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Committee drops downtown business public-safety fee from report; clarifies DDA funding for two officer-equivalents
Summary
After extended debate, the committee removed a proposed public-safety (entertainment/business) fee from the draft report, and clarified a recommendation that DDA funds be used to support two additional police FTEs (plus a social worker) focused on high-call periods downtown rather than simply paying existing positions.
The committee discussed at length a proposal to recover some downtown public-safety costs from businesses that generate repeated calls for police or fire. The draft described using restricted funds before general-fund dollars and referenced an earlier entertainment/business fee based on occupancy or capacity.
Concerns raised: members said the fee could discourage emergency calls and noted downtown businesses already pay business-license fees and, in some cases, higher rates tied to capacity. The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has offered to fund two police officers and a social worker to provide more targeted response in busy downtown hours; committee members debated whether DDA funding should be used to pay for two additional FTEs (true new coverage) or to cover positions already funded by the general fund.
One committee member said, "If we're punishing a group for misbehavior, it ought to be the students...strict enforcement of ordinances and fines," while others stressed the DDA—s new funding could free general-fund dollars. The consensus outcome: the committee moved to remove the proposed public-safety fee from its report to city council and instead recommended that the city work with the DDA and police chief to ensure DDA funds support two additional officer-equivalents dedicated to downtown shifts and that staffing align with peak-call periods.
Next steps: staff to clarify how DDA funding will be applied, produce a staffing vs. funding timeline, and return with suggested language for the council report.
