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Office of Community Safety outlines FY26 pillars; council debates microgrants and youth pilot
Summary
City staff presented the Office of Community Safety’s FY26 priorities — mental‑health co‑response, community-based violence intervention (CVI), homelessness risk reduction, youth opportunities and administrative programming — and discussed microgrant funding, a 90‑day youth pilot, and rebranding PD CARES to a street-engagement model.
City staff presented a first-year work plan for the Office of Community Safety (OCS), outlining five pillars for FY26: mental-health response, community-based violence intervention, homelessness risk reduction, youth opportunities and administrative capacity building.
Michelle Gaines, program manager for OCS, told council the office will start a co‑response study (coordinating mental‑health professionals with police) in the second or third quarter of FY26 to evaluate models for field-based mental-health response. Gaines said the study will inform future implementation choices.
The OCS will also partner with national organizations to develop a sustained community-based violence-intervention (CVI) strategy and will rebrand the PD CARES team into a formal street-engagement unit inside OCS to improve connections between unsheltered individuals and services.
Youth programming: OCS plans a 90‑day summer youth pilot developed with Economic & Community Development and Parks & Recreation to provide late-evening, structured options tied to the youth-protection/curfew task force. Staff said the pilot is one component of a broader strategy and that the full cost of youth‑focused strategies may exceed the limited microgrant line item in the proposed budget.
Microgrants: Alex Baker of Economic & Community Development explained the microgrant program — typically $130,000 annually, split into two $50,000 rounds plus administration — and noted close to the full allocation has been awarded in current cycles. Several councilors asked staff to consider increasing microgrant funding to $200,000 to expand doorbell camera, community speed‑sentry and neighborhood safety equipment programs.
Ending: Council asked staff to return with detailed cost estimates and program designs for the 90‑day youth pilot, the microgrant expansion, and how the rebranded PD CARES will be integrated into OCS.
