Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/05/2010 08B Minutes 10-22-2009 Council Public Safety Committee B • Council Public Safety Committee CED Conference Room City Hall October 22, 2009 MINUTES Council Members Present: Maureen Adkison, Dave Ed ler and Sonia Rodriguez The meeting was called to order by Adkison at 3:30 p.m. Report regarding street closures and notices to affected parties Joan Davenport updated the committee on the transfer of the street closure permit approval process from the Police Department to the Permit Center. Staff is currently' working on the ordinance revision necessary to make this transfer and it will be before the full council on November 3. EMS Levy Chief Hines provided statistics on the current EMS levy rates and what the City of Yakima uses the levy funds for. The City needs to decide if they want to stay in the County EMS levy or go for a City-only levy, determine what the levy level request should be, and if the levy should be a 6 year, 10 year or permanent levy. Part of this discussion and decision needs to be what will meet the City's needs and what can pass a vote. Based on the last EMS levy vote, it's unsure if the City would be successful in passing a City-only EMS levy. If it is the decision to run a separate, City-only levy, but it would need to be on a separate ballot as a County levy. Other issues are the disbursement formula, that the rural agencies have a great deal of • reserve funds due to being volunteer agencies. Another option being considered is the creating of a Fire Authority that allows for departments and districts to combine. III. Apparatus Replacement • Deputy Fire Chief Bob Stewart reported on the status of fire apparatus. The department currently has 4 engines that are over 19 years old, have the equivalent of 400,000 miles on them and are in constant need of repair. He proposed a cycle for replacement of equipment, to be paid for by a fire bond — a voter approved property tax. The proposed bond would be 10-12 years to fund equipment as needed. Historically, equipment replacement has been funded out of the 40 general fund. Staff will put together numbers to bring back to the committee. IV. Street Lights • Joe Rosenlund, Street and Traffic Operations Manager, presented a report on costs to light two neighborhood parks that have been identified in high -crime neighborhoods that do not have adequate lighting. McGuiness Park would cost $7900 for 7 lights and 5 poles, and Mariposa Park would cost $3300 for 3 lights and 2 poles. Funds for these projects have identified in the Police Capital budget. Rodriguez asked if they had worked with the Police Department to identify gang areas. Chief Granato advised that the area around McGuiness Park in particular has seen gang activity. Chief Granato also advised that lighting aids in crime prevention and reduction. Adkison asked if there are funds to complete this project given the current budget reductions. Granato advised that funds had been identified in the Law and Justice Capital budget as a one time expense. The committee was advised this was an update to a previous request and no vote was required. Staff is moving forward on making these upgrades. Edler expressed concern with the piece -meal approach to the issue rather than having a comprehensive plan. V. 2010 Budget Revisions for Public Safety Zais and DeBord updated the committee on the continuing analysis of the 2010 budget and projected revenues. An additional revenue reduction was identified in the area of interest earnings. There was an increase in the projection for sales tax which offset the effect to some extent. The overall revenue reduction required an additional $200,000 in reductions, which has been distributed across the priorities of government model. The committee was updated on additional measures to reduce jail costs, including an opportunity to purchase off another electronic home monitoring contract. Rodriguez advised she would still like to see EHM conducted on a sliding scale to allow as many people as are eligible to utilize the program. It was MOVED by Edler and SECONDED by Adkison to move these recommendations to the full Council with the support of the committee. Motion PASSED unanimously. Staff advised that the reduction in the hours of service in the Municipal Court due to the staff reduction in their division has resulted in reduced revenue opportunities. Revenues are down by about half currently. Edler asked the committee members how much of a push they felt they should be making as a committee to protect the interests of the committee. Cuts are being made in accordance with the priorities of government model, and as public safety is one of the largest and most difficult parts of the budget, the cuts seem "deeper," Edler expressed a concern about balancing the cuts and maintaining public safety. He also expressed a concern about insulating the community from the impact of the cuts based on the funding decisions they have made, and does not feel the City can continue to provide the same level of services at current budgeting levels. 0 VI. Records Management System DeBord gave a brief history of the integrated RMS project for Public Safety. The project chairs agreed to let the City of Yakima "go first" in obtaining the system due to Yakima having the greatest need. They also feel the vendor is making every effort to accommodate all the participating agencies. VII. Panhandling Anna McFaul updated the committee on the City of Yakima's law that prohibits "aggressive panhandling", which is fairly narrow. She researched other cities broader anti-panhandling laws. The citizen complaints seem to stem from frustration of seeing . the same panhandlers in the same locations like it's their job. VIII. Other Issues Granato spoke to the committee regarding the Crime Free Rental Housing Program and the recent letter that has been sent by Joe Adams of the Yakima Valley Landlord's Association. Granato advised a report is being prepared in response to the letter for the Council's information, and stressed the value of the program. Granato also discussed some ideas for Internet gang intelligence sharing. Rodriguez 1 has been organizing community meetings to create an effective anti-gang strategy that this would tie in with Legal and privacy issues regarding putting addresses and photos of gang members on the website need to be researched and addressed. Adkison requested that the committee members advise each other of any initiatives that appear to be coming out of committee/sub committees so that all can be prepared for any questions that may come up. IX. Adjournment • ' The Meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m. , ,/ d i--- s&P ----- dt, . Maureen Adkison , Public Safety Committee Minutes prepared by Terri Croft