Minnesota Department of Public Safety outlines 2025 budget requests; proposes fee change for charter‑school fire inspections

Commissioner Bob Jacobson told the Minnesota Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Feb. 10 that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) will seek “measured agency operating adjustments” in Governor Tim Walz’s 2025 budget to cover rising personnel and benefit costs across the agency’s roughly 2,200 employees.

The presentation, which was informational and did not include any committee votes, covered several division requests and policy items. Jacobson described a proposed change to grant administration authority that “would protect grant fund investments by allowing DPS to use up to 5% of grant funds for non competitive grants and up to 5% of grant funds for competitive grants to ensure stable and adequate funding for the costs to implement those controls that prevent fraud, waste, and misuse of tax dollars.”

Why it matters: the change would let DPS retain a limited portion of some state grant awards for oversight and administration. Supporters say the revenue would pay for staff who review grantee compliance and reduce fraud; some senators said they are willing to consider oversight needs but want to compare the 5% figure with other programs.

State Fire Marshal Dan Kreier described several fire‑service items included in the governor’s recommendation. He said the proposal would shift oversight and appropriations for specialized rescue teams to the State Fire Marshal…