CC Minutes - 07/21/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Johnson emphasized that staff was seeking conceptual direction on the proposed service package. He said that the City was attempting to give the voters a good idea of how any revenues from a successful measure would be spent. Chief Jim Hill, Leila Snow, and Phyllis Parks of the Eugene Police Department were present to answer questions. Ms. Nathanson called for funding for a substation in southwest Eugene in the Churchill area. Ms. Nathanson noted the County's interest in the use of revenue sharing funds for new programs and suggested that some of the funds could be used to underwrite the costs of the City's activity in the area of youth and prevention. She said that the council had learned it took three or four offenses to ensure a youth went through the criminal justice system, and she believed that was already too late. Ms. Nathanson said that more focus should be put on first-time offenders and those who had yet to offend but were at risk of doing so. She said she would like the teen court system to be expanded citywide. She suggested the concept of early intervention in the schools be combined with activities at the police substations. Ms. Nathanson said Community Service Officers in the schools could work in tandem with the schools, the officers in the schools, and the substations. She asked how item 2(a) in the matrix entitled City of Eugene Safe Community Proposal: Community Policing and Prevention Services Staff Recommendation could be expanded to incorporate two substations and the extra Community Service Officers needed to work with volunteers, the officers in the schools, the school principals, and do prevention-type outreach with youth. In response to Ms. Nathanson's question, Mr. Johnson said that he did not have an easy answer given that the available funding was limited to $4.2 million that would be realized if the Public Safety Coordinating Council measure passed. He said other projects would need to be eliminated to expand 2(a) as the ongoing cost of a substation was approximately $217,000. Staff present noted that 1 (f), Youth Outreach and Referral Services in Schools, reflected Ms. Nathanson's suggested programming. Mr. Kelly believed the homeless camping service dropped from the matrix was an important service that needed to be restored. He suggested that the funding for the service be taken from 2(a), the substations, and 3(d), community policing support. Mr. Kelly questioned what changed when the matrix was revised. Mr. Johnson said that the staff person who made the changes was not present and he was not sure. He did not think the changes were significant. Mr. Kelly referred to the explanation of the community policing support item in the matrix and asked if adding support to the intake desk would mean that things not currently being done would be done, or if what was being currently done would be increased. Ms. Parks said that the added support would allow the department to continue to do what it was doing; without the added support, she envisioned services would be cut or resources directed toward patrol. She noted that the five requested positions were recommended by the Service Improvement Team in 1996, and the proposal was an attempt to reach a base staffing level. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 21, 1999 Page 11 5:30 p.m.