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Bloomington reports staffing gains, expands crisis-response options
Summary
Mayor Carrie Thompson and public-safety chiefs said Bloomington has sharply improved police and fire staffing, expanded a mobile integrated health response that handled at least 220 calls last year, and will study alternative 911 responses with LEAP.
Mayor Carrie Thompson and Bloomington public-safety leaders on March 31 highlighted staffing gains and expanded nonpolice crisis response as part of efforts to stabilize public safety while the city pursues broader care options.
Fire Chief Roger Kerr II said the Bloomington Fire Department reached full staffing in September 2025 for the first time in nearly a decade and completed major safety and cancer-prevention upgrades at Fire Station 3. “We also completed long overdue improvements to Fire Station 3,” Kerr said, describing renovations meant to improve firefighter safety and operations.
Police Chief Michael Deoff told the council the police department is staffed at 94 of 105 authorized positions and expects to approach about 96% authorized staffing as candidates move through the board-of-safety process. “As staffing stabilizes, we are beginning to see improvements across our community,” Deoff said, citing reductions in property and weapons-involved crimes in 2025.
Thompson described the city’s mobile integrated health program (MI) — led by community paramedics — that provides on-scene screening, vaccinations and follow-up care and helps connect people to mental-health and substance-use resources. “MI handled at least 220 unique responses last year,” the mayor said.
The administration said the city has embedded a mental-health professional in central dispatch and will launch an analysis, with the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), of how an alternative response model could be integrated into 911. The mayor said the review will analyze calls and community resources to “identify where alternative responses can expand while still maintaining strong, fully capable police and fire presence for the most urgent public safety needs.”
Thompson and the chiefs framed the moves as part of a broader strategy to match responses to need: some situations require enforcement, while others require medical, mental-health, or social services.
The city plans to present findings on one reviewed contract (flock cameras) to council on April 15 and said it will continue to prioritize deployment decisions based on data and community input.
The council adjourned after the mayor’s remarks; no formal vote on public-safety policy occurred during the session.
