against crime by investing in our police,” said City Council President Barb Johnson. “Now is not the time to retreat on the progress we’ve made to reduce violence in our city.”

While the City’s crime-fighting plan begins with more police, Rybak says that making Minneapolis safe is about more than police on the street. That’s why the 2008 City budget also funds:

Growing an Economy That Works for Everyone

Rybak said the 2008 budget also strengthens Minneapolis’ strong, growing economy with more than $11 million in worker training and economic development strategies, including:

“Minneapolis is growing again,” Rybak said. “More people are living here, more are relocating here, more are investing here, and more are working here than a generation ago. In fact last year was the first year in at least 25 years in which Minneapolis had two back-to-back years of sustained growth in three key indicators: more new jobs, more new housing and more new population. This is a tremendous accomplishment.”

Investing in City Infrastructure for the Common Good

In the face of reduced state funding and mounting pension obligations, Rybak said that Minneapolis’ investments into public safety come at the direct expense of other basic services. Almost no other area of the city has felt this pain more than basic city infrastructure. While city general fund spending over the last five years for police will grow 30 percent, spending for public works grows only 10 percent over the same time period.

“We are nowhere near where we need to be in terms of investment in basic city infrastructure,” Rybak said. “Our city, our state and our nation have not invested as we must in roads, bridges and transit – and our lack of investment has serious consequences.”

Mayor Rybak recommended City Bridge Repair and Rehabilitation be more than doubled in 2008 and increased over five years from $950,000 to $1,450,000. This increase was planned before the 35W Bridge collapse, as part of Minneapolis’ bridge repair and rehab program and will increase the number of bridges receiving deck renovation and preservation. Over the past five years, Minneapolis invested more than $17.3 million into its bridge capital program.

“We will continue to invest in our bridges to keep them safe and preserve their lifespan,” Rybak said. “However, only 29 percent of the 411 vehicle bridges in Minneapolis are owned by the city government, so we need our county, state, and federal partners to do their part to make sure that all the bridges in our city are safe and meet the needs of our residents and visitors.