Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cops Nonprofit Contract topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City ends negotiations with COPS; board members resign and city frees up funds for future RFP
Summary
City legal staff notified COPS that a July 3 deadline passed and the city is "moving on." COPS board members Scott Burkhart, Karen Stratton and later Brandy Dickinson resigned, and an email said no further reimbursement is needed; city staff said funds will be freed and a future RFP is likely.
City legal and council staff told the Public Safety and Community Health Committee on July 14 that negotiations with the nonprofit COPS have concluded and the city will "move on" after a missed July 3 deadline, and that multiple COPS board members have since resigned. City attorney staff said a letter from the city communicated the deadline had passed and that the city is pursuing alternative uses for the funds. COPS responded by notifying the city that Scott Burkhart and Karen Stratton had resigned from the COPS board and that Brandy Dickinson had become board chair and sought an eleventh‑hour revisit; city staff received a subsequent email indicating Dickinson had also resigned and that COPS did not need further reimbursement from the city. "The current status is that ... that money has been freed up, and we'll probably do a future RFP," the city representative said, noting the city will explore other options for allocating funds previously earmarked for COPS. Committee members asked about possible COPS partnerships or mergers—city staff said COPS had explored talks with Scope but no agreement had been reached. No formal committee action was taken on July 14; staff said they will consider a future RFP for the freed funds.
