City Manager Fidel Montes and Chelsea Police leaders addressed residents at a Faith & Blue event in Chelsea City, urging stronger ties between officers, faith communities and neighbors and describing planned outreach efforts.

Montes said the goal of the evening was connection and neighborhood trust. "I am here to get to know you better and together to build a stronger and safer community that is rooted in respect, in trust, and in love," City Manager Fidel Montes said.

The event combined prayers and music with remarks from police leadership and staff about community programs and how the department handles immigration questions. Chelsea Police Chief Uffman told the gathering that local officers do not carry federal immigration authority: "We do not have the authority to be involved. We are local and state, police powers. We do not have federal powers. So we do not work with ICE." The chief framed that statement as a clarification of the limits of local police powers rather than a change in enforcement priorities.

Police staff and volunteers described existing and planned outreach. Cathy Neighbors of the Police Services Division said faith and family relationships are foundational for police-community trust and summarized the department’s philosophy: "We treat people with dignity and respect. And that is my philosophy, and that is the ground basis of building trust." Speakers described recurring programs such as "coffee with cops," an ice cream truck outreach, a youth academy for older children, a planned youth program for younger children during school vacations, and a proposed adult academy to explain policing divisions and philosophy.

Department figures cited at the event underscore the scale of operations. As the chief said, officers respond to about 40,000 calls a year and file roughly 4,000 reports; speakers noted that not all contacts result in arrests because of legal thresholds for criminal charges.

City staff also pointed attendees toward regular problem-solving forums. One speaker said weekly downtown meetings (referred to at the event as "Downtown Pathos" meetings) bring city councilors and the city manager together to log neighborhood concerns and follow up; the meeting format described was that issues are raised one week and followed up about two weeks later. Department staff suggested residents contact their city councilor for quality-of-life issues such as graffiti, street lights or double parking so the appropriate city departments can act.

Event presenters encouraged more informal, human interactions between officers and residents as a pathway to trust. The chief and other speakers described efforts to meet children and families early — through school visits, youth basketball and ice-cream-truck outreach — so that children associate officers with positive community contact.

The gathering closed with offers to expand outreach: staff invited congregations to request monthly visits or joint events and provided an email-based contact path for scheduling. No formal policy or ordinance changes were proposed or voted on at the event.

Speakers and remarks cited here occurred during the public program and question-and-answer portions of the Faith & Blue event in Chelsea City.