The ballot title and question approved by the City Council reads as follows: Voters should have all the facts available to them as they make this important decision on the city's future and their own safety. We hope the decision will comes down in favor of greater explanation. Whether the city has such legal authority will be for Hennepin County Judge Jamie Anderson to decide when she rules on the Yes 4 Minneapolis lawsuit challenging the note. "We believe the council, as the governing body for the city, has that authority," he said. "These were extraordinary circumstances." Rowader noted that the council voted 12-1 to adopt the ballot question and its accompanying note. "Just because it hasn't been done in Minneapolis doesn't mean it hasn't been done," Rowader said. As for Yes 4 Minneapolis' contention that the council lacks the authority to include such a note, Rowader said his team relied on multiple opinions from attorneys general that establish such authority. "You can draw a straight line from the note back to the ballot question and petition" that prompted the amendment, he said. Rowader, speaking to an editorial writer, said that in writing the note he and his team were guided by the ballot question itself, attempting to provide factual information that would inform citizens without bias. Those are all simple statements of fact, vital to understanding the implications of making such a fundamental change to the way public safety services are delivered. The amendment also would remove council authority to raise additional property taxes to help fund a police force. The note further states that the council would no longer be required to fund a mandated minimum number of officers. The mayor could nominate a commissioner, but the City Council would appoint the person, with that 13-member body sharing oversight duties jointly with the mayor. The mayor's sole authority over police and their chief would end. It states that the amendment would remove the Police Department and police chief from the charter, to be replaced by a new department led not by a police chief but by a commissioner. The explanatory note written by City Attorney Jim Rowader adds just such important information. Supplying that information is neither unreasonable nor, in our opinion, unnecessary. But at a bare minimum, voters should be given what little additional information exists. We understand that Yes 4 Minneapolis supporters plan to leave the basic public safety structure and details to a city ordinance that would be developed later, should the ballot question pass, in order to employ a community engagement process. The ballot question asks whether that charter should be amended to replace the Police Department with a public safety department that uses a comprehensive public health approach and that would employ licensed peace officers "if necessary." Ballot questions, of necessity, must be short to be comprehensible.īut this is simply too little information on which to base such a significant, complex decision. In its lawsuit against the city, Yes 4 Minneapolis called the explanatory note "unreasonable" and "unnecessary."Īs it stands, the basic structure of the police department, chain of authority and even mandated minimums of police officers tied to population are all laid out in the city charter. Yes 4 Minneapolis, the campaign behind the effort to replace the Police Department, alleges that the city clerk's office was attempting to influence voters with "subjective" and "selective" language in the note that is to accompany the ballot question. That will come later, after additional research and a judge's decision on the ballot question's wording.įor now, like responsible voters, we seek additional guidance and clarity about the potentially far-reaching impact of this proposal. To be clear, the Star Tribune Editorial Board has not yet taken a position for or against the amendment. If there were ever a proposal that could stand a little extra explanation with the ballot question, it's this one. The sweeping proposal would disband the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a public safety department whose size, scope and structure is not yet known. Minneapolis residents soon will be expected to vote on a charter amendment that could fundamentally reshape public safety in the city.
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