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Public safety committee reviews police and fire staffing, Axon rollout and training schedule
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Summary
Police and fire officials updated the committee on hiring, a staged Axon equipment rollout (Outpost camera April 3; trainer-of-trainers June 3), and fire call-volume figures; staff said job descriptions and internal-transfer policies will be updated before posting.
The Ocean Shores Public Safety Committee heard staffing and equipment updates on March 17 as police and fire officials outlined hiring progress and a staged rollout for new Axon equipment.
Gusco, speaking for the police department, said the department's entry-level candidate Jaya Romero had cleared background checks and was "only pending the medical." He added a deputy-chief opening is similarly "only pending his medical," and a second entry-level candidate was scheduled for a polygraph after delays in the background report. "Once we're done with his medical, then we will package his file up and submit it to CJTC to get academy dates for him so that he can get started," Gusco said.
Gusco also said the department has about 90% of a large Axon order on hand and is scheduling installations and trainings in phases. "The first installation, which is gonna be the Outpost camera, that's gonna be the first one. That one will be installed on April 3," he said. He said evidence.com training for body cameras will begin with "the first iteration of training" the following morning and that a trainer-of-trainers session is scheduled for June 3. Gusco estimated a full taser and new body-camera rollout would likely occur in June.
The committee was told the department will revise its monthly-statistics sheet to provide clearer quantification of patrol activity and that Gusco will update an outdated lateral-transfer policy before posting job descriptions in the city format for positions including detective and traffic officer.
Fire Chief Ritter reported one firefighter/paramedic vacancy; five lateral applicants are testing and the assistant chief position remains open. Ritter said a national reporting change from NFIRS to NEARIS has complicated the department's interface with ImageTrend, affecting how calls are logged and reported. "We ran 316 total calls for last year," Ritter said, listing 886 city transports and 1,199 non-transports, for a combined city total of 2,098. He also said the department recorded 25.9% multiple-call incidents and March-to-date figures of 114 calls with 17 doubles, two triples and one quad.
Committee members asked whether hiring and transfers were budgeted; a committee member said the positions discussed were budgeted. Gusco said the department would ensure any policy changes conformed with existing rules and bargaining agreements.
No formal votes or motions were taken. Committee members said finalized job descriptions, policy updates and training schedules will be brought forward as staff complete required steps.
The committee adjourned at 05:26.
