The Budget, Finance and Governance Committee voted to authorize an agreement with the Rochester Educational Opportunity Center (REOC) to create and deliver a new training curriculum for the city’s civilian response action team. The committee approved the item by voice vote; no mover or seconder was recorded on the committee transcript and the motion carried.

The contract covers development of a new curriculum, city staff said, not an off‑the‑shelf course. “The entire curriculum will be new, but they have had experience of doing those trainings in the past,” said Angela, Office of Financial Empowerment staff, referring to REOC’s prior de‑escalation and implicit‑bias work. “The training will be a 3‑week training that will be…16 hours a week,” Angela said, describing roughly 32 hours per cohort and a potential start date in September.

The training is intended for the soon‑to‑be community action team (the civilian response team). Angela told the committee the initial cohort will include eight community responders, two leadership staff and additional city staff who may participate as the program scales. Staff said REOC expects the city to reuse the training multiple times during the year.

Committee members asked how the new action team differs from existing PIC (pick) teams. Angela said the action team will be dispatched from 911 to two specific call types: trespassing (A) and annoyance (B) calls. By contrast, she said, the PIC team typically handles mostly mental‑health‑related calls. “They are responding from a dispatch from 911,” Angela said, and “No. No. It will not be a co response with police.”

Members pressed for written follow‑up materials. President Melendez said the law department will provide a one‑page memo on the Downtown Enhancement District separately, and council members asked that the REOC training scope, curriculum outline and participant list be provided in writing before full council consideration.

Discussion only: committee deliberations focused on timeline, curriculum authorship and participant counts. Direction: staff agreed to provide the committee written materials describing curriculum scope and enrollment. Formal action: committee approved the agreement; the motion carried.

The transcript shows committee members broadly supportive and seeking clarifying details in writing; the committee did not amend the contract in the meeting.

Less critical details: staff noted the training will be used multiple times during the year and that REOC had prior experience in related trainings. Implementation will require further operational planning and scheduling.