Transcripts

BILL WAREHAM: Sayles Belton's budget outline contains more fine tuning of city services than bold new initiatives, a reflection of the fact that the state and federal governments are offering Cities less financial assistance and taxpayers blanch at the prospect of higher taxes. But the mayor does want to try some new things in 1997, notably in the area of public safety, where she proposes a new unit to investigate and prosecute misdemeanors, everything from illegal firearms possession to selling alcohol and tobacco to minors, to disturbing the peace with booming radios. She calls these gateway crimes that often lead to more serious offenses if the criminals are left unchecked.

SPEAKER: Many residents and police have become frustrated with the revolving door that seems to release criminals as quickly as they can be apprehended. Our strategy will have two results-- one, it will produce higher conviction rates, and two, it will remove troublemakers from the streets before they have a chance to commit more serious crimes.

BILL WAREHAM: Even if the mayor doesn't have a lot of money to throw around for new programs, she does have a bully pulpit she can use to initiate change. In her budget speech, she implored the Park Board to increase security at rec centers. She signaled to organized labor. She wants to expand the job duties of some city workers, and she announced a school board recommendation to come up with a plan for a later school day.

SPEAKER: Minneapolis parents, this is your chance. This is your chance to work with the schools so that your child may no longer have to wait for the bus or walk to school on dark winter mornings, or leave school at 145, perhaps unsupervised during those hours that juvenile crime is at its peak.

BILL WAREHAM: All in all, the budget message received good reviews from council members who have yet to see all the details. Dennis Shelstad, one of only two non-democrats on the 13 member council, praised the DFL mayor's fiscal restraint.

DENNIS SHELSTAD: I can typically in these budget messages, pick out one or two things and say oh, boy, this is one that I'm going to go to the wall and fight them on this particular one. There's nothing in there that I'm disappointed in and nothing that I can see myself fighting.

BILL WAREHAM: Shelstad does expect minor disagreements over budget allocations. As the process unfolds through the fall. The council will pass its budget resolution in late November or early December. I'm Bill Wareham, Minnesota Public Radio in Minneapolis.