The Blue in the Red (Redux)

With a city-wide campaign urging the hiring of more cops, an overtime crunch at the Minneapolis Police Department, and a general atmosphere of tension between the MPD and City Council over budget issues, Chief Dolan does not bring good news to the Ways & Means Committee at City Hall today. In September, the department was projecting it would end the year $4.7 million over budget. When the numbers were crunched at the end of October, it was projecting a $5.2 million deficit.

Overtime is projected to be nearly $400,000 over budget--which includes $90,000 in overtime paid to cops watching the 10th Ave Bridge after the collapse of the 35W bridge--that money won't be reimbursed by FEMA or the State of MN.

Getting back to the projected $5.2 million deficit...it is a bit ominous to look back at last November's projected deficit and what happened in the end. Britt Robson's February 2007 City Pages article "The Blue in the Red" reported a year-end budget deficit of nearly $7 million. The November 2006 deficit projection: $3.4 million.