City Council

Minutes of the Public Safety Meeting Troy City Council February 28, 2017 6:00 PM The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Council Chair Ashe-McPherson Pledge of Allegiance-All Roll Call: Council Chair Ashe-McPherson, Council members Donohue, Bodnar, Sullivan-Teta, McGrath, Chief Tedesco and Chief Garrett. In attendance were Council President Mantello, Council members Kopka, Gulli, Doherty, Mayor Madden, Deputy Mayor Kurzejeski, Deputy Chief Van Bramer, Deputy Chief McAvoy, Assistant Fire Chief McMahon, Deputy Comptroller Piotrowski and Chris Wheland. Council Chair Ashe-McPherson asked Chief Garrett to go over overtime. Deputy Comptroller Piotrowski referred to a handout titled Fire Department Overtime Analysis. Deputy Comptroller Piotrowski stated the regular overtime for 1st Quarter 2017 is down and the total for the 1st Quarter 2017 for minimum manning is up and this will result in combined total savings of $19,000. Ashe-McPherson asked Chief Garrett about the use of fire trucks to the supermarkets. Chief Garrett stated it is in there policy and no personal business is allowed. Chief Tedesco states that ERT is back and they are looking to add members to the team. Council member asked how many are currently on the team. Chief Tedesco stated there eleven and they are looking to get add at least two. Chief Tedesco addressed the School Resource Officers (SRO’s). Chief stated the COPS program is being eliminated from the Federal government and that is where the grant is from. He further stated the program will cease at the end of June and the Mayor is speaking with school districts. Mayor Madden stated no grant opportunities are available yet and he is not sure if there will be any money. The Mayor stated he will come back to the committee if there is no money as there needs to be a discussion with Council, School districts and the administration. Council member McGrath stated the school districts have to be asked how important it is for them to have an SRO as the school districts have their own budgets. Council member Bodnar stated he made it clear the budget process that the schools have to step up. Council Chair Ashe-McPherson addressed the request of Council member Donohue’s request for the CSO’s to issue tickets. Council member Donohue stated this will enhance code enforcement and sees this as a possibility to enhance the duties of the CSO’s especially as for litter. Chief Tedesco stated he would be opposed as it is violation of the job description and they are not trained and are not authorized by law to issue tickets. Council Chair Ashe-McPherson asked about the table of organization and Chief Tedesco stated they have added more officers to each shift and are able to maintain the same number of detectives. Chief Tedesco further stated there are four officers undergoing field training and there are seven officers in the academy. Council Chair Ashe-McPherson asked about the officers walking through downtown and the Chief responded they currently do have officers in downtown but not full time at this point. Council President Mantello asked about the enhanced traffic enforcement and the Chief stated do a great job and for the record he would like to congratulate the men and woman in all of the departments as they do an outstanding job and as the Chief he is proud of them and they deserve congratulations. Council Chair Ashe-McPherson asked about contracts and the Chief stated they look forward to meeting with the newly hired labor attorneys. Chief Tedesco addressed the use of city issued equipment and stated it should be rectified in this contract. Chief Tedesco stated if an officer uses equipment on a second job the city can get sued and he will address this topic with the new corporation council and labor attorneys. Chief addressed the disciplinary system and stated it is inefficient to the point that it’s ineffective and the officers and the administration shouldn’t have to wait months to get things resolved. Council member McGrath asked for an example and the Chief stated the stagnation is with the attorneys. He further stated the move to 1700 6th Ave should be by the end of March. Council Chair Ashe-McPherson stated the slab for the memorial is moving along. Adjournment Motion to Adjourn – Ashe-McPherson, 2nd McGrath, Meeting adjourned at 7:05pm A complete audio recording of this meeting is on file in the City Clerk’s Office Patti O’Brien City Clerk