Golden Valley Budget Runs Low for DWI, Crime Prosecution
Issues related to public safety have been a common discussion topic in Golden Valley.
The conversation continued this week as the city council took a second look at its rising budget for prosecution costs.
“Over the past year, the city’s policing activity has significantly increased, resulting in a corresponding rise in prosecution caseloads,” city staff members wrote in council agenda materials. “Specifically, the police department has doubled the number of cases referred for prosecution compared to the previous year. This surge in activity has placed considerable strain on the prosecution budget, which was not originally structured to accommodate such a dramatic increase.”
The city hires a third-party attorney to prosecute certain offenses including driving while intoxicated (DWI), traffic offenses and domestic cases.
Issues related to policing have been a common discussion topic in Golden Valley. This week, the city council took a second look at its rising budget for prosecutions. The caseload for traffic, DWI and low-level criminal cases has significantly increased since 2022.
Kurt Glaser with BBG Law is Golden Valley’s prosecutor.
His budget is around $215,000. He’s projecting costs of $414,000 for this year.
“I’m asking the council to reconsider or consider looking at where you want to be for prosecution services,” Glaser said.
According to Glaser, between 2022 and 2024, Golden Valley saw a 170 percent increase in traffic cases, a 67 percent increase in DWI cases, 40 percent increase in domestic cases, and an 89 percent increase in criminal cases.
He attributed the high rates in DWI and traffic cases to the geographic location of Golden Valley. With heavily-patrolled major highways connecting Golden Valley and Minneapolis, there’s a higher rate of driving-related offenses.
Glaser also says there’s a learning curve when it comes to building cases, and much of Golden Valley’s police force is relatively new to the job.
“They don’t have the experience of being on the street for three, five, 10 years — that level of experience,” he said. “And so it does take more time to prosecute cases because maybe something’s missing.”
The city is considering its prosecution budget as Police Chief Virgil Green is on administrative leave during a pending investigation.
See: Golden Valley Mayor Raises Concerns About Police Staffing with Chief Still on Leave
