Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt is pushing back against claims that her office has mismanaged funds amid a multi-million dollar budget deficit.
She tell WCCO's Adam and Jordana it's the direct result of the county authorizing staff positions without the funding to pay for them.
Witt clarified that while she is expected to fill 883 positions, current funding only covers 810 roles. Sheriff Witt says these jobs are vital to keeping the county safe.
"Now is not the time to jeopardize public safety," Witt said Tuesday. "As I mentioned before, when you're talking about housing, when you're talking about healthcare, when you're talking about bringing back our neighborhoods so that they're safe and vibrant, all of that. Public safety has got to be a priority."
Witt says she plans on being apart of future negotiations with county commissioners about the issue, adding that the county board authorized more positions than they can afford.
"Well, we're talking about a $9.6 million difference and I think it's very important for people to know that," Witt added.
Witt says this comes as her office is challenged, continuing to try to rebuild community trust in the wake of Operation Metro Surge, the federal government's immigration crackdown in the state.
The department's overtime costs totaled $1.3 million in January alone, which was $860,000 over budget.
Minneapolis Police also faced significant budget issues while the federal agents were in the metro area dealing with crackdowns in immigrant neighborhood, protests, and more.
The city said they spent an extra $5.2 million between January 7 and February 1 on police overtime and standby pay. Add in extra pay for city staff and operational, equipment expenses, and the total grows to over $6 million in added costs for Minneapolis.
