The Independence City Council considered a proposal to reorganize the city manager’s office to create a new Department of Community and Emergency Services and to add a homeless outreach coordinator as part of the FY2025–26 budget.

Deputy City Manager Lisa Reynolds, deputy city manager and municipal services director, described the reorganization as “a first time to have a mechanism to address issues like homelessness more head on,” and said the change would combine emergency preparedness with outreach work and a new volunteer‑facilitation program.

The budget materials show one personnel addition for a homeless outreach coordinator and the presentation identified nondepartmental budget packets that support related programs. Reynolds said the manager’s office would house the FTE, but later staff clarified the position’s funding source—city marijuana sales tax—remained in that separate fund. “The additional money for the marijuana sales tax is still sitting there. We’ve got the position, like, the FTE housed in this, but the money is still in marijuana for the time being,” Samantha Morris, chief of emergency operations, told council.

Why it matters: Council members said they support the position but want a clear way to evaluate it. One council member asked, “I really want to know what success looks like for that position,” and staff agreed performance metrics and reporting would be developed in partnership with the seven‑member council. Reynolds said the budget adoption reflects council priorities and that staff would work with council to define “roles, responsibilities, and performance metrics associated with this position.”

What the reorganization includes: Staff described the department as pairing emergency preparedness—shelter coordination, volunteer management and automated warning systems—with an outreach coordinator focused on homelessness and a volunteer facilitation program to connect residents who can provide in‑kind help with people in need. Morris said the volunteer program would not be city staff doing the work or city dollars paying for volunteer labor, but rather a coordinator to facilitate volunteer matches and projects.

Budget and funding notes: The homeless outreach coordinator is included in the city manager’s proposed budget documents as an added position; council discussion clarified that the FTE is shown in the manager’s office budget but the earmarked dollars are currently in the marijuana sales tax fund. There was no final council vote in the study session; the reorganization and position were presented as an operational budget package for the upcoming budget hearings.

Discussion and next steps: Council members requested a 12–24 month evaluation cycle and specific success metrics so the council can determine whether to continue funding the position. Staff said they would return with proposed performance measures and a plan for how the coordinator would interface with existing outreach services, CIT officers, and the Arch program.

Ending: The proposal advanced as a budget package to be considered in the required public hearings and scheduled readings this month; no formal vote or ordinance adopting the new department was taken during the May 28 study session.