Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
City presents proposed unarmed “Roots” responder team: supervisor plus two two‑person teams, $800K annual cost, phased start requested
Summary
City staff, the Community Justice Center and the police chief proposed a new civilian community responder unit (“Roots”) to handle low‑acuity calls and proactive outreach; staff recommended one supervisor and four responders operating in overlapping shifts and estimated full-year operating costs near $800,000.
City staff, the Community Justice Center and the Ithaca Police Department presented a proposed community responder program on Sept. 16 that would add a small unarmed response unit to the city’s public-safety toolbox. The draft program — presented under the working name Roots (Responders Offering Outreach, Trust and Support) — would deploy trained civilian responders to low-acuity, nonviolent calls, perform proactive outreach, and make warm handoffs to social-service providers.
What was proposed: The staff-recommended, medium-sized model would create one team supervisor and four community responders, operating in two overlapping shifts so two two‑person teams are available during peak hours. Staff estimated an operating cost of roughly $800,000 per year for the full model; using funds council had previously reserved for reimagining public safety (about $757,000), the administration proposed a phased start with a 2026 over‑target…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
