[Speed Gibson,
Sunday August 14, 2005 at 11:54am]
The Eight Percent Solution
Power Line, David Strom, and others have been talking about the rise in violient crime in Minneapolis (and St. Paul). After years of decline, the mayor is talking about adding back a few dozen more police officers despite a supposedly tight city budget.
The City of Minneapolis has a comprehensive web site showing the budget for the past five years, both where the money comes from and where the money goes. I was astounded to see that the total budget in 2005 is 1.27 billion dollars! That's well over $3,000 per capita.
And how much of that goes to the Police Department? Eight percent, just over $100 million. Meanwhile, "Community Planning and Economic Development" (CP & ED) chews up 13%. Shifting just 2 percentage points from the latter to the police would pay for the much-needed expansion of the police ranks. The effect on CP & ED would be difficult to measure other than the head count reductions in City Hall.
As David Strom points out, of what use are these other efforts if people don't feel safe living in Minneapolis, either moving out or not moving in?
The City of Minneapolis has a comprehensive web site showing the budget for the past five years, both where the money comes from and where the money goes. I was astounded to see that the total budget in 2005 is 1.27 billion dollars! That's well over $3,000 per capita.
And how much of that goes to the Police Department? Eight percent, just over $100 million. Meanwhile, "Community Planning and Economic Development" (CP & ED) chews up 13%. Shifting just 2 percentage points from the latter to the police would pay for the much-needed expansion of the police ranks. The effect on CP & ED would be difficult to measure other than the head count reductions in City Hall.
As David Strom points out, of what use are these other efforts if people don't feel safe living in Minneapolis, either moving out or not moving in?