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Council restores funding for violence‑interruption services in Cedar Riverside and Elliott Park; asks to re‑solicit contract for North Side coverage
Summary
After debate about data and service continuity, the council voted to fund violence interrupter services for Cedar Riverside and Elliott Park and to ask the administration to re‑solicit a contract to ensure coverage on the North Side (Zone 2). The measures use one‑time public‑safety aid funds and drew divided but ultimately supportive votes.
The Minneapolis City Council moved March 27 to keep violence‑interruption services in Cedar Riverside and Elliott Park and to ask the administration to re‑solicit a contract to ensure North Side coverage.
Councilmember Osman introduced a revised resolution to allocate a one‑time $650,000 from the city’s public safety aid balance to preserve violence‑interruption services in Cedar Riverside and Elliott Park. Osman said the services had helped lower incidents in those neighborhoods and that removing them would risk reversing progress. “Why are we stepping back from progress that we have made?” Osman asked. “We invested. Area is safe. So I’m bringing this resolution, funding that area.”
The council adopted Osman’s funding resolution 11–1. Several councilmembers said they supported maintaining services where they already exist; others cautioned about equitable distribution across the city and urged data‑driven planning.
Separately, Councilmembers Wansley and Ellison offered a legislative directive asking the administration to re‑solicit the Minneapolis contract procurement (to resolicit the vendor selection process) and to ensure Zone 2 (the North Side area identified by councilmembers for continued coverage) retains services. The directive asked the administration to resolicit so the city would have a transparent, vetted procurement and a vendor able to deliver Cure Violence‑style services.
Councilmember Wansley said the aim was to preserve North Side coverage and to make sure procurement yields vendors with the capacity and cultural competency to deliver services; Ellison called re‑solicitation a path to “ensure that Zone 2 has coverage” and to avoid relying on a contract with unresolved questions. The council approved the Wansley/Ellison legislative directive on a separate roll call, 12–0.
Debate touched on Cure Violence Global’s recommendations and procurement geography. Some councilmembers noted the Cure Violence model recommends a maintenance approach: remove funding from an area after success risks losing the gains that the program achieved. Others, including Councilmember Paul Musano, asked whether Cure Violence’s recommended eight geographic areas had been fully covered and questioned whether allocations were being made consistently with the vendor’s recommendations.
Councilmembers asked staff to preserve existing service levels on the North Side while the administration proceeds with re‑solicitation and to bring back any data needed to evaluate the program’s performance and coverage needs.
