MTN deals with $90,000 budget cut, network’s executive director to resign in March

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A funding cut and new leadership are on the way at the Minneapolis Television Network.MTN, which operates three public access channels, is facing a $90,000 funding cut for 2012 as part of the city’s budget passed in December.  That has fueled an already tense relationship with Mayor R.T. Rybak’s office.In March, MTN’s executive director, Pam Colby, will resign in hopes that a change of face will help mend relations with the city.“The city is very interested in talking about the future of public access and we’re hoping the new director will be a new partner with the city,” Colby said.Peter Larsen, MTN’s chairman, said the search for a new executive director is already underway. They hope to have a replacement for Colby, who has served as MTN’s executive director since 1997, by April 1.In the meantime, Colby and MTN must also cope with a significant budget cut.Rybak’s 2012 city budget initially proposed a $250,000 funding cut to MTN — nearly a third of the network’s budget. However, strong opposition from the community and several City Council members persuaded officials to reduce the cut to $90,000.City councilwoman Elizabeth Glidden is one of MTN’s supporters.“I certainly think that MTN deserves to have a future. I think like any other city organization there is a lot they can do to change, but I thought the [proposed] cut made to them was unfair,” Glidden said.Several city officials said MTN’s facilities are underused and the network has too many employees.Larsen said the network’s leaders are still figuring out how the cut will affect it. They will likely reduce studio hours and employees will work fewer hours. Continue Reading

Minneapolis police catch thieves with bait vehicle program

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In late June, three people stole a vehicle parked on 26th Avenue Northeast. Within five minutes, several Minneapolis police officers pulled them over and, with guns drawn, ordered the driver out of the vehicle.The trio didn’t know it, but the stolen vehicle was one of the Minneapolis Police Department’s bait vehicles — equipped with GPS as well as video and audio recording devices to catch car thieves in the act.When the Auto Theft Prevention Program was created 13 years ago, it was one of the first in the country to use bait vehicles. The Minneapolis City Council will vote Friday to approve a grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce for $102,237 that will help to fund the program through 2013.Officer Wayne Johnson, who heads the program, said it has been a success. Minneapolis police have convicted roughly 400 people who tried to steal a bait car, and auto theft has been reduced by 66 percent since December 1997 when the program began.“Other [serious] crime has dropped over the last 13 years, but nothing in the 50’s and 60’s [percent range] … nothing as much as auto theft,” Johnson said.As of Nov. 28, more than 1,600 incidents of auto theft had been reported throughout the city, according to Minneapolis police data. Continue Reading

Emergency Management preps Minneapolis for the worst

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The office in charge of responding to the tornado that tore through north Minneapolis in May has received two state grants to continue planning and preparation for future emergencies.On Friday, the Minneapolis City Council will accept the grants — $1.15 million in total — which will help fund the city’s Emergency Management office.The Emergency Management office develops emergency plans for a vast array of scenarios that might occur in the city. From terrorist attacks to hazardous materials spills, the office drafts highly detailed plans meant to most effectively respond to an emergency. It also helps train local businesses, nonprofits and all city departments in how to execute those plans.Lisa Dressler, director of Emergency Management, said the grants are a huge factor in helping the office fund equipment and training exercises.In March, the office brought about 75 people — city police officers, firefighters, state department employees and more — to Maryland for a weeklong class to run through responses to mock emergencies.“They threw everything at us from hazardous materials spill, to a riot to mass sheltering people at a Twins game,” Dressler said.The seminar helped the group prepare for the very real emergency just a few months later, Dressler said. The May 22 tornado killed one, injured dozens and damaged about 3,600 north Minneapolis homes.The city was one of the first to implement the Training Needs Assessment Program, which helped create detailed plans for each city department and allowed the city to work with regional partners, like Hennepin County and the City of St. Paul, to better prepare for an emergency.“We have a robust training plan in which we’ve built out a four- to five-year plan for all of our departments,” Dressler said. Continue Reading

Minneapolis looks to trim internal watchdog dept.

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Only two years after its creation, the city of Minneapolis’ Internal Audit Department could be slashed in the proposed 2012 budget.It was hailed by city officials as a responsible creation in 2009, but the Minneapolis City Council is considering cutting the department almost in half to generate $130,000 in savings. One of the department’s three auditor positions would be eliminated.The Internal Audit Department is an internal watchdog of the city’s finances. The department evaluates the integrity of financial records and reports, evaluates city departments for risks of fraud and maximizes efficiency within city departments.In a mid-November letter to Mayor R.T. Rybak and fellow audit committee members, Committee Vice Chairwoman Stephanie Woodruff requested that the department receive the same funds it did in 2011.“I believe this reduction would open the city to more risks and potentially create obstacles which could negatively impact audit results and future plans,” she wrote.The city would contract with external auditors more often to make up for the loss.The potential cut will be discussed in the Ways and Means Budget Committee Monday, and the city’s budget will be finalized Dec. 14.Minneapolis Councilwoman Elizabeth Glidden said that although the department brings “tremendous value” to the city, a tight budget has left the council with few options.“I’m so glad we have this audit function, but this is a very challenging year for the budget because virtually every single department has already received very deep cuts,” Glidden said.Rybak’s proposed 2012 budget doesn’t include a property tax increase — the first time in nearly a decade that the city hasn’t implemented a tax levy.“The only solutions available to us because of the zero percent tax levy budget is that we are going to be taking further money from somewhere else,” Glidden said.“The cuts this year reflect how deeply we’ve had to cut everywhere,” Rybak said.Councilwoman Betsy Hodges, chairwoman of the council’s budget committee, said even though she isn’t thrilled about the cuts, the department will still have two auditors — double what the city had before the department was created.“I know that folks have a concern that if the audit [department] gets cut … that that is a signal for bad behavior to run rampant in the city,” Hodges said. Just one auditor worked for the city for many years before two more were hired in 2009, she explained.Internal Auditor Magdy Mossaad said it is difficult to quantify in dollars how much the audit department has saved the city, but they have found many areas where the city could improve and be more efficient.The department hasn’t found any instances of fraud, Mossaad said.Hodges said the department might have a better shot at escaping the proposed cut if it could quantify the savings generated since 2009.While City Council members will have an opportunity to amend the 2012 budget before it’s officially accepted on Dec. Continue Reading