Minneapolis City Council votes to dismantle Office of Community Safety

Minneapolis City Council voted Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2026, to eliminate the Office of Community Safety, the agency created in 2022 after the murder of George Floyd.

The decision marks a sharp reversal in the city’s post‑Floyd public‑safety overhaul and highlights an ongoing debate over how to restructure policing and community services.

Council President Elliott Payne and Council Member Robin Wonsley led the proposal, arguing that the office suffered from poor management, weak financial oversight and what they called “administrative bloat.”

The city’s 2026 public‑safety budget allocated more than $16 million to the Office of Community Safety, nearly $10 million to Neighborhood Safety and over $225 million to the Minneapolis Police Department, though officials said the exact savings from elimination remain unclear.

A recent audit of the Neighborhood Safety Department uncovered serious deficiencies in oversight of community‑based violence‑prevention contracts, noting inadequate documentation and increased risk of fraud in a system that had directed more than $36 million to five major programs since 2023.

“This office — one that these council members advocated for — manages services like mental‑health response, violence prevention and police reform. If council members want these services in jeopardy, that’s on them,” Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Council members countered that key programs such as the Behavioral Crisis Response team predate the Office of Community Safety and would continue operating without it, describing the agency as a bureaucratic barrier rather than a facilitator.

The proposal arrives amid mounting scrutiny of the city’s public‑safety spending and a partisan split over the best path forward for policing reform.

Council plans to advance legislation in the next session, with city officials saying a transition plan will be crafted to maintain continuity of essential services.