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dbrauer.net
Meanwhile (ICYMI), the Strib *did* print a letter from a Frey supporter basically saying “thank you for all the fraud: bsky.app/profile/dbra...
dbrauer.net David Brauer @dbrauer.net · Apr 30
Submitted a letter to Star Tribune Opinion criticizing their failure to name Mayor Frey in their story about repeated overpayments to violence interrupters. Today, the Strib printed a letter basically saying, “Thank you Mayor Frey for the fraud!” www.startribune.com/readers-writ... 1/
It is important to give historical context to the Star Tribune report about the inadequate oversight of violence prevention contracts ("Violence prevention faltering in Mpls.," April 27). The obvious reason for this poor accountability is that the city was compelled to put violence prevention groups on the street immediately to meet the public safety crisis caused by the simultaneous shocks of George Floyd's murder, pandemic disruptions and a one-third drop in Minneapolis police officers. The Star Tribune sounded this alert on Jan. 21, 2021: "Facing twin demands to curb police brutality and turn back a surge in violent crime, Minneapolis leaders have tripled the budget of a low profile city agency that treats violence as a public health crisis." Unfortunately, the system's infrastructure to handle this exploded budget did not exist within either that "low profile agency," or the groups that were awarded contracts. It takes a great deal of time, experienced staff and IT investment to create this infrastructure from scratch. As a downtown resident, I was happy that the city ignored this problem in order to put boots on the ground immediately on Nicollet Mall and other hot spots, and this paper has reported that murders, shootings and robberies did in fact begin to decline in 2021. It should be no surprise that the price for this urgent rollout was poor accountability and that there is still fallout from this. However, Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette assured us in Friday's article that the Neighborhood Safety Department is strengthening its invoicing and procurement processes and that "we're on the right path." We should take him at his word, while of course staying watchful as this new critical effort continues to roll out at a pace and on a scale unseen in our city's history. John Satorius, Minneapolis
May 9, 2025 at 5:53 PM