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Council reviews Civilian Review Board budget as temporary-services line rises
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Summary
Syracuse City Council reviewed the Civilian Review Board budget and questioned a rise in temporary-services spending tied to payments for outside investigators in the Freeland investigation; CRB leaders said the increase funds part-time staff and outside contract work, and noted a pending appointment that would fill the board.
Syracuse City Council members met with Civilian Review Board representatives to review the CRB’s budget and to ask about a marked increase in the temporary-services line.
The council chair opened the discussion by introducing CRB representatives and asking for their remarks. Tom, the CRB chairman, said he had reviewed the budget and that “it looks very good,” adding he had no major suggestions at this time. The chair agreed with that assessment and noted investigations are currently paused but that the council would likely retain investigation-related budget lines "just in case."
Council members focused on a jump in the temporary-services line from 10 to 31. A CRB representative said the increase reflected part-time staffing, identifying Don Johnson as a part-time position funded from that line. Tom said some of those dollars are also allocated to the Freeland investigation and that outside investigators had been used on prior cases, which drove increases in professional-services spending. As Tom put it, "Freeland investigation is an outside security company."
The council asked about board membership and quorum. CRB representatives said the board currently has a vacancy but that a nomination by Corey for the final seat is pending council validation; once validated the board would be at a full 11 members. The CRB also noted one member had missed multiple sessions and the council said it would follow up.
Members asked about training and who had attended recent conferences. CRB staff said paid staff attended a conference in Brooklyn and that the board’s data analyst had taken advantage of trainings; because many board members are new since January, the CRB is still determining which trainings are most appropriate and has not yet spent much of the training budget.
The council chair confirmed four paid CRB staff. The meeting record shows the CRB and council exchanged public thanks for the council’s support over the past year. The chair moved to adjourn and declared the meeting adjourned; the transcript contains no recorded roll-call vote on that motion.
Next steps: council validation of the pending appointment was noted as an outstanding action; the CRB and council did not adopt or amend budget line items during the recorded discussion.
