02/11/1987 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Ms. Nelson noted that councilors had received copies of the final report) which contained the same 71 recommendations as those reviewed in November. She said additional background material and comments from the public forum had been added to the report. She noted that task force members were available to answer questions, and she requested acceptance of the final report. She said acceptance of the report would not involve approval of any of the specific recommendations in the report, but the task force requested that serious consideration be given to all of the recommendations that apply to the city of Eugene. Ms. Nelson also requested that the council consider establishing an ongoing advisory committee. She said councilors had received descriptions of two options for the committee. One option was for a committee appointed by the City Council. The other was for a department-advisory committee appointed by the City Manager. She noted that the options differed with respect to council involvement in the appointment process. She said representation on a council- appointed committee would be determined by ordinance, and changes to the membershi p would requi re council action; representation on a department- advisory committee would be set or changed administratively. Ms. Nelson said staff for either option would use the same public information processes, such as notices and forums, as with other groups. She said either committee would work closely with department staff, but an advisory committee would maintain a closer long-term relationship with the department, because it would focus on program, rather than on policy issues, and it would meet monthly rather than quarterly. She said a council-appointed board would have a more frequent reporting relationship to the council than the advisory committee, which would provide an informational report on its activities to the council once a year. Ms. Wooten described action taken yesterday by the task force. She said the group unanimously had favored the original recommendation for a committee that would be advisory to the City Council. She said task force members believed in the seriousness of the subject and that research, in particular, needed to be validated and recognized by the council in order to have credibility in the community. Ms. Wooten added that while the task force strongly favored the original recommendation, a department-advisory committee was second preference if necessary. Mr. Gleason said he believed it was the task force's intention that the ongoing committee provide a supportive communication link between the City Council, citizens) and the department. He said his experience with police advi sory committees was the reason he recommended making the commi ttee advisory to the department. He noted that committees appointed by the council were designed as policy committees. He said he thought policy issues that might arise should be heard only by the City Council. He also said he did not believe that a department-advisory committee would diminish effectiveness. Mr. Gleason distributed copies of an article about a Portland police audit committee. He said that although the Portland group was not identical to that proposed by the Crime Action Task Force, the article described how such committees could lose their effectiveness. Ms. Ehrman asked whether the task force had discussed giving the committee a broader charge that included fire and other public safety issues. Ms. Wooten MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1987 Page 4