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City outlines expansion of behavioral-health response units and concedes district-level fire response disparities
Summary
Phoenix staff told the subcommittee they are expanding behavioral health units and crisis response teams, aiming for 24/7 BHU dispatch by March 31, 2025 and full CR/BHU staffing by 2026–2026/2026–2026/2026; councilmembers pressed fire officials about large disparities in district call volumes and response times and asked for a February written report with district breakdowns.
City officials updated the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee on the Community Assistance Program's behavioral health and crisis response efforts and on fire department staffing and response-time disparities.
Deputy City Manager Ginger Spencer introduced the Community Assistance Program (CAP) update and said the city has created a multidisciplinary team chaired by Deputy City Manager Gina Montes to coordinate responses that include police, fire and human services.
Assistant Chief Ray Ochoa said the city is pursuing a goal of 10 crisis response (CR) teams and 9 behavioral health units (BHU). He described staffing targets and recruitment results from a November 2024 hiring…
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