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Committee debates proposed Department of Public Safety; budget-neutral start proposed, decision tabled for 30 days
Summary
Mayor and staff recommended creating a Department of Public Safety to coordinate police, fire and other city resources; the finance committee discussed funding, overtime eligibility and chain-of-command concerns and voted to table the item for 30 days for further review and community input.
Mayor Maddox and city staff presented a proposal to create a Department of Public Safety that would centralize coordination among police, fire and other city departments. The mayor described the proposal as “about making our neighborhood safer,” and staff said the initial phase would be cost neutral to the general fund by reallocating existing ambulance franchise revenues and eliminating vacant positions.
Maddox told the committee the proposal is meant to provide unified command for major events, improve 9-1-1 integration and emergency operations management, and centralize planning and training. “This is about making our neighborhood safer,” he said. He said the city handles many major events — staff cited roughly 50 major events last year and 75 days of enhanced security — and that a daily public-safety coordinator could improve command and control during complex incidents.
City staff presented an initial budget figure for the office. The presentation described a total startup budget of $359,652, of which $259,652 was described as salary, benefits and overtime, and $100,000 for vehicles, laptops and furniture. Staff proposed offsetting the cost with ambulance franchise revenue that the city receives from its exclusivity agreement with Northstar and by eliminating two vacant positions (an auxiliary officer position and a vacant patrol position). Standridge said the franchise contract generates about $180,000 annually and that the city typically banks roughly $120,000 of that revenue each year.
Committee members asked about the scope and authority of a public safety director, overtime eligibility and whether the city would hire internally or perform a national search. Miss Kemp and others said they wanted more time to study the governance and operational consequences; one council member noted the creation of a public safety director would be difficult to dismantle later. Several members voiced support for improved coordination and training; others raised doubts about whether a new layer of management would address chronic staffing shortages in the police department.
After extended discussion, a council member moved to table the item for 30 days to gather additional community input and information; the motion to table carried on voice vote. The committee did not adopt the proposed budget or create the position at this meeting.
