Johnson County supervisors on Aug. 13 agreed to move forward with developing a joint grant application to seek roughly $200,000 in 15 months of grant-funded technical assistance to cross-train existing mobile crisis responders in field mediation, but they left key questions open and asked for more stakeholder engagement.

Supervisor Remington introduced the item, saying the grant would fund technical assistance to design a local pilot modeled on a Dayton, Ohio program and similar efforts in Orange County, Calif., and Fairfax County, Va. The assistance would include convening, pilot design, protocols, training and community engagement; the application requires letters of support from local governments and public-safety partners.

Why it matters: The proposed pilot seeks to create a non-law-enforcement response option for nonviolent interpersonal disputes that might otherwise escalate. Proponents say it could prevent violence and reduce calls to uniformed first responders; critics — including the county sheriff and county attorney — said the proposal overlaps existing law-enforcement and emergency-response roles and raised concerns about when mediation is appropriate and whether victims are protected.

Support and mechanics: Oliver Wyline, an Iowa City councilor, told the board the city manager and a majority of the Iowa City Council support a joint application with the county and an established service provider called Community (the proposed service provider). Councilor Wyline said the city and county could expand access across municipal boundaries and pointed to national examples of alternate-response programs.

Supervisor Remington said two Iowa City councilors had agreed to take the lead on the city side; the county would be an applicant together with the city and list Community as the identified service provider. Because the grantor will give feedback on applications submitted by a preliminary deadline (Sept. 18), Remington asked supervisors for authorization to convene stakeholders and assemble letters of support in a short time frame, with a final deadline of Oct. 1.

Public-safety concerns and legal questions: Sheriff Brad Conkle said he was disappointed not to have been looped in earlier and said rural Johnson County deputies already handle local dispute and peacekeeping duties; he said the program would not reduce workload enough in rural areas to be useful and that his office would not write a letter of support based on information provided so far. Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmerman Smith warned the board to consider victims of crime and warned against appearing to endorse nonenforcement policies; she urged that victims be considered explicitly in program design.

Proponents'response: Supporters said the grant would fund a 15'month facilitation process that would specifically scope how a pilot could operate locally, including who would dispatch, how calls would be routed, and how crisis and victim services would be integrated. Sarah Nelson (Community) and other proponents told the board the model is intended for nonviolent disputes where people are reluctant to call police; proponents argue that some people escalate to violence after hours of escalation and would benefit from an alternate-response option.

Next steps: Supervisors asked HR and staff to convene a stakeholder meeting list and requested that HR/administration present a draft application or "bones" of the submission by Wednesday, Sept. 3. The board tentatively planned formal consideration on Sept. 11, and Remington said he would solicit letters of support from police, fire/EMS, county attorney and other community partners. Supervisors also asked staff to confirm if there would be any financial strings attached (e.g., required local match or payback if a pilot did not begin in 2027). Remington said the grantor indicated assistance would start in January 2026 and the pilot (if implemented) might begin in 2027.

Quotes:
"This is geared towards preventing violence when people don't want to call 911," Remington said, adding that the service would give a nonofficial third-party option for residents who fear or distrust contacting police.
"Public safety in rural Johnson County is not your job. It's mine," Sheriff Brad Conkle told the board, objecting to not having been briefed earlier and saying deputies perform many of the duties described.

Ending: The board authorized staff and named officials to pursue application work and stakeholder outreach; supervisors agreed to review a draft application in early September and to return for formal consideration before final submission.