Budget COW- Links Report Outs

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Budget Committee of the Whole met on May 24, 2011, at 11:00 A.M., with the Vice Mayor presiding. The committee addressed three informational agenda items: Public Safety Links, General Services Links (items 1-16), and the FY 12 Council Budget Schedule (item 17). No motions were voted on during this meeting. The committee heard five public comments and reviewed three agenda items, all presented for informational purposes rather than formal action.

Attendance

Present: - Council Member Myers - Council Member Lawless - Council Member Stenna - Council Member Crosby - Council Member McCord - Council Member Lane - Commissioner Finance - Commissioner Driscoll - Commissioner Mason - Chief Bastin - David Lucas

Absent: None reported.

Late: - David Lucas

Public Comment

Council members raised several concerns and suggestions during the meeting:

E911 Call Data Documentation 21:17 Council Member Lawless requested documentation supporting the claim that 63% of E911 calls are non-emergency. He emphasized the need for verifiable data to inform decision-making on this issue.

Police Officer Use of Public 3600 Line 24:07 Council Member Stenna raised concern about police officers calling the public 3600 line instead of using internal systems. He questioned the policy and called for clarification on this practice.

Collective Bargaining Budget Reduction 25:08 Council Member Stenna expressed concern about approving a $5.6 million reduction in collective bargaining costs without knowing the prior year's actual figure, noting the difficulty of evaluating the reduction without this baseline information.

Police Department Representation 51:13 Council Member Crosby expressed concern that no police department representatives were present during the report out, despite the importance of the discussion. He recommended that police department representatives attend future meetings on related matters.

Code Enforcement Abatement Policy 56:03 Council Member McCord suggested a policy change modeled after Louisville's approach, where city employees handle mowing instead of contractors. He indicated this approach could reduce costs and improve efficiency in code enforcement abatement operations.

Contested Items

The May 24, 2011 meeting included three significant areas of contention:

Reduction of CLEAR Unit Officers

Council members engaged in heated discussion over proposed budget cuts to the CLEAR unit, which would reduce officers from 8 to 4. Multiple council members expressed strong concern about eliminating half of the unit's staff, citing the unit's effectiveness in crime prevention and community engagement. A key point of disagreement centered on whether these cuts were the appropriate response to budget constraints, with council members questioning whether reductions should have instead been made in administrative roles rather than in frontline policing services.

Lack of Police Department Representation

A procedural dispute arose regarding the absence of police department representatives during the budget report discussion. Council members criticized this absence, noting that the significance of the budget cuts being discussed—particularly those affecting police operations—warranted direct police department participation. Council members called for the police department to attend future meetings to ensure accountability and to provide direct input on how proposed cuts would affect service delivery.

Overtime Policy for Late Runs

Concerns were raised about the police department's current overtime policy, which addresses situations when officers work late shifts. Under the existing policy, rather than paying overtime compensation, the department delays officers' next scheduled shift. Council members expressed concern that this practice impacts both staffing levels and service delivery. While the policy generated discussion about its implications for officer compensation and departmental operations, no formal vote was taken on this matter during the meeting.

Public Safety Links

Council Member Myers presented findings from the Public Safety Links committee at approximately 8 minutes and 46 seconds into the meeting. The presentation covered eight departmental areas: Animal Care and Control, Building Inspection, Code Enforcement, Emergency Management, Enhanced 911, Corrections, Police, and Fire/EMS.

The committee developed several key recommendations across these departments:

• Ordinance Updates: Recommendations to update ordinances with a focus on revenue neutrality
• Emergency Preparedness: Improvements to enhance overall emergency preparedness capabilities
• Non-Emergency Call Routing: A proposal to route non-emergency calls to 311 rather than emergency dispatch
• Fire Personnel Staffing: Addressing late run overtime issues for fire personnel

The presentation was informational in nature, with no formal action required. The committee's work encompassed a comprehensive review of public safety operations and identified areas for operational improvement and policy refinement across multiple city departments.

General Services Links (1-16)

This agenda item was listed on the meeting agenda but was not discussed or presented during the meeting. No speakers addressed this topic, and no information was presented to the attendees regarding General Services Links (1-16).

FY 12 Council Budget Schedule (17)

The committee reviewed the FY 12 Council Budget Schedule during this agenda item 8:09. Council Member Myers participated in the discussion.

The review focused on timing and coordination of upcoming meetings related to the budget process. No formal vote or decision was recorded during this discussion.

The outcome of this agenda item was informational in nature, with no formal action taken by the committee.