On 9/1/05 10:59 AM, "wmmarks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> It's pretty easy for Commissioner McLaughlin to talk about how he's been an >> NRP supporter, for example, when he's never been in the position of having >> to weigh that against the city's various other needs like public safety, for >> example, by actually preparing a city budget and getting City Council to go >> along with it. >> >> > It's easy for McLaughlin to talk about being an NRP supporter because he > was a state representative when the "20 year plan" effort (morphed into > NRP) went to the legislature to get the state's cooperation and he > helped put it through the gates, to use a sports metaphor. NRP is a > joint powers agreement (I think that's the term). It's funding comes > from state, county, and city and the agreement was $20 million/yr for 20 > years. Nor was it an easy thing to get through the legislature. So Peter > can justifiably take credit for helping to produce the NRP and for > knowing down to his socks what the NRP is all about.
Can you expand upon this explanation of NRP's funding? I've actually looked at the Hennepin County budget before and never found any mention of NRP funding involved. What program is it through, how is it referred to and how many actual dollars are coming from Hennepin County for NRP? Until we see that, I'll stand by my point that McLaughlin hasn't had to make the same choices with NRP vs. other city needs that Mayor Rybak and the city council has, even if he was one of the architects of it in the beginning. > There is, in my estimation, no way to get around the poor judgment > displayed in cutting 150 police officers and X firefighters at once > from the city's budget. The departments could not absorb such a loss, > reassign tasks, do the work with such a massive cut. Um, here's what galls me about the fictions being perpetrated by the McLaughlin campaign and supporters. There was no "cutting 150 police officers and X firefighters at once from the city's budget" - the high point for the city's police staffing of 938 was about seven or eight years ago. The cuts in police staffing started long before Mayor Rybak's administration began. The 71 cops that Mayor Rybak has proposed to add will bring police staffing up to 40 more than when his administration began. Those are the facts, much as McLaughlin and his supporters would like to claim otherwise. Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
