The Minneapolis City Council has begun taking steps to implement its government restructuring plan, including approving the creation of new department heads.
Among the new department heads will be a commissioner for the new office of community safety, a city operations manager, and a city auditor.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey shared his opinion on the move after the council concluded its vote approving the action.
"This pulls together everything from fire to police to the office of violence prevention to EMS to 911 response all under one roof and allows that work to be coordinated by one person. This commissioner," Frey said.
The hiring process for the Commissioner of Community Safety is already underway, and the position can begin starting mid-July.
However, Frey did not share any information on when the hire will be made, but he did say they are in the final stages of the search process.
When the commissioner is brought on, Frey says they will assist in the search for the new chief of the Minneapolis Police Department. The hire will also help establish budgetary needs for 2023.
"I am so proud that our city is now moving in the direction of making this important change," Frey said. "This could be and probably will be the most important thing that I ever do as mayor."
While the city council was able to approve several agenda items, they failed to override the Hennepin Avenue 24-hour bus lane veto from Frey, falling just one vote short of the necessary nine.
But, when it comes to the bus lane concept, Frey says he isn't against it entirely, only one critical piece.
"I support a prioritized bus lane," Frey said. "The only thing that we were arguing over was the hours of operation."
Frey said he believes there should be a dedicated bus lane during rush hours, but it doesn't need to be 24 hours. He urged the council to approve the measure without specific hours of operation in place, saying that it can be addressed while construction is ongoing with the new lane.
