City council authorizes extension of consultant contract to advance public safety recommendations

Bellflower City Council on Feb. 24 authorized the city manager to execute Amendment No. 2 to Agreement File No. 1050 with PM Law Enforcement Consulting Services, keeping consultant Phil Marquez on the city's public safety review through the remainder of this fiscal year and into the next.

The contract extension is intended to continue review of contract sheriff operations, help guide implementation of recommendations from a January public safety assessment and support outreach to specific vendor programs identified by staff, city officials said.

City staff told the council the amendment preserves continuity on the work that began with the consultant in July 2024 and will let him continue as a liaison with the sheriff's department and certain technology vendors. “Some of the items which were identified specifically to give you examples…that came out of the assessment was the NetWatch program and the ShotSpotter program,” said Brian McNary, city staff working on public safety, adding that Mr. Marquez “has contacts with both of those vendors and I've had meetings with both of those vendors along with him as we go through this process.”

Council members pressed staff for the scope and timeline. McNary said Marquez will assist with initial vendor inquiries, advise on allocation of contracted sheriff minutes and other operational questions, and bring recommendations back to staff for further review. McNary and the city manager said they plan at least one progress update within six months: “Yes, you'll probably be seeing at least another one, maybe two more, sort of progress updates from myself coming back to this council with status updates,” McNary said.

City staff also noted one limited change to the contract paperwork: the staff report incorrectly named the mayor as the execution authority; staff asked the council to authorize the city manager to sign the amendment. The financial impact section in the staff report reflects a $2,500 reduction in the consultant's contract rate tied to a narrower reporting role; McNary said formal evaluation reports will flow through him rather than being returned to council by the consultant.

The motion, made by Mayor Pro Tem Sonny Santanez and seconded by Council Member Dan Coops, passed on a roll call vote with Council Member Victor Sanchez, Mayor Pro Tem Santanez, Council Member Coops, Council Member Wendy Morris and Mayor Dunton all voting aye.

Next steps: the city manager is authorized to execute Amendment No. 2 in the form approved by the city attorney, and staff will continue work on the assessment recommendations, vendor conversations and potential implementation steps identified in the January public safety assessment.