On Monday, June 30, the Neighborhood Revitalization Program Policy Board will vote on Council Member Ostrow's proposal to allocate $1 million of its Phase II funds to a reserve fund for community oriented public safety activities.
So far the feedback from neighborhood groups has been mixed --- some strongly in favor, some cautiously in favor, some strongly opposed, some cautiously opposed. Many have not expressed any opinion. I am probably going to vote against this but I would appreciate any and all feedback or discussion. On the list. Here are some details about the proposal: Any funds that NRP provides for community oriented public safety services would be over and above the level that the City funds after the budget reductions are implemented. The funds can only be used for community oriented public safety initiatives that are over and above the level of general City public safety services that will result after the budget reductions from the reduced level of local government aid occurs. Funds could be provided for community oriented public safety initiatives. These include, but are not limited to, the following types of services: CCP/SAFE teams, bike patrols, foot patrols, fire prevention activities, public safety personnel in the public schools, and community-based prosecution activities such as restorative justice and community-based prosecutors. Certain activities would be excluded. These include, but are not limited to, the following: administrative support services, overtime, buyback and homeland security activities. This is a one-time allocation and will be made available for use in 2003, after the neighborhood comment period is concluded and the NRP Policy Board takes final action on this proposal. Policy Board consideration is scheduled for the June Policy Board meeting. The dollars for this fund will come from the NRP Programs Phase II resources. This will mean a reduction of $1 million in the total that will be made available to neighborhoods. The impact on neighborhood dollars will depend on the amount of resources finally set aside for NRP. The fund would be managed by the City's Finance and Budget Office on behalf of NRP. Expenditures from the fund would be recommended by the police, fire, and public works departments and would be approved by the Finance and Budget Office. The Finance and Budget Office would provide periodic reports to the NRP staff and Policy Board on the uses of the funds and a final report when all of the funds in the reserve have been expended. Please feel free to contact me by email or phone or go ahead and send your thoughts to the list. Thanks in advance for any time an attention you can give this matter. In peace and cooperation, Cam Cam Gordon Seward Neighborhood, Minneapolis, Ward 2 SD 59 (612) 332-6210, 296-0579, 339-2452 TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
