[ST. PAUL, MN] – Today, Governor Tim Walz stopped in St. Cloud on a statewide public safety tour to discuss what his public safety budget – including $300 million for cities, counties, and tribes – would mean for St. Cloud and communities across the state. Under the Walz-Flanagan Budget to Move Minnesota Forward, the average city in Minnesota would receive about $240,000 per year to invest in public safety – St. Cloud would receive nearly $1.2 million per year. Governor Walz was joined by St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis, St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson, and St. Cloud Fire Chief Matt Love.

Today’s roundtable discussion in St. Cloud follows recent public safety meetings Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan have had with community leaders in Stillwater, St. Louis Park, Duluth, Brooklyn Park, Eagan, and North Minneapolis. A detailed list of the funding that would be made available to each community is available online .

“Today I was grateful to be in St. Cloud to discuss their communities’ most urgent public safety needs,” said Governor Walz. “Our plan recognizes that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to public safety. Whether it’s providing communities with the funding to attract and hire new officers, purchase modern technology, or invest in community-based initiatives, our budget provides local governments with the direct support they need to keep all of our neighbors safe.”

“Every community’s top priority should be the safety of its residents,” said Mayor Kleis. “And the men and women who are called to this service deserve not only our community’s support, but the support of our state. We appreciate the Governor’s proposal as it relates to direct funding to cities with a local determination as to the best use of those funds.”

An outline of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor’s public safety proposal is below.

Invest $300 million in local governments to improve public safety
The Walz-Flanagan budget invests $300 million over three years to cities, counties, and tribes across the state, encouraging and supporting new ways of meeting the evolving expectations of public safety in communities across Minnesota. The budget also invests in recruiting peace officers who represent the population of our state and reducing violent crime by providing investigative support to local agencies. The budget also funds several grant programs to invest in the changing needs of communities as they address increased crime, providing funding for Minnesota’s community-based crime prevention grants that fund such programs as probation, youth services, truancy programs, elder abuse prevention, neighborhood watch, resident engagement, and other community-driven intervention and prevention strategies.

Fund a Statewide Violent Crime Initiative
Increased violent crime is a threat to thriving communities across Minnesota. Effective violent crime strategies must employ a coordinated approach of prevention, intervention, and enforcement. This proposal will leverage forensic science to identify perpetrators of violence and clear the innocent, use analytics to strategically identify those committing violent crimes, and leverage partnerships to investigate violent crimes. Critical resource gaps currently exist in some of our most challenges communities. This investment will create the capacity to provide much needed assistance to address violent crime.

Invest in community groups to prioritize youth intervention and juvenile justice
Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan propose providing resources to programs serving youth, including after school activities, tutoring, mentoring, and other services for youth. The Walz-Flanagan budget also provides funding to develop community-based alternatives to juvenile detention, including ongoing funding to establish Community Outpost Houses and invest in TRUCE youth conflict resolution centers to connect community members can connect with outreach programs; learn about applicable government services; obtain community meeting spaces; host mentoring and tutoring programs; and provide youth conflict resolution, suicide awareness and counseling, health and wellness, entrepreneurship, and leadership programs. This proposal is focused on building relationships and trust within communities; providing opportunities to create relationships between community and local law enforcement; reducing crime; and providing youth with a place to resolve conflict in a positive non-violent manner. The budget also establishes Crossover Youth Practice Model and Dual Status Youth Programs in counties throughout Minnesota to support youth who are both in child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Photos from the event are online.