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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/21/2010 04B Minutes 08-18-2010 Council Public Safety Committee 4 8 • Council Public Safety Committee CED Conference Room City Hall August 18, 2010 MINUTES Council Committee Members Present' Maureen Adkison, Kathy Coffey and Bill Lover Staff present Dick Zais, Sam Granato, Tom Foley, Cynthia Martinez, Michael Morales, Chris Waarvick, Terri Croft. Coffey called the meeting to order at 3 00 I Gang Free Initiative Update The steering committee has been discussing their goals and begun recruiting and /or deciding on members for the sub committees Seven proposals were received for the coordinator contract. Those were reviewed and three were selected for interviews All three finalists are local and have experience The contractor selected will report to Merryman and the Steering Committee fio Granato advised that he has been in meetings with the ACLU to work on anti -gang legislation A community round table was held on August 18, which was beneficial in networking and creating contacts in the gang -free effort. He also advised that Yakima County has experienced an increase in gang activity due to the displacement effect of the City of Yakima's gang emphasis patrols The next anti -gang federal grant/earmark for $500,000 has made it through the first cut in the Senate Morales will follow up to ensure the City of Yakima has expressed interest in the funding II Work Crews /Report from Matthews on Community Service Programs Martinez provided an overview of the Tacoma work crew program This program is used by defendants to pay off court fines and is not an inmate work crew program The program is very popular, as there is a heavy emphasis in Tacoma on paying fines (arrest warrants are issued for non - payment of fines) The program is for non - violent misdemeanor violators, however scheduling of work crew members can still be an issue Their program is a separate city division and is staffed by two retired law enforcement officers Lover stated the request for additional information on work crews was to see how our current ONDS work program might be expanded and if there would be any savings, rather than to create a new work crew program Morales explained some of the restrictions ONDS has on it's federal funding that make expanding the program difficult. 0 Waarvick reviewed the FTE trend analysis for Parks and Recreation Since 2000, Parks Division has gone from 28 63 FTE's to 23 10 There are two additional position that were removed mid -year in 2010, making the total 21 1 FTE's carrying into 2011 Coffey asked if the work crew issue should be referred to another committee or if the issue should be tabled due to current budget restrictions The committee questioned if "volunteers" who are fined by the court could be assigned to work with current park employees without requiring additional supervision Waarvick was asked to enquire with the court to see if a coordinated effort could be run on a trial basis III Information Items Granato provided the committee with the Police Department Monthly report. The report indicates a drop in crime Some expenditures on emphasis overtime and having public defenders at arraignments has given large returns in jail cost savings and the immeasurable peace in the city The Yakima Housing Authority officer has been selected and started his assignment. Lover was impressed with the numbers that Block Watch is providing Granato also advised that PAL has hired John Ward as the new director of PAL programs The committee asked about the Wapato jail expenditures and why that number was high The reason is that the majority.of the city's female prisoners are housed at Wapato Granato also advised that we will be working with Union Gap again to provide housing for their inmates at the Yakima City Jail, due to available beds in our jail There was a brief update on the Regional Fire Authority, primarily to state there are several jurisdictions that are not interested in forming a regional authority Code and Fire inspection realignment is being deferred due to budget issues The committee's current focus will continue to be the Gang Free Initiative, crime suppression, budget and legislation The meeting was adjourned at 4 00 p m at IA4:11 .P Kathy Coffe Public Safety Committee Minutes prepared by Terri Croft