City Council Committee Agendas

September 1, 2021 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING Attendees: Council Members: Chair Person Mark Hulst, Melissa Beaton, Richard Brocksmith, Iris Carias, Mary Hudson, Gary Molenaar, Juan Morales City Representatives: Police Chief Chris Cammock, Fire Chief Bryan Brice, Project Development Manager Peter Donovan, Lieutenant Mikel Moore, Records Manager Jennifer Messina • Called to Order: 6:00 PM • Order of Business: o Motions to approve meeting minutes from June 2021 o 1st Councilmember Hudson, 2nd Councilmember Beaton o Motion approved • Police Chief Chris Cammock introduced the two speakers from the police department for the evening • Records Manager Jennifer Messina gave an update on the Records Department o Additional half employee has been a big help with the increased demands o Records Statistical info during Covid was shared  Purging increased while warrant entries were down  Concealed Pistol Licenses and Firearm Background checks both spiked o Body Worn Camera projected impact on the Records Department  Looking at software to help reduce man-hours for PDRs  Other agencies have reported as much as a 745% increase in requests for BWC video after the first year they have them. With requests increasing further after that.  Need to do a fee study to know how much to charge for the requests for non- involved parties. o Property Bar Code Scan Module is now in place reducing entry redundancy and improving efficiencies for property storage and tracking LiveScan is also in place  New fingerprinting system that has quick returns and allows for social distancing  Volunteers are now being trained on the system to allow Records personnel to focus on current tasks. o Permitium has been put into place on the City website  Portal allows for electronically submitting applications and scheduling fingerprinting appointments  Credit card payments can be accepted through the new system  Customers can also track the process • Lieutenant Mikel Moore gave a presentation on Body Worn Cameras (BWC) o Introduction and explanation of House Bill 1223 to explain why BWC are the best option  o Researched with other departments who currently have BWC.  Complaints down 88%  Use of Force down 79%  Guilty pleas up 20%  Officer time in court reduced 70% o Compared two top vendors – Motorola and Axon  Axon has more desirable features and options • Evidence.com o All videos will be downloaded to this system including current digital media o Prosecutors can have direct access • Citizens for Communities o Citizens can upload any videos/images they have to a link given by an officer or department • Redaction assistant o Will blur screens in video and up to 20 faces • Offers Taser 7 (CEW) units with the BWC o House Bill 1310 requires less lethal options to be used o Activation of CEW will initiate BWC o When CEW is docked for charging, it will automatically download all data o Includes everything required over the life of the CEW – The unit, chargers, holsters, duty cartridges, and practice cartridges • Will replace cameras at 2.5 and 5 year marks. o Program cost is $541,745 over a 5 year span  Price can go up $2124/year for any additional officer above the current count  Half of the cost is what we would spend on video storage and redaction software  Approximately $104,000 will be recovered replacing existing digital evidence software and outdated TASER equipment.  The State is slated to pay $140,000 to help with the cost. • Good of the Order o Project Development Manager Peter Donovan  Skagit PUD has requested ARPA Funding assistance to cover some PUD utility bills for low and moderate income Mount Vernon residents that are 30+ days behind on paying their bills. • At least 1000 customers have been identified • Funds could be distributed through Community Action to the customers  Different funding options discussed.  Peter will ask PUD two questions from Council and report back for further discussion • Meeting Adjourned: 7:02 PM