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Police staffing, bicycle officers and business outreach highlighted in city budget presentation
Summary
City police leadership briefed the commission on renewed emphasis on community engagement, bicycle patrols and aggressive hiring that increases personnel costs in the proposed budget; business-facing police representation at future BDC meetings was pledged.
City public-safety leadership updated the Webster Groves Business District Commission on police outreach plans, the revival of bicycle officers and staffing increases reflected in the proposed budget.
A presenter described Chief Aceves’ priorities, including stronger community engagement and business outreach. “One of the things that chief Aceves really stressed was community engagement, and one of his priorities is making sure he's connected to businesses,” an officer filling in said. The department has trained six bicycle officers and two supervisors and offered the commission the option to request bicycle officers for events.
Assistant Chief Weimer (as referenced in the meeting) and other command staff will rotate business engagement duties so the police department is represented at each business commission meeting, staff said. Commissioners were told the department will also provide advance notice to businesses when traffic or parking enforcement is restarting in specific zones: “As soon as we have a designated traffic enforcement officer or parking enforcement officer... we'll give you guys a heads up,” the presenter said.
Budget implications were discussed: staff said the proposed city budget shows more than a half-million-dollar increase in personnel costs tied to police hiring. The presenter characterized the spending as a commitment to fully staffing public safety: “...the biggest change in our expenses is more than a half million dollars in personnel costs that go with the police department… it demonstrates a commitment to making sure that we have fully staffed public safety,” the presenter said.
Commissioners asked for enforcement attention at local hot spots including the westbound corner of Big Bend and Alma. Staff said once traffic-enforcement officers are identified, those areas would be prioritized.
No formal action was taken; the update was informational and staff asked businesses to place department emails on their contact lists to receive enforcement notifications.
