City Council Committee Agendas

Public Safety Meeting August 2, 2017 Minutes: The June minutes were approved (1st by Hudson, 2nd by Lindquist) I. Fire Chief Brice Community Outreach o Fire Department had a booth at Children’s Festival with the theme “Know Your Meeting Place”. Well attended and had the longest lines. o Future outreach events include Skagit County Fair, Downtown Trick or Treat, an Open House at Station 3 on October 14th, and the Christmas Parade. II. Animal Control Emily Den Hartog Update o Animal calls 2nd most reported complaint – 44% US households have a dog. o 1277 Animal calls in 2016, 100 Agency Messages, 165 dogs impounded, and 114 were returned to owners. o Complaint type varies by season o New kennel is a great asset saving time and money. Fewer dogs taken to Humane Society. So far this year only 9 dogs have been taken to Humane Society, last year a total of 23. o Mount Vernon COPP volunteers are now able to help with animal care on the weekends, freeing up patrol officer time. o Emily spoke of a success story of a malnourished dog that was rescued and now happy and healthy. o Working on updating animal licensing and make getting a license easier for the public – possibly online options. o Looking for additional ways to interact positively with the community. III. Police Chief Dodd Update o 2016 Annual Report provided to all council members o Personnel update – staffing levels past 11 years we have been at 45 commissioned officers while Mount Vernon population has grown by 17.5%.  Mount Vernon Police Department officers per 1000 is 1.33, national average is 2.39 o Calls for service (trespass, disorderly, and vagrancy related) are going up. o To determine staffing levels review:  Number of calls  Population/density  Type of population (age)  Response time o We stack calls and prioritize calls requiring emergency response. Non-emergent calls are held until availability of officer and 911 advises complainants when officers could be delayed. May call on other agencies to assist in these circumstances. o Other considerations:  Policy  Prosecutor requirements  Probation restrictions   Monitor overtime and evaluate monthly  Trends in Criminal Justice, i.e. DUI processing takes longer now than it did previously. More cars are impounded for search warrants, taking officer away from road duties for search warrants. o Challenges  Finding qualified candidates  Current employees out due to injuries  Increase in aggravated assaults  Homelessness/mental issues  Changes in laws  Higher public expectations – mediation  Community parents – officers requested by parents to speak to youths o Mark Hulst - Suggested 1 officer in 2018 and the following two years one each. o Chief Dodd - Ideally 3 would be good so we could run 8 officers per shift. To provide 1 officer for a 24 hour period requires 5.4 to 5.7 officers. Currently we are on mandatory overtime. Historically the power shift would cover the times when we get the most calls. Recently, typically low call volume timeframes have changed. o Mark Hulst – I would like to see one additional officer for 2018. Discussion about availability of School Resource Officers in summer for coverage and/or possibly Community Service Officers in the school role. o Chief Dodd – The community relationship is stronger with a SRO commissioned officer versus a non-commissioned employee, and SRO is responsible for investigations at school. Schools prefer having a commissioned officer as well. o Mayor Boudreau – Possibly look at CSOs (if non-violent issues) to assist with more types of calls, so conversation is not lost. o Mark Hulst – If we don’t fund it, we can’t get there, we must put it in the budget to get there. o Joe Lindquist – Injuries hits home with me. Supportive. o Bob Fiedler – Council has to fund it. o Budget discussion about how to use additional property tax revenue. One Patrol Officer approved for 2018. o Chief Dodd – Personnel Update  Patrol Officer Robinson will be solo in 2 weeks  Patrol Officer Pash is out of the academy and will be ready in 1-2 months  Outreach Coordinator Von fempe is doing well, lots of good work.  Records Manager Messina doing well  Sergeant Assessment interviews with the top three candidates, will announce soon and promote effective in September or October.  Currently down 2 Records Specialists, 3 Police Officers, and 1 Sergeant which are all in progress  Still trying to fill one traffic spot  Update of some problem areas and action taken to improve.  Will fill the Part-Time Property position that will be open as a result of upcoming retirement.  o Discussion of 2017 Medal of Honor Ceremony on 05-05-17. This was the first time in history Mount Vernon Police Department was honored by the Governor. Officers honored were Sgt. Lindberg, Sgt. Don, Officer McClaughry, Detective Green, Detective Jones, Officer Paul, and Officer Payne from Burlington PD. o We will have a department awards ceremony in which McClaughry will receive the Purple Heart. o Crime reporting changed in 2012 and is now Group A and Group B offenses. Criminal behavior has dropped, but lots of social issues. Vagrancy related complaints from January through July of this year total 484. Approximately 64 calls per month. Calls for service that are vagrancy related:  Welfare Checks 23.01%  Removals 66.74%  Trespassing 42.99%  Disorderly Conduct 36.56% o Bob Fieldler asked if it was the same group of people over and over. Yes. o Chief Dodd – Von fempe has helped several people to recovery. She has gotten 8 on the list for housing and 1-2 she has placed. o Mayor Boudreau – Number of calls have increased, the amount of work that goes into this type of issue is astounding. o Discussion about when police can intervene with transients in public areas. Police must be careful, only remove if violating a law or blocking ingress/egress. Some crimes must be done in presence of an officer to arrest. o Von fempe has helped 87 people of which 72% have a substance abuse or mental health problem, 3 needed serious wound care. o Vagrants are coming here because they feel safe. o Priorities for 2017 – finding qualified staff, changing zone deployment to identify individually. o Top 5 Challenges o Hiring o Fill Temporary Assignments o Homelessness o Gang emphasis o Focus on hot spots o Preparatory Academy – 14 years now we have had the Preparatory Academy which is fun for the students and the officer instructors. o I-5 Jumper – Have had four to five in the past 2 years which is a concerning trend. Typically an incident like this runs 5 to 6 hours and causes traffic issues, also large semi- trucks on the roads that aren’t built for that type of traffic. The ones who jump are the ones Von fempe is dealing with, people who are out of hope. o Carbon monoxide leaks in Ford Interceptors. Installing sensors in all Fords and Gary is doing more vehicle inspections so employees stay safe. IV. Mayor Boudreau – Met with Carl Bruner about the appraisal process, we want to move forward. Meeting Adjourned 7:26