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City staff report: code compliance, animal control and police give annual updates amid staffing challenges
Summary
Deputy chief presents code compliance workload and recent changes to enforcement timelines; animal control highlights volunteer support, licensing and adoption statistics; police report gives 2025 totals (population ~40,638; ~28,000 calls into dispatch; ~54,000 incidents) and describes staffing pressures and response-time performance.
City staff delivered annual reports on code compliance, animal control and police operations during the July 21 meeting.
Deputy chief (code compliance) said the code team has three staff responsible for roughly 18 square miles and about 40,000 residents. He described a shortened enforcement timeline that moves more quickly from warnings to citations and said voluntary compliance handles the majority of cases: "94% of the cases that we develop are handled through voluntary compliance," he said. Staff noted constraints when weeks or months have low staffing and described administrative burdens such as locating rental-property owners and attending court dockets.
Animal control reported broad volunteer support (roughly four volunteers on site daily during peak hours and 2,600 volunteer hours in 2025), described adoption and reunification rates (e.g., 46% returned to owner, 43% adopted or placed with rescues), and said there is no citywide breed ban even though the shelter limits adoption of certain breeds for safety reasons. The department noted 372 animals returned to owners and 347 adopted in 2025 and highlighted low-cost vaccination clinics in partnership with a local veterinary partner.
The police department presented 2025 statistics showing population growth (city population reported at about 40,638), staffing levels (averaging 48 sworn officers during much of 2025), roughly 28,000 calls to communications and about 54,000 total incidents handled citywide, with an average response time under 8 minutes. The police chief stressed proactive policing, clearance-rate performance among midsized cities and the department's mental-health and fugitive-apprehension units. Staff emphasized staffing and training pressures and said they will continue recruitment and interagency assistance for communications coverage.
Council thanked staff and recognized volunteer contributions; no policy changes or votes resulted from these reports, but the presentations will inform upcoming budget and staffing discussions.
