The hearing set aside for public comment is Friday (tomorrow, Oct. 23) at 10 a.m. in city council chambers.
Economic Development:
Director Kevin Schreiber pointed out that, for the seventh year in a row, the department's $687,000 budget is less than 7/10 of one percent of the entire city budget. He recounted some of the projects that have been completed in the city this year, such as the Codo apartment complex and the renovated (but still vacant) Futer Brothers building, and the 30 SoHo condo complex, which will soon become official with a ribbon cutting.
Among the few new budget requests was $6,000, to be matched by Downtown Inc., to expand the First Friday program, which is aimed at bringing pedestrian traffic downtown. Schreiber said the idea is to spend about $1,000 each month to market and expand the program next year.
The budget contained $20,000 to keep the Fresh Food Revolving Loan Fund going. Six restaurants have participated so far, Schreiber said. When the businesses pay back their loans, that money goes toward future loans.
Another $20,000 was requested to start another revolving loan fund for capital improvements at businesses. For both loan funds, the city money would be leveraged by other sources.
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Police Commissioner Mark Whitman, Captain Wes Kahley and Lt.
Russell Tschopp discussed the police budget but first talked about some
of the accomplishments from 2009 -- the establishment of the west end
unit, getting curfew centers up and running -- and goals for 2010.
Goals include getting staffing levels up. While the department is
budgeted for 110 officers, there are six vacancies, and some
retirements are anticipated, Whitman said.
Officials are also looking at the budget for training. State
funding for police officer training was cut, so the city will have to
pick up the tab. Previously, the city was reimbursed for academy
training for new officers plus mandatory in-service training for all
officers.
Brenner said when the possibility of the cuts arose, he immediately
sent a letter to state officials, letting them know how the city would
be impacted. He said he hoped to look more at how the city could cover
those costs.
Kahley said that as of September, the city had seen a 4 percent
decrease in Part 1 crimes, the more violent crimes, compared with the
same time last year and a 3.5 percent reduction in part 2 crimes, which
are less serious offenses like property crime. Overall, the city has
seen a 3.79 percent decrease in crime, he said.
ShotSpotter:
Brenner said he feels the ShotSpotter system has been a success and a "wise purchase."
City Council President Joe Musso said officers have told him the
ShotSpotter system doesn't work in the rain, or it only records three
shots in areas 15 shells were found.
If the system isn't working, he said, he'd prefer the city call the supplier back and say it's not providing what is needed.
Whitman said the system was "hit or miss" in the beginning. There were a couple of homicides that were not picked up.
But, he said, the company has returned several times to provide new
sensors and equipment and fix malfunctions. The system has also been
fine tuned to eliminate excess noise, he said.
"We're picking up the majority of shots," he said.
He emphasized that the system is a tool, not "the saving grace."
"It's getting better all the time," he said.
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