Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak responds to Facebook cause.

PR Log (Press Release) – Mar 03, 2009 – “I wanted to clarify issues around my budget recommendations for the Civil Rights Department:

The Civil Rights Department is an important part of the City that works to ensure fair treatment for all the residents and visitors of Minneapolis – work that needs to continue. The City of Minneapolis has a strong history as a beacon for justice and equality and we will not abdicate that role for as long as I am Mayor. We continue to aim for a strong and effective Civil Rights Department.

Because this transition to the state is not proposed until 2010, a final decision does not need to be made until I present my 2010 budget later this summer. Before then I am open to input and a process that could explore other options, knowing that any alternative would also require us to make other budget cuts in Civil Rights that are required of every other City department because of the state cuts.

As I proposed in my budget speech last week, I do not believe that we should not just cut everything in the Civil Rights Department equally. That would mean that everything would be underfunded and all parts of the department would be ineffective. Instead we need to make choices to make sure the services we deliver are effective.

The Civil Rights Department currently performs three functions: the Civilian Review Authority, Contract Compliance and Complaint Investigation. All three are important functions. Two of those, the CRA and Contract Compliance, are done only by Minneapolis. Complaint investigation is also done by the State. If we have to choose the services for us to continue it should be those that are only done by the city, and are not duplicative government.

Read the full statement at www.ibnn,org