The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Bradenton on a unanimous vote approved CRA funding for the Bradenton Police Department’s Community Policing Innovations Initiative, which funds specially trained CRA officers and a dedicated caseworker to support crime prevention, blight reduction and community engagement across the city’s CRA districts.

The funding request, presented by CRA manager Chris Mignon and Bradenton Police Department officers, aligns the police project with the CRA’s three redevelopment plans and asks the CRA to cover the majority of personnel and training costs for fiscal year 2025–26.

CRA manager Chris Mignon said the project “continues the CRA’s long lasting relationship with the BPD to achieve mutual goals of community improvement and blight reduction.” Lieutenant Christopher DeHayes of the Bradenton Police Department gave a budget overview and said the team “meets several areas of the CRA sustainable pre-development plan.”

Sergeant Aaron Plann of the Bradenton Police Department described CPTED — crime prevention through environmental design — as an approach that adapts the built environment to reduce opportunities for crime. “Basically, you’re looking at ways to make places more secure without putting bars up,” Plann said. He outlined CPTED tactics such as keeping shrubbery trimmed to preserve sightlines, using materials to mark territorial boundaries and adding wayfinding and signage so people recognize restricted or private areas.

BPD summarized recent and planned work inside CRA districts: night and early-morning business trespass operations; undercover checks for illegal alcohol sales to minors; CPTED surveys for businesses; coordination on after-hours permits; and a designated caseworker who connects people to services. DeHayes and BPD staff said goals for 2026 include continuing officer CPTED certification, expanding outreach events and increasing homeless outreach efforts.

Budget details presented in the meeting show the combined personnel cost for the initiative at $923,661.43, with the CRA paying 95% ($862,563.36) and the Bradenton Police Department 5% ($45,398). Training costs were presented as $15,700 in total, with the CRA paying $14,915 (95%) and BPD $785 (5%). The application text and the monthly BPD reports were described by CRA staff as part of the CRA’s required annual reporting process.

A board member moved to approve the request “as presented to us today by the Bradenton Police Department with our CRA funding.” The motion was seconded by Miss Coachman and passed unanimously.

Board members and staff also discussed longer-term sustainability: CRA staff said they are building sinking funds for the community policing program into the city’s general budget so the program can continue after the CRA sunsets. CRA staff noted the BPD monthly reports are used in the CRA’s annual report, which the agency said it produces to satisfy a state statutory requirement.

The CRA did not adopt programmatic changes during the meeting; the action was a budget approval. Staff said monthly reports will continue and sinking funds will be established to support long-term costs.