Tomball police propose corporal to lead mental‑health outreach, request recruitment and dispatcher support

The Tomball Police Department asked council to reclassify a police officer into a corporal position to codify supervision for a mental‑health and homelessness outreach program that has routed dozens of people to services over the past year.

"We've taken about 60‑plus people per year that we come across who are experiencing homelessness… we've placed about 20 to 25 people now into facilities where they have not had to come back to Tomball," the chief said, describing outcomes from a coordinated tablet-based referral program. The chief said four officers have received mental-health and crisis-response training and recommended codifying a supervisory corporal to coordinate the program and provide consistent oversight.

Council discussed recruitment challenges and the department's plan to sponsor recruits through the police academy to improve hiring; the chief said sponsorships could remove the $6,000 financial barrier for potential recruits. On dispatch, staff requested adding an additional dispatcher to reduce heavy 12‑hour shift fatigue and overtime (current overtime budget cited ~ $154,000); council asked staff to provide a direct cost comparison between ongoing overtime and adding positions.

Council did not vote immediately on personnel requests during this meeting and asked staff for detailed fiscal comparisons and budget-line clarifications before any final personnel approvals.