Assistant City Manager Anne Pupa and board members discussed consolidating safety and risk-management duties citywide during the June 12 Public Utilities Advisory Board meeting, using the IPL safety program as a model.

Pupa said the city currently has two safety staff members assigned to utilities and that the proposal is to expand those resources citywide rather than limit them to a single department. “The desire is to replicate that citywide,” Pupa said, describing IPL’s program as having a strong safety track record and noting that the IPL safety staff member “is looking forward to this and thinks and sees the value of this.”

Board members asked how the consolidation would affect funding and separation of utilities funds. Pupa responded that utility dollars will continue to fund salaries for utility work and that additional citywide positions or dollars would come from the city’s general risk-management fund. “The adding 2 gets funded from nonutility dollars,” she said, and “the utility piece is still funded from utility dollars.”

Board members raised charter concerns. One member noted the city charter requires separation of utility finances; Pupa acknowledged the need to keep utility and general-fund dollars separate and said time tracking and accounting would show how FTE time is allocated across utility and nonutility duties.

Pupa said the city is exploring whether to add a third safety position to cover full citywide needs, but that logistics and execution remain early in the process. Board members suggested low-cost safety practices—such as short “safety moments” at meetings of more than three people—that could reduce incidents while the broader program is developed.