Community Police Commission seeks clarity on civil‑service titles, asks for more funding to finish backlog

The Community Police Commission (CPC) defended its staffing and operating needs at the budget hearing and asked the council to consider an additional request for funding to complete a series of policy and community‑engagement projects.

Administrator Jason Goodrick and board co‑chair John Adams told council the CPC’s presented budget includes funding required by charter (0.5% of the police budget for subgrantees) plus general operations. The CPC’s 2025 budget projection reflects an increase compared with prior years driven by filling authorized staff positions: the commission’s administrative complement is moving from a historically underfilled state toward the full staffing levels needed to support board operations.

Council members asked for clarity about civil‑service titles and working titles for CPC staff, noting that the budget book lists civil‑service classifications (for payroll and payband purposes) while the CPC operates with working titles. The administration said civil‑service makes classifications and that the city would provide an annotated staffing table showing working titles next to civil‑service titles and the current vacancy status.

The CPC said it has a baseline of operations funded from the police‑budget percentage plus a separate operational appropriation; after property and personnel costs the CPC noted it has little discretionary money to do community assessments and policy consultants. Administrator Goodrick formally requested roughly $350,000 (outside the mayor’s submitted budget) to hire consultants for bias‑free policing reviews, to fund a community‑engagement assessment that evaluates police outreach effectiveness, and to perform deeper background checks tied to recent interim commander and leadership appointments.

Why it matters: The CPC is the city charter body intended to play a central role in civilian oversight of policing policy and community engagement. Council members and CPC representatives both said clearer role definitions and transparent titles are needed so the council can evaluate operational budgets and ensure the CPC can meet its statutory obligations without undue administrative staffing gaps.

Requests and follow-up: City staff said they would provide the attendance records and meeting counts the council requested, a staffing table tying civil‑service titles to working titles, and confirmation of when civil‑service will approve an executive‑director classification the CPC is seeking. The CPC asked council to consider the additional $350,000 request during reconciliation.

Ending: Council members signaled support for transparency on titles and for a staffing timeline; the CPC said it would return with a formal plan for how the $350,000 would be used if council considers the supplemental request.