03-09-2022 Workshop Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL LITTLE CANADA, MINNESOTA MARCH 9, 2022 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a Workshop meeting of the City Council of Little Canada, Minnesota was convened on the 9th day of March, 2022 in the Conference Room of the City Center located at 515 Little Canada Road in said City. Mayor John Keis called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and the following members of the City Council were present at roll call: CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Keis, Council Members Fischer, Torkelson, McGraw and Miller. Absent: None. ALSO PRESENT: City Administrator Chris Heineman, City Clerk/HR Manager Heidi Heller, Finance Director Brenda Malinowski, Parks & Rec/Community Services Director Bryce Shearen and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. DISCUSSION WITH RAMSEY COUNTY ATTORNEY JOHN CHOI John Choi, Ramsey County Attorney, stated he will be reviewing data on what is going on with crime now and wants to have a candid conversation with the City Council. He stated that previously car jacking was not tracked separately by police. He explained that his office has jurisdiction over all adult felony crimes, and all crimes for youth, and city attorneys do charges less than felony level. He stated that his office is charging 55%-65% of all adult cases that are presented to his office. He explained that some of the cases he does not charge are referred to another office, such as the city attorney, to charge. He stated that the charging rates versus cases received for juveniles are typically higher than for adults. He reviewed case data for youth and adults in motor vehicle thefts. He stated that during the pandemic when the courts were closed, his office made a policy where they would not charge for 5' degree drug possession because those cases would never make it to court. He noted there is an exception for specific cases that affect livability issues. Attorney John Choi stated that the increase in car jackings and shots fired is across the country. He reviewed where some of their issues are, such as Rule 20 "Gap Cases" where the person is deemed incompetent to stand trial, but does not meet the criteria to be civilly committed, or there is not enough capacity at the mental health hospital. He stated that another issue is all people have the right to post bail and get out of jail. He reported that the Minnesota Freedom Fund received $35 million in donations after George Floyd was killed, and they have since posted an average of $11,000 bail for 1,349 people. He stated that the MN Freedom Fund board has now changed and after conversations, he is hopeful that they will only bailing out people who will not be a danger to the community. He stated another issue is placement for youth who commit crimes, and they will be presenting legislation and asking for funding to create a local secure facility to hold youth offenders. Attorney John Choi stated a Violence Reduction Leadership Group was formed in response to the public concerns about the increase in crime, especially violent crime. Torkelson suggested