My daughter-in-law is research director at The Civic Federation here: https://www.civicfed.org/ Non-partisan, independent, non- profit. They track all elements of Chicago spending and call bullshit when they see it. The Twin Cities could use something like this.
Thank you Terry, I will be sharing your newsletter it is so impactful! I also plan to contact Star Tribune and ask why there is so little coverage of our critical city elections? Curious to see if I receive a response.
Let's cancel ALL violence interrupters contracts/ violence prevention contracts until there is a comprehensive PROGRAM EVALUATION in place. The city, the council, AND the violence interrupters need to work together to measure outcomes. This is a terrible grift until we have an analysis of utility. I have emailed my council member many times about this. I am not opposed to funding experimental alternatives. I am opposed to continuing to fund the experiments without looking at the results of the experiments. Business would expect some kind of outcomes data, academia would demand it. Why does the city of Minneapolis not? This has become a huge boondoggle with no sign of slowing down 👎
And to be clear, there is a whole professional discipline of people that do this kind of work. It's not rocket science. Okay. It's kind of rocket science, but there's lots of smart people out there in the world that do this kind of work. 😉
Yes, even the Star Tribune no longer wants to back the City Council, the problem is they still lean heavily to the left. Most of the news media does lean heavily to the left with a couple leaning equally to the right. We really do not have unbiased news anymore which is unfortunately compounded with AI algorithms showing us only we what we want to read. I don't know how we can unite as long we have little true unbiased news and posted research available.
Thank you! After watching the City's budget process play out this year, and THAT outcome, which for me demonstrated a complete lack of understanding and appreciation by the MAJORITY on the Council, with respect to their JOB as gatekeepers for our finances, I am looking forward to our local elections this fall.
Key take aways from your piece..
"....we rely on our politicians to act with restraint and common sense. "
"Every dollar spent must improve the daily lives of our neighbors and strengthen local businesses."
*A piece out this weekend by Minneapolis Times also did a good job explaining some of these BIG issues for our City.
City Council has no answers as the property tax burden shifts to homeowners | Minneapolis Times
I think we can reasonably guess the answers to a couple of your questions, Terry. First, the dollar numbers for some of these grants are so peculiar because, if one is just directly allocating funds to organizations with no bidding process, one can just make up a number, and - human nature being what it is - most of them will be round numbers. Good luck trying to get anyone to tell you how many individuals are involved for how many hours each - But you know that! I'm more intrigued by the few that are NOT round numbers. Do you think we can assume that those organizations are actually providing the city with some details of what they plan to do and how they plan to do it? It might be worth asking that question, anyway...
And the two separate ones being the same amount? Well, if one is just making up numbers, and hiring two entities to do largely the same kind of work, imagine trying to explain to the one who will be getting less WHY they will be getting less! Especially since you would have no idea, yourself, why they are getting less.
Apropos of all this, over at the State Capitol this week, ALL the members of the House's new Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee - the one that still has, by prior agreement - a GOP majority and a GOP chair with no DFL co-chair - sent a letter to their colleagues asking that the House stop doing appropriations directly to non-profits, and instead return to the good old days of appropriating to a state agency and directing that agency to solicit bids. All the committee members signed. DFLers and GOPers. It's non-binding, of course (I imagine it would take a State Constitution Amendment to make this stick), but it's a step in the right direction, and the Mpls. City Council should be pressured to at least consider disciplining itself in this way as well.
The bidding practices violate the state public contracts laws. The reason for multiple contracts at certain amount is part of the patter and practice. I practiced municipal law. The City attorneys are hiding under their desks.
Thanks so much for doing this research. Speculating, the picture that emerges from the recent Strib article on the woman who was so blatant with this corruption that she was forced to resign, is one of brazen corruption where this money is being used in a very intentional and direct way to pay friends and ultimately themselves. The vendors are coming into existence for no other purpose than to receive these funds. The only thing anyone near this group is worried about is getting their piece of it.
A few months ago I asked Gemini AI how to measure outcomes for violence interrupters. In addition to the obvious ( crime & homicide stats, Etc.) Here is the comprehensive answer. If AI can do this in a few seconds, why can't the city start to implement more of this?
Program Outcomes
Number of conflicts mediated: Track the number of disputes successfully resolved through the intervention of violence interrupters.
Number of individuals diverted from violence: Measure the number of people who were prevented from engaging in violent behavior due to program intervention.
Number of community relationships built: Assess the extent to which violence interrupters have fostered positive relationships within the community.
Changes in community perception: Evaluate shifts in community attitudes toward violence and trust in law enforcement.
Program Implementation
Number of violence interrupters: Monitor the number of individuals actively involved in the program.
Training hours: Track the amount of training provided to violence interrupters.
Community outreach activities: Measure the frequency and effectiveness of community engagement efforts.
Resource allocation: Assess the adequacy of funding and other resources for program operations.
Evaluating Program Effectiveness
To evaluate the effectiveness of a violence interrupter program, consider the following approaches:
Comparative analysis: Compare crime rates in the target area to those in similar areas without the program.
Statistical analysis: Use statistical methods to determine if observed changes in crime rates are statistically significant.
Qualitative data: Gather feedback from community members, violence interrupters, and law enforcement to understand the program's impact from different perspectives.
Outcome measurement: Track the specific outcomes outlined above and assess whether they are aligned with program goals.
Additional Considerations:
Contextual factors: Consider factors like socioeconomic conditions, gang activity, and historical violence patterns that may influence program outcomes.
Long-term sustainability: Evaluate the program's ability to maintain its effectiveness over time and adapt to changing circumstances.
Collaboration: Foster collaboration with other community organizations and law enforcement agencies to maximize impact.
By carefully tracking these metrics and evaluating program outcomes, you can assess the effectiveness of a violence interrupter program and make data-driven decisions for its improvement
----
P.S. Yes, I sent this to my council member as well.
Great. Now, how to turn this into action? How to force Frey and the Council into replying to this challenge? Seems there is no mechanism, except the DFL/DSA, to influence voters. The most solid ideas on the face of the earth will not make it into the public square. As much as anyone here may dislike the prospect, we need a Donald Trump and Elon Musk, to shock the Minneapolis electorate into reality. And even if you can find the mechanism, is 51% of the electorate amenable to reason? I think not. Do you think the voters of Minneapolis will abandon the Progressive/DEI/Government handout and admit they've been wrong? Hope I'm wrong, but at best it's the longest of a long shot. More likely, Minneapolis will go the way of every other Marxist/Progressive DEI fantasy. Total failure. Most of Europe is headed in the same direction, in case you haven't noticed. Oh, I should add a huge contributing factor. The Population Bomb/Global Cooling/Global Warming/Climate Change hysteria fantasy. All a part of the Progressive control game. On the other hand, I'm in on something that will right the insanity. Maybe MAGA will succeed, and the Progressive/Democrat/DFL/DSA march to tyranny will implode like it is in the process of doing now. Tyranny is the only result of the Progressive agenda.
Good question. Writing my council member seems ineffectual. I'm not too sure next steps, but I have talked about this with both of the people running for this spot. I'm guessing it's more of a Todd Barnett controlled area. Maybe I should write him
I wrote this for a post on Reddit a few days ago. Yes, I hit the insane Reddit forms. Mostly for the laughs, actually. The post wasn't related to the budget specifically, but it is applicable. Nothing will change until the poison on the Progressive agenda is reversed.
My take is that the real cause, and it is stated in the article, is the cost of doing business and the government interference, and the general anti-business atmosphere. And then there is the lawlessness. When you have teen thugs roaming the streets in stolen cars committing armed robberies, you don't attract customers. Then there is the city's attack on cars and parking. No one who can't walk to your shop, through the mob of thugs, is going to shop at your business. Minneapolis is a near third-world city made up mostly of people who can't admit they've been wrong about Progressivism, DEI, BLM, et al.. Until those people are transformed, or otherwise gone, Minneapolis will be a cesspool.
I Pray I'm wrong, but things don't look promising.
So, was there an RFP? What did it request? Who applied? Who was selected and why? Who managed the contract on behalf of the city? How were their assignments selected and who was assigned? Were the teams coordinated? Who was on the team? What were the performance expectations? Dates and hours of work? Accomplishments (outcomes not outputs)? Should I just wait for the comprehensive public report?
Your concern is appropriate, we should be concerned on where the money is going and we should be demanding receipts and proper reporting. Then actually reading the reports and make sure they are not duplicated like they were for the Feeding our Future debacle.
Our City Council has failed to recognize a lack of current and future funding which could lead us into bankruptcy sooner than later. It is possible that we need to open up the books and make sure we are even currently solvent. Unfortunately the state and city are very imeshed so I am not even sure we could actually get a real unbiased audit.
There is no one on the City Council, except possibly Rainville, who has the intellectual firepower to handle their jobs. Couple that with a worldview and related agenda that is hooked to "social justice" and "environmental hysteria", and you have the perfect storm for failure. Solution? Option one: convince 51% of voters in Minneapolis to abandon the current agenda. As I posted somewhere here, good luck with that. The second option is judicial, similar to the semi-successful 2040 litigation. One strategy would be a pick, pick, pick at programs as wasteful, fraudulent, or for any other reason, and hope to get some fraud evidence on discovery. Getting good candidates to fight the DFL/DSA incompetence and frauds is pretty hopeless. Who, in their right mind, would run for an office whose primary fringe benefit is being the next story for the Tesla "protesters"?
My daughter-in-law is research director at The Civic Federation here: https://www.civicfed.org/ Non-partisan, independent, non- profit. They track all elements of Chicago spending and call bullshit when they see it. The Twin Cities could use something like this.
You're right. How could we get something like this civic federation started here?
I would be interested in participating.
Thank you Terry, I will be sharing your newsletter it is so impactful! I also plan to contact Star Tribune and ask why there is so little coverage of our critical city elections? Curious to see if I receive a response.
Let's cancel ALL violence interrupters contracts/ violence prevention contracts until there is a comprehensive PROGRAM EVALUATION in place. The city, the council, AND the violence interrupters need to work together to measure outcomes. This is a terrible grift until we have an analysis of utility. I have emailed my council member many times about this. I am not opposed to funding experimental alternatives. I am opposed to continuing to fund the experiments without looking at the results of the experiments. Business would expect some kind of outcomes data, academia would demand it. Why does the city of Minneapolis not? This has become a huge boondoggle with no sign of slowing down 👎
And to be clear, there is a whole professional discipline of people that do this kind of work. It's not rocket science. Okay. It's kind of rocket science, but there's lots of smart people out there in the world that do this kind of work. 😉
https://www.eval.org/About/What-is-Evaluation
Hi Paul, Thank you for providing this link.
I interact with the violence Interrupters at my job. They are a really helpful resource.
Yes, even the Star Tribune no longer wants to back the City Council, the problem is they still lean heavily to the left. Most of the news media does lean heavily to the left with a couple leaning equally to the right. We really do not have unbiased news anymore which is unfortunately compounded with AI algorithms showing us only we what we want to read. I don't know how we can unite as long we have little true unbiased news and posted research available.
Thank you! After watching the City's budget process play out this year, and THAT outcome, which for me demonstrated a complete lack of understanding and appreciation by the MAJORITY on the Council, with respect to their JOB as gatekeepers for our finances, I am looking forward to our local elections this fall.
Key take aways from your piece..
"....we rely on our politicians to act with restraint and common sense. "
"Every dollar spent must improve the daily lives of our neighbors and strengthen local businesses."
*A piece out this weekend by Minneapolis Times also did a good job explaining some of these BIG issues for our City.
City Council has no answers as the property tax burden shifts to homeowners | Minneapolis Times
https://minneapolistimes.com/city-council-has-no-answers-as-the-property-tax-burden-shifts-to-homeowners/
I think we can reasonably guess the answers to a couple of your questions, Terry. First, the dollar numbers for some of these grants are so peculiar because, if one is just directly allocating funds to organizations with no bidding process, one can just make up a number, and - human nature being what it is - most of them will be round numbers. Good luck trying to get anyone to tell you how many individuals are involved for how many hours each - But you know that! I'm more intrigued by the few that are NOT round numbers. Do you think we can assume that those organizations are actually providing the city with some details of what they plan to do and how they plan to do it? It might be worth asking that question, anyway...
And the two separate ones being the same amount? Well, if one is just making up numbers, and hiring two entities to do largely the same kind of work, imagine trying to explain to the one who will be getting less WHY they will be getting less! Especially since you would have no idea, yourself, why they are getting less.
Apropos of all this, over at the State Capitol this week, ALL the members of the House's new Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee - the one that still has, by prior agreement - a GOP majority and a GOP chair with no DFL co-chair - sent a letter to their colleagues asking that the House stop doing appropriations directly to non-profits, and instead return to the good old days of appropriating to a state agency and directing that agency to solicit bids. All the committee members signed. DFLers and GOPers. It's non-binding, of course (I imagine it would take a State Constitution Amendment to make this stick), but it's a step in the right direction, and the Mpls. City Council should be pressured to at least consider disciplining itself in this way as well.
The bidding practices violate the state public contracts laws. The reason for multiple contracts at certain amount is part of the patter and practice. I practiced municipal law. The City attorneys are hiding under their desks.
Thanks so much for doing this research. Speculating, the picture that emerges from the recent Strib article on the woman who was so blatant with this corruption that she was forced to resign, is one of brazen corruption where this money is being used in a very intentional and direct way to pay friends and ultimately themselves. The vendors are coming into existence for no other purpose than to receive these funds. The only thing anyone near this group is worried about is getting their piece of it.
A few months ago I asked Gemini AI how to measure outcomes for violence interrupters. In addition to the obvious ( crime & homicide stats, Etc.) Here is the comprehensive answer. If AI can do this in a few seconds, why can't the city start to implement more of this?
Program Outcomes
Number of conflicts mediated: Track the number of disputes successfully resolved through the intervention of violence interrupters.
Number of individuals diverted from violence: Measure the number of people who were prevented from engaging in violent behavior due to program intervention.
Number of community relationships built: Assess the extent to which violence interrupters have fostered positive relationships within the community.
Changes in community perception: Evaluate shifts in community attitudes toward violence and trust in law enforcement.
Program Implementation
Number of violence interrupters: Monitor the number of individuals actively involved in the program.
Training hours: Track the amount of training provided to violence interrupters.
Community outreach activities: Measure the frequency and effectiveness of community engagement efforts.
Resource allocation: Assess the adequacy of funding and other resources for program operations.
Evaluating Program Effectiveness
To evaluate the effectiveness of a violence interrupter program, consider the following approaches:
Comparative analysis: Compare crime rates in the target area to those in similar areas without the program.
Statistical analysis: Use statistical methods to determine if observed changes in crime rates are statistically significant.
Qualitative data: Gather feedback from community members, violence interrupters, and law enforcement to understand the program's impact from different perspectives.
Outcome measurement: Track the specific outcomes outlined above and assess whether they are aligned with program goals.
Additional Considerations:
Contextual factors: Consider factors like socioeconomic conditions, gang activity, and historical violence patterns that may influence program outcomes.
Long-term sustainability: Evaluate the program's ability to maintain its effectiveness over time and adapt to changing circumstances.
Collaboration: Foster collaboration with other community organizations and law enforcement agencies to maximize impact.
By carefully tracking these metrics and evaluating program outcomes, you can assess the effectiveness of a violence interrupter program and make data-driven decisions for its improvement
----
P.S. Yes, I sent this to my council member as well.
Great. Now, how to turn this into action? How to force Frey and the Council into replying to this challenge? Seems there is no mechanism, except the DFL/DSA, to influence voters. The most solid ideas on the face of the earth will not make it into the public square. As much as anyone here may dislike the prospect, we need a Donald Trump and Elon Musk, to shock the Minneapolis electorate into reality. And even if you can find the mechanism, is 51% of the electorate amenable to reason? I think not. Do you think the voters of Minneapolis will abandon the Progressive/DEI/Government handout and admit they've been wrong? Hope I'm wrong, but at best it's the longest of a long shot. More likely, Minneapolis will go the way of every other Marxist/Progressive DEI fantasy. Total failure. Most of Europe is headed in the same direction, in case you haven't noticed. Oh, I should add a huge contributing factor. The Population Bomb/Global Cooling/Global Warming/Climate Change hysteria fantasy. All a part of the Progressive control game. On the other hand, I'm in on something that will right the insanity. Maybe MAGA will succeed, and the Progressive/Democrat/DFL/DSA march to tyranny will implode like it is in the process of doing now. Tyranny is the only result of the Progressive agenda.
Good question. Writing my council member seems ineffectual. I'm not too sure next steps, but I have talked about this with both of the people running for this spot. I'm guessing it's more of a Todd Barnett controlled area. Maybe I should write him
I wrote this for a post on Reddit a few days ago. Yes, I hit the insane Reddit forms. Mostly for the laughs, actually. The post wasn't related to the budget specifically, but it is applicable. Nothing will change until the poison on the Progressive agenda is reversed.
My take is that the real cause, and it is stated in the article, is the cost of doing business and the government interference, and the general anti-business atmosphere. And then there is the lawlessness. When you have teen thugs roaming the streets in stolen cars committing armed robberies, you don't attract customers. Then there is the city's attack on cars and parking. No one who can't walk to your shop, through the mob of thugs, is going to shop at your business. Minneapolis is a near third-world city made up mostly of people who can't admit they've been wrong about Progressivism, DEI, BLM, et al.. Until those people are transformed, or otherwise gone, Minneapolis will be a cesspool.
I Pray I'm wrong, but things don't look promising.
Great work Terry and very readable.
Violence interrupters:
So, was there an RFP? What did it request? Who applied? Who was selected and why? Who managed the contract on behalf of the city? How were their assignments selected and who was assigned? Were the teams coordinated? Who was on the team? What were the performance expectations? Dates and hours of work? Accomplishments (outcomes not outputs)? Should I just wait for the comprehensive public report?
Your concern is appropriate, we should be concerned on where the money is going and we should be demanding receipts and proper reporting. Then actually reading the reports and make sure they are not duplicated like they were for the Feeding our Future debacle.
Our City Council has failed to recognize a lack of current and future funding which could lead us into bankruptcy sooner than later. It is possible that we need to open up the books and make sure we are even currently solvent. Unfortunately the state and city are very imeshed so I am not even sure we could actually get a real unbiased audit.
There is no one on the City Council, except possibly Rainville, who has the intellectual firepower to handle their jobs. Couple that with a worldview and related agenda that is hooked to "social justice" and "environmental hysteria", and you have the perfect storm for failure. Solution? Option one: convince 51% of voters in Minneapolis to abandon the current agenda. As I posted somewhere here, good luck with that. The second option is judicial, similar to the semi-successful 2040 litigation. One strategy would be a pick, pick, pick at programs as wasteful, fraudulent, or for any other reason, and hope to get some fraud evidence on discovery. Getting good candidates to fight the DFL/DSA incompetence and frauds is pretty hopeless. Who, in their right mind, would run for an office whose primary fringe benefit is being the next story for the Tesla "protesters"?