EXCLUSIVE: Minneapolis staffing ‘crisis’ spreads as workers shot at, assaulted
"The police staffing issues are well known and well documented, but I’ve seen that spiral virtually to every department in the city," labor attorney Jim Michels explained.
It is no secret that there are far fewer cops on Minneapolis streets today than there were three years ago. But the problem has spread to virtually every department in the city, so much so that some labor leaders are now calling it a crisis.
The consequences for the people who live and work in Minnesota’s largest city are not hard to find.
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“The police staffing issues are well known and well documented, but I’ve seen that spiral virtually to every department in the city. From public works, to human resources, to regulatory services and it’s really impairing the city as an operating enterprise to deliver the services the people who live and work and recreate in Minneapolis come to expect and deserve,” he said.
Michels explained how the HR department is down 20 to 30% of its allotted positions — the department in charge of city staffing. He cited similar vacancies among 911 dispatchers and snow removal positions, on top of a police department down more than a third in less than three years.