DULUTH, Minn. — During a meeting Monday night that stretched past midnight and included nearly four hours of public testimony from 81 people, the City Council approved a slate of public safety ordinances, including some meant to deal with the particularly thorny issue of homelessness.

Mayor Roger Reinert had proposed city staff be empowered to charge people who live in unauthorized encampments on city land with a misdemeanor, punishable by the prospect of up to a $1,000 fine and as many as 90 days in jail unless other housing is available for them.

But councilors balked at the prospect of charging homeless people with misdemeanors for the crime of potentially having no other suitable place to go, amending the ordinance to recommend no more than a $200 fine.

“This has been an important conversation and one that will continue,” Reinert said.

He pointed to his election in November in a mayoral race that drew 54% of local registered voters to the polls, following a campaign heavily influenced by public safety issues.

“So, it should have been no surprise when I asked our public safety leaders what they would recommend to do better on your community concerns,” Reinert said. “And the result was these proposals. They represent the issues Duluthians most often call and say they want addressed, and they also represent the issues our public safety team most often attempt to address when they put on uniforms every day and go out in the community to serve and protect.”

He noted Duluth does not have the option of charging people with a misdemeanor for camping on city land, unlike many other communities in the U.S. Instead, the only compliance tool in the city’s quiver is an administrative citation with no more than a financial penalty.

“Individuals can literally tear them up and walk away, and many know that,” Reinert said.

“A misdemeanor is not something our public safety team will lead with,” he said. “But when they do need to use it, a misdemeanor will create a connection to the legal system — a connection to justice, a connection that does not currently exist, a system that can provide resources and create options and also hold individuals accountable for their behavior, which sometimes needs to happen,” he said.

Second District Councilor Mike Mayou cited a statement issued by the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness: “They said, ordinances that fine or jail people for simply sleeping outside are counterproductive to solving homelessness.”

John Cole, executive director of Chum, an organization that operates Duluth’s largest homeless shelter, said the number of available beds is insufficient to accommodate unhoused residents.

“When you look at it, we all want the same thing: peace, safety, the opportunity to thrive,” he said. “We want to belong to a place of which we can be proud. And that’s why we need to listen to each other. That’s why we need to come together to find a solution for this problem of homelessness that has been developing for the last 40 years.”

Council President Roz Randorf raised concerns that the current court and probation system would be ill-equipped to handle an influx of cases involving homeless people.

Nevertheless, 4th District Councilor Tara Swenson remained supportive of Reinert’s proposal to allow for misdemeanor charges to be brought against homeless people illegally camping on city land. As she had stated on the campaign trail: “Nothing changes if nothing changes.”

“Do we sit back and continue on the path that we are on?” she asked, suggesting that it was time to call for greater individual accountability. “Or are we the leaders in our community and our state who will step forward to really drive some change?”

Randorf said councilors have been working closely with the local Stepping on Up initiative to end homelessness in hopes of providing new options, including sanctioned campsites where unhoused people may pitch a tent with access to proper sanitation, hygiene and support services.

“We want this project done now. We need it,” Randorf said. “We need to create a safe place for them to go. Because ticketing isn’t the answer.”

Mayou referred to Stepping on Up’s plan to create sanctioned campsites as “a priority that needs to happen yesterday, essentially.”

He noted that nearly 600 individuals currently are experiencing homelessness in Duluth, according to the latest survey by the Minnesota Dash to End Homelessness.

“I really think, as a whole, this camping ordinance deserves more time,” Mayou said, requesting continued consultation with local nonprofit social service providers.

A letter sent Monday to Reinert from 16 local nonprofit service providers, including Chum, said: “Duluth has a long way to go to address the gaps we face in housing, shelter and supportive services. Greater investment is still needed. We hope that these past few weeks represent the beginning of conversations toward revitalized partnerships and real solutions.”

The council ultimately voted 5-4 to support an amended camping ordinance with less severe enforcement mechanisms than city administration had proposed. Councilors Mayou, Azrin Awal and Wendy Durrwachter voted against the ordinance, citing what they viewed as a need for more work. Swenson joined in the minority vote as an advocate for the tougher line Reinert had proposed to draw.

Reinert noted that in the past three years, the city has invested nearly $24 million to provide more affordable housing and help people experiencing homelessness. To put that expenditure in perspective, he pointed out that the city’s current annual general fund budget is about $110 million.

While the city does not have a department of health and human services, Reinert said that as a regional center, Duluth shoulders many of the responsibilities of dealing with issues of homeless people, often related to addiction or mental illness, as well as economic vulnerability.

“The city as an entity does not have the funding to do this alone,” Councilor Arik Forsman said, noting that the additional outlay of $500,000 approved Monday will bring Duluth’s investment in the Stepping on Up initiative to $1.15 million.

“We need all of our other partners and foundations, local government units, private citizens and others to step up and help close gaps to bring this to fruition,” he said, “because we have a lot of other responsibilities as a city, and we have a lot of things people want to see us fund with their tax dollars.

“So, as we balance all those things and try to provide a safe place for people to be, I’m proud to put this forward, in collaboration with three other councilors who worked their tails off to get this ready,” Forsman said, giving an appreciative nod to Councilors Randorf, Terese Tomanek and Lynn Marie Nephew.

As she addressed the audience Monday, Nephew noted that St. Louis County’s Department of Health and Human Services has an annual budget of about $114 million.

“I encourage all of you to put some pressure on them to be good partners in this and be a part of that,” Nephew said, “because we’re not going to get this done unless we all work together. But this is a really great start.”

For its part, the county already has committed $600,000 in support for Stepping on Up.

“It’s going to take all of us to create a solution,” Randorf said.

Related Articles

1 person injured as Duluth sightseeing ship hits breakwater

DNA confirms big Lake Superior fish was splake, not record brook trout

Lake Superior lighthouse back on the market after deal falls through

Torrential rains wash out northeastern Minnesota roads, turn rivers into gushers

With older voters in mind, first lady Jill Biden will visit Duluth on Thursday