Public Safety Oversight Committee

CITY OF NORMAN, OK PUBLIC SAFETY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Development Center, Room B, 225 N. Webster, Norman, OK 73069 Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 4:00 PM MINUTES It is the policy of the City of Norman that no person or groups of persons shall on the grounds of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, marital status, including marriage to a person of the same sex, disability, retaliation, or genetic information, be excluded from_ parUcipation in, be denied the benefits of, or qtherwise subjected to discrimination in employment activities or in all programs, services, or activities administered by the City, its recipients, sub-recipients, and contractors. In the event of any comments, complaints, modifications, accommodations, alternative formats, and auxiliary aids and services regarding accessibility or inclusion, please contact the ADA Technician at 405-366-5424, Relay Service: 711. To better serve you, five (5) business days' advance notice is preferred. ROLL CALL PRESENT Chairman Linda Price Committee Member Kyle Hurley Committee Member Lea Greenleaf Committee Member Mark Emerson Committee Member Russell Rice ABSENT Committee Member Kenny Orr Committee Member Ann Gallagher OTHERS Jason Smith, NFD Asst. Chief Kim Coffman, Budget Manager Jacob Huckabaa, Budget Technician Dannielle Risenhoover, Administrative Tech. IV Bill Scanlon, Citizen Major Chad Vincent, NPD Carolyn Glover, Communication Officer Ill Council member Michael Nash Olivia McCourry, Norman Transcript Justin Milner, NPS Asst. Superintendent PUBLIC SAFETY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE - Thursday, October 12, 2023 Pa ge 11 Chair Price called the meeting to order at approximately 4:00 PM. She welcomed everyone to the meeting. MINUTES 1. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL, REJECTION, AMENDMENT AND/OR POSTPONEMENT OF MINUTES FROM SEPTMEBER 14, 2023 Member Rice motioned to approve the September 14, 2023 Public Safety Oversight Committee minutes which was duly seconded by Member Hurley. The motion passed unanimously. Items submitted for the record: Citizens Public Safety Oversight Committee Minutes from September 14, 2023 REPORTS 2. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL, REJECTION, AMENDMENT AND/OR POSTPONEMENT OF MONTHLY FINANCIAL & ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT Kim Coffman gave the report. Coffman stated that year-to-date, "We are almost 7% below our budget projection for sales tax in the Public Sales Safety Tax Fund. Even though we're not quite meeting our budget target for this fiscal year, we're still way above where we've ever been before, so we're doing ok." Coffman stated that there hasn't been any progress on if Norman Public Schools (NPS) Board of Education is going to approve the School Resource Officer (SRO) payment that the City has projected for them to pay for the Fiscal Year 24. "We asked them (NPS) to pay half of the conservative estimate, is that correct?" Member Rice asked. Coffman replied, "We projected the SRO program would cost about $1.5 million in the current fiscal year and so we project NPS's share, if they paid 50% as they have in the past - which is not a requirement of the MOU, the requirement is just that they pay a share, if they were to pay half - it would be $766,361 in the current fiscal year. 11 On the expenditure side, Coffman says the City is still spending conservatively; however, they are still above their expenditure budget target due to the construction progress on the Emergency Communications Operations Center (ECOC) and the down payment that was made on the new aerial ladder for the Fire Department. "That skewed the target a little bit, but everything is still on track," Coffman said. There was a large purchase in the Fleet division in the sum of about $30,000 for parts, supplies and materials. There was also a $26,000 purchase in capital equipment for a vehicle lift. In the Fire Department, there was a large expenditure for the replacement of damaged bunker gear and wheels for unit 52. Two debt service payments are paid on the City's bond each year. The first payment of $1.19 million was paid in September. Sixty-three thousand dollars was also paid for design services for the ECOC project in September. PUBLIC SAFETY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE - Thursday, October 12, 2023 Pa ge I 2 Member Hurley asked how the City defines capital. Coffman replied, "Those are assets that are usually between $2,500 and $10,000 with a useful life of around five years or so; verses, capital projects which are things like a building or a road that is affixed to the earth." Coffman presented a draft copy of the Public Safety Oversight Committee's Annual Report, offering to make any changes that the Committee saw necessary. Member Greenleaf pointed out bullet point number three under "Major Issues". It was determined that the last sentence should read: "There is no alternative storage facility for these resources." This change was agreed upon by the Committee. Member Rice motioned to approve the Monthly Financial Report and to approve the Annual Financial Report as amended to include: There is "no" alternative storage facility for these resources. The motion was duly seconded by Member Hurley. Items submitted for the record: Monthly Financial Reports Annual Financial Report DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. MONTHLY UPDATES - FIRE DEPARTMENT Chief Jason Smith gave the update. There is a group of individuals going to the Sutton Fire Engineering manufacturing plant to do a final inspection on the first Sutton engine that the City ordered. While this group is there, they will be going over the specifications for the next Sutton engine that has been ordered. The contract for the Public Safety Study will go before Council on October 24. If approved, the study could be completed in six to eight months. "I think that (Public Safety Study) is going to have an impact. If we find out how many and where we would need new (fire) stations and have something planned in advance of how we could approach that into the capital budget, to me, that's a real critical factor for both police and fire and, I would think, be really important for the ISO rating too," said Member Price. Member Rice confirmed with Chief Smith that ISO ratings are what affects the cost of Homeowner's Insurance. Chief Smith stated that a rating of a one is the best rating. 4. STATUS OF NORMAN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER (SRO) PROGRAM Major Chad Vincent gave the update. Vincent stated that, "For the first time today, we got everyone around a table to really discuss, 'What does this (the School Resource Officer Program) look like for our community?'" The City Manager, City Council, Norman's Police Chief, the Cleveland County Sherriff, Norman Public School Superintendent Dr. Nick Migliorino, the Norman Public School Assistant Superintendent Justin Milner and City of Norman Finance personnel were all present. "We did come fon,vard with a PUBLIC SAFETY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE -Thursday, October 12, 2023 P"' g e I 3 proposal to add the last four (School Resource Officers) to complete the Public Safety Sales Tax (PSST) two," Vincent said. "I think the cool part about it was that every piece of this City cares about students and public safety and that is one thing that we all have been completely unified on and so, at this point, it's really about how do we figure out the money part of it?" As of October 9, 2023, the Sherriff's Department has a deputy in every elementary school. Norman Police Department currently employs eight School Resource Officers (SROs) and one SRO supervisor. The Police Department has an Academy starting in January 2024 with 13 open spots. Vincent said that they could add four more openings to their "application to hire" if the last four SRO positions are approved. He also said that the language in the SRO contract between Norman Public Schools (NPS) and the City of Norman never stated that payment for the SRO program was a 50/50 split. "I think what happens next is up to our community leaders to work through these processes to see what the funding actually looks like," Vincent said. Justin Milner, NPS Assistant- Superintendent, stated, "As far as next steps, I believe Council Member Holman mentioned that he anticipated that the four additional SROs outlined in the PSST would come back to Council for consideration and certainly, he had interest in that." Milner continued, "It's a scary time and we've got to make sure that we've got those protections. We never have said that SROs are the only way. It has always been an approach of layer. We understand that the threat is not just outside, it's inside as well. We have to have multiple layers. It's not just about hardening the structure. It's about having those trained individuals that are amongst our students - interacting with our students in a positive way. I applaud the incredible work that I got to inherit, stepping into this almost seven years ago, and seeing their concerted effort to make sure that we built an SRO program around the key principles and those were articulated in the MOU because we do understand that there were bad situations across our nation as it related to SROs. Just throwing someone in there, untrained and unprepared is not the answer and they knew that going into it. They knew relationships were key to the foundation of which this was built and we've never deviated from it since. Again, we make an ongoing effort to maintain that relationship with students in that protection and we are providing a high quality SRO program. That doesn't just happen. You have to be purposeful in that. I know the effort has been from Norman Police, it's certainly been from the school district in this partnership to ensure that, and now with the Sherriff's office who is not looking to take over, they're just trying to fill a gap while officers are trained and prepared." Member Hurley asked how other school districts collaborate with their city and county governments to ensure safety at public schools. Miler answered, "They've entered into various agreements with their city/county government body. To my knowledge, I'm not aware of any of them having an SRO at every site, so I think we may be the first at that. Many of them are focused on the secondary sites. They are in relationships similar, as far as payment. It's not always a 50/50." There are no indications right now that there will be increased funding from the State of Oklahoma for SRO services. Major Vincent stated, "The mental health challenges are off the charts. I can tell you right now, about half of what we do is mental health." According to Vincent, when most people PUBLIC SAFETY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE - Thursday, October 12, 2023 Page I 4 are in a mental health crisis, they don't get handcuffed. If they are acting as a physical threat to themselves or others, they would likely be handcuffed. Member Greenleaf asked if the SROs and the Sherriff Department share the same radio frequency. Vincent replied, "We are getting close. I believe the Sherriff has the radios, we just need to program them." Member Rice asked if the City could hire SROs without giving them vehicles. Vincent replied, "I think you certainly could. I think the other factor though is not having a car out front. That's a pretty big deterrent that would certainly be beneficial. You don't have to have that certainly, and I recognize that it's a big number that's sitting out there for those four. I would discourage going that direction just because a car is like their office." Kim Coffman added, "By the time they retire the Norman police vehicles they have hundreds of thousands of miles on them and they are about to fall apart and then to further complicate the issue of new vehicles, the nine SRO officers we have right now did not get additional vehicles. They're using part of the Police Department vehicle pool. I believe Chief Foster said that they're having to double up in some vehicles because they don't have enough vehicles anymore. I think that's why they're pushing for additional vehicles instead of just going to the pool for these additional officers." 5. MONTHLY UPDATES - POLICE DEPARTMENT Major Chad Vincent gave the update. Vincent stated that National Night out was a successful event that provided a chance for police officers to interact with the community. The call volume has been "busy" and recently included an incident that required dispatching the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team. Vincent says that City of Norman is partnered with the City of Moore and City of Oklahoma City SWAT Teams. All three cities came together on this call that ended peacefully. Out of 167 City of Norman Police Officers, 136 are deployable. Several officers have been getting injured on and off duty and some are on extended military deployments. There will be a police academy starting in June 2024. 7. MONTHLY UPDATES- DISPATCH Carolyn Glover, Communications Officer Ill, gave the report. Glover stated that the City of Norman City Clerk's office confirmed that Norman City Council did receive the public safety vehicle storage facility letter that was submitted by the Public Safety Oversight Committee. The Clerk's office also confirmed that Council has not taken any action regarding the letter and they have not requested that it be put on a study session agenda for discussion. The Communications Department does not have any employees in training at this time. The department has one individual that completed fire dispatch training last week but they're taking a break prior to starting police dispatch training. The department is currently down five employees. Communications Systems Supervisor, Andrea Lewis, has been working on recruiting qualified candidates. She has also been keeping applicants up-to- date on the hiring process. "You all know how long it takes to get someone hired; the PUBLIC SAFETY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE - Thursday, October 12, 2023 P~ g e [ 5 added communication will hopefully keep them (applicants) engaged, 11 Glover said. There are two hiring seminars taking place simultaneously. The first group of applicants will go through a third party background check and the second group of applicants will be assigned to dispatcher background investigators with the goal that five dispatchers can start at the same time. The University of Oklahoma (OU) has gained approval to join the City of Norman's Computer Aided Design (CAD) system. The University of Oklahoma's legal team and the City of Norman's legal team are currently working through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for this union. Glover stated, "The target date to go live is January 1, 2024." City of Norman Communication Systems Manager, Russell Anderson, has been asked to meet with Commissioner Rusty Grissom about consolidating communication systems once the Emergency Communications Operations Center (ECOC) is built. The Cleveland County Sherriff's Office (CCSO) radio expansion to south Cleveland County has been tentatively approved by the commissioners. Per Glover, "The hope is that Tusa is granted the contract. Tusa was our consultant and they are extremely familiar with our radio system. In the event that we do consolidate, this is a huge step towards interoperability." It is expected that City of Norman will bill CCSO $10/month for each radio they have tied to the City of Norman. It is also expected that CCSO will construct a site in south Cleveland County to expand the consolidated radio coverage. There has been no official update on the City of Moore joining the City of Norman's radio system. "Rumor has it that both Chief Gibson (Moore Police Department) and Chief Herbster (Moore Fire Department) prefer to join the Norman system over OKC,U Glover stated. 8. MONTHLY UPDATES - EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS OPERATIONS CENTER (ECOC) PROJECT & VEHICLE STORAGE FACILITY UPDATE Contractors at the Emergency Communications Operations Center are on schedule to pour the facility's concrete roof this month. Scott Rice Workspace Solutions has been chosen as the facility's furniture vendor. 9. ESTABLISH TOPICS FOR THE NOVEMBER 9, 2023 MEETING Major Chad Vincent asked that the School Resource Officer (SRO) statistical data be reviewed at the next meeting. 10. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL, REJECTION, AMENDMENT AND/OR POSTPONEMENT OF THE 2024 SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS Member Rice made a motion to approve the 2024 Schedule of Meetings which was duly seconded by Member Greenleaf. The motion passed unanimously. Items submitted for the record: Citizens Public Safety Oversight Committee 2024 Schedule of Meetings PUBLIC SAFETY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE - Thursday, October 12, 2023 Page I 6 MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS There were no miscellaneous comments. ADJOURNMENT Member Emmerson made a motion to adjourn the meeting which was duly seconded by Member Rice. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:30 PM. Linda Price, Chair Citizens Public Safety Oversight Committee PUBLIC SAFETY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE -Thursday, October 12, 2023 Pa ge 17