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Committee weighs citizen police and fire board to create long-term plans
Summary
Members discussed creating a police and fire committee or citizen board to craft long-term (3–10 year) plans on recruitment, retention and departmental priorities; chiefs indicated support for planning help, and members requested legal parameters and council oversight before moving forward.
The committee discussed forming a police-and-fire advisory committee or board to help the departments develop long-term goals and funding plans. One committee member said police and fire are among the city’s largest budgets and argued the departments would benefit from a standing body that could track multi-year objectives rather than addressing priorities only at annual negotiations.
Committee members reported speaking with both Chief Young and Chief Cantrell, who expressed interest in a structure that would help with long-range planning (recruitment, retention and funding). Members debated whether council members should sit on such a body or whether it should be a citizen-led board with council oversight; multiple speakers emphasized they did not want the board to micromanage daily operations.
No action item was passed; members said they would seek guidance from the city attorney on appropriate structure, membership and whether council approval would be required for appointments.
