Minneapolis council committee takes up Office of Community Safety budget proposal

Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council’s budget committee took up the Office of Community Safety’s budget proposal for the 2023-2024 timeframe.

Dr. Cedric Alexander, who was sworn in as commissioner of the Office of Community Safety in August, oversees the police and fire departments, 911, and the offices of Emergency Management and Neighborhood Safety.

During Thursday’s presentation, Alexander said his office is interested in a comprehensive approach to safety in the city.

“To bring those five entities together to work collaboratively with each other over the last several weeks have proven to be substantially important to the future of public safety in this community,” Alexander said.

In a one-on-one interview with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS prior to his appointment, Alexander said he wants to see accountability within those five areas he will oversee.

RELATED: One-on-one interview with Office of Community Safety commissioner nominee

Following his appointment, Alexander told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he would like to see more hard data about the progress made by multiple nonprofit groups hired by the Office of Violence Prevention to stop violent crime before it happens.

“I am going to be delving in a lot deeper in terms of how some of this funding that we’re spending is really being effective when it comes to reducing crime,” Alexander said.

According to the meeting agenda, presentations for the Office of Community Safety, 911, fire and emergency management departments were discussed.

You can watch the full committee meeting here.