Council approves second homeless-liaison officer to expand seven-day coverage

Beaumont — The Beaumont City Council approved an additional police position to create a second homeless-liaison officer, enabling seven-day enforcement coverage in response to rising regional homeless populations.

Request and rationale

Lieutenant Lund presented the request, saying neighboring jurisdictions have increased enforcement and that recent displacements have led to increased encampment activity in Beaumont. Lund said the new position would primarily provide weekend coverage and help address increased contacts and enforcement needs in commercial and retail areas.

"This would be considered one of our existing homeless liaison officers — a second one — it would be open to our officers and then we would backfill patrol positions," Lund said, describing internal posting and backfill procedures.

Budget and staffing

Staff said the position for the remainder of the current fiscal year could be funded from salary savings and that sustaining the position in future budgets had been discussed and could be accommodated. Council asked about duplicate counting in contact data and whether an individual could appear multiple times in different categories; staff acknowledged that some duplication is possible but said total contact numbers have increased.

Action

Council moved to add one police officer position to the FY25–26 budget and approve a $70,000 personnel-budget adjustment to fund the position for the remainder of the current fiscal year; the motion passed by unanimous roll call.

Next steps

Staff will post internally for the liaison position, backfill patrol roles, and monitor costs and outcomes tied to the expanded enforcement coverage.