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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 12-02 CCM SPECIAL SESSION MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA SPECIAL SESSION DECEMBER 2, 2021 VIA ZOOM CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council reconvened a Special Meeting called to order by Mayor Mike Elliott at 6:09 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor Mike Elliott and Councilmembers Marquita Butler, April Graves, Kris Lawrence- Anderson, and Dan Ryan. Also present were City Manager Reggie Edwards, City Attorney Troy Gilchrist, and City Clerk Barb Suciu. MISCELLANEOUS CONTINUED DISCUSSION OF 2022 BUDGET Mayor Elliott summarized the need for continued discussion about the 2022 budget. He had asked City Attorney Troy Gilchrist to create a comparison chart of the two proposed budgets. Additionally, an excel spreadsheet was created to depict the current positions, both filled and opened, within the Police Department. City Manager Reggie Edwards stated Council directed Staff to prepare a compromised budget, and Dr. Edwards had a presentation prepared for the Council. Mayor Elliott stated that was not his understanding of the direction from the Council. Councilmember Graves stated she did ask Staff to consider the presentations from the previous meeting as she noticed a gap between the proposed budgets and the community presentation budget estimations. She explained she had asked for the presentation so the Council would have something to work off of and noted she was unaware that Mayor Elliott was going to ask Mr. Gilchrist to create a comparison document. Councilmember Ryan agreed his understanding was the same as Councilmember Graves and was anticipating for Staff to create a presentation that would tie together the loose ends. Therefore, it seems appropriate to hear from the Staff. He added he would like to see what Mr. Gilchrist put together. Additionally,there are housekeeping issues that need to be addressed. The last meeting was six hours, and it was not properly adjourned. He explained he would like to set better ground rules for muting attendees and create a time limit for public comment. 12/2/21 -1- Councilmember Graves noted her agreement with Councilmember Ryan's concerns about decorum. She hoped the meeting at hand could be more similar to a work session for the Council. The public may not understand the Council does not discuss these issues outside of the public meetings. There is an opportunity for the public to speak again on Monday, so she would like the current meeting to be a time for Council to nail down some details. Councilmember Butler stated they listened to the public extensively at the last meeting and will listen again at the next meeting. Therefore, the current meeting should only be for Council discussion and consensus. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson noted she agrees with the other members of the Council. She has received around 80 emails, and she is trying to respond to them all. The Council needs to discuss the budget amongst themselves, and the public can listen in. Mayor Elliott stated his intention for the meeting was primarily Council discussion. If they do allow for public comment, then they should put a time limit on it. If there is a time, in the end, he would be fine with public comment since some members of the public expressed interest in speaking. He explained Dr. Edwards would present followed by Mr. Gilchrist. Dr. Edwards explained the purpose of the presentation was to present a budget compromise that addresses the funding gaps and a set of adjusted budget principles. Based upon the public safety act,adopted preliminary budget,and proposed budget change primarily to the Police Department's budget, Staff has attempted to develop and propose a viable and agreeable adjusted budget while addressing the gap of approximately $267,000 to more frilly fund a community response model service. Dr. Edwards stated Michelle Gross, a representative with Communities United Against Police Brutality, presented a potential cost of $517,000 for a community response unit model. Additionally, Ms. Gross presented a potential cost of$251,000 for a civilian traffic response unit. The adopted preliminary budget allocated $250,000 to each of those units for 2022 and an additional $250,000 to each of those units for 2023. Therefore, there is an approximate gap of $267,000 between the preliminary budget and the proposed additional units. Dr. Edwards explained the adjusted budget principles lay the foundation for co-creation, meet the spirit of the public safety Resolution, promote fiscal prudence, keep the proposed tax levy, incorporate several external resources and funding avenues, create bold and fundamental change by implementing alternative public safety services, maintain a high quality of police services, create a path to structural sustainable funding, and ultimately allow the City to act, learn, and adjust. Dr. Edwards stated the adjusted proposal includes the creation of the Office of Prevention, Health, and Safety. The Office would support the vision of Brooklyn Center as a thriving, diverse community with a full range of housing, business, cultural and recreational offerings and as a safe and inclusive place that people of all ages love to call home,and visitors enjoy due to its convenient location and commitment to a healthy environment. The mission of the Office of Prevention, Health, and Safety would be to provide leadership, programming coordination, and evaluation of 12/2/21 -2- prevention, health, and safetyacross the enterprise and in the community. Additionally, � coordination of efforts within the enterprise shall focus principally on all public safety-related departments. Dr. Edwards stated the adjusted budget proposal includes an increase of$366,957 for each 2022 and 2023. The funding would address the gap between the preliminary budget and the presentation by Ms.Gross. To do that,they would see an increase in the lodging tax,a slight increase in vacancy savings, and the freezing of three Police Department positions. Dr. Edwards stated there would be a$3.6 million investment toward the spirit of the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler. Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution. There would be less money allocated toward the efforts in 2023 as the external funding for the FUSE fellows, the Implementation Committee Project Manager, and related office expenses would no longer be available. The previously proposed programming would still be funded,and the change in funding is only directed to the civilian traffic enforcement unit and the alternative community response unit. Dr. Edwards stated they want to lay a foundation for co-creation and continue to work with the Police Department and local organizations. It was critical to fully fund the gap in the 2022 budget. The plan includes freezing three Police Department positions and conducting a labor study. They will implement program pilots for traffic enforcement and the community response model. Down the line, they will review the labor study and the impact of pilots on the Police Department workload and police service quality. The reviews would happen in six months, twelve months, and eighteen months. From there, they will determine to reinstate the three Police Department positions,freeze the positions for an additional year, or permanently eliminate the positions before the 2023 fiscal year. Dr. Edwards reiterated the adjusted budget principles: lay the foundation for co-creation, meet the spirit of the public safety resolution, promote fiscal prudence, keep the proposed tax levy, utilize several external resources and funding avenues, create bold and fundamental change by implementing alternative public safety services, maintain a high quality of police services, create a path to structural sustainable funding, and ultimately act, learn, and adjust. Dr. Edwards offered to answer questions from the Council. Mayor Elliott thanked Dr. Edwards for the presentation and noted it moves the City closer to where they need to go. However, the proposed adjusted budget still needs further compromise. It is important for the Council to fully support the budget moving forward. He noted Ms. Gross presented a good model for alternative responses. They do need to take into account the proposals made by Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP). He stated Amos Irwin was on the call to provide further input. Councilmember Graves asked Mayor Elliott who Mr. Irwin was. Mayor Elliott stated Mr. Irwin was a representative from LEAP. Councilmember Graves asked for Council to have an opportunity to ask Dr. Edwards questions about the adjusted proposal. Mayor Elliott stated he was fine with that, but considering the issue 12/2/21 -3- at hand is the alternative response model,he would like Mr. Irwin to provide input as well. Mayor Elliott noted he is running the meeting and would like the Council to respect his role in doing that. Councilmember Graves stated she was confused because Mr. Irwin was not on the agenda, Mayor Elliott did not clarify who he was before asking Mr. Irwin to speak, and Dr. Edwards already offered to answer questions from the Council. Additionally, the Council agreed upon keeping the meeting discussion within the Council. Councilmember Graves stated she was not opposed to hearing from Mr. Irwin and explained it was a confusing introduction. Mayor Elliott stated hearing from Mr. Irwin or Ms. Gross is not a form of public comment but rather as accessing resources available to them. He stated he was open to having Council ask questions of Dr. Edwards but noted it would be helpful for Mr. Irwin to provide additional information and context. Councilmember Graves stated she was fine with comments from Mr. Irwin now that it has been explained who he is. She pointed out Dr. Edwards moved forward with Ms. Gross' presentation because she received numbers specific to Brooklyn Center. Councilmember Graves asked if Mr. Irwin had numbers specific to Brooklyn Center for his proposal. Mayor Elliott stated Mr. Irwin has accessed some preliminary 911 data from Brooklyn Center. Dr. Edwards asked to speak. Mayor Elliott stated he was going to exercise his prerogative and call on someone else. Councilmember Ryan asked to speak. Mayor Elliott stated he was going to exercise his prerogative and call on someone else. Mr. Irwin stated he had another member of his team present to speak to the proposal. Mr. Irwin stated the budget proposal covers 12 hours per day and asked his colleague for his take on that. Neil Franklin, past Executive Director of LEAP and former police officer, stated it is important to have responders available 24 hours each day. The reason law enforcement has become the default is that they are always available. If an alternative response is not available all day long,then people will lose trust in the alternative response. Mr. Franklin shared while he was a police officer, he had to put handcuffs on a young girl who had run away because they were the default response. He explained he should not have been put in that position, and there should have been another option to respond to her. Other jurisdictions have asked for expanded response hours for alternative response programs so the police can consistently rely upon him. On the other hand, no jurisdiction has scaled back its alternative response programs. Mr. Franklin stated the cost of responders to be available 24 hours a day for seven days a week would be$800,000 rather than the adjusted proposal of$500,000. Because community responders are specially trained to respond to low-risk calls, research shows they can handle the calls more effectively and at a lower cost. There is no reason to start a program with a limited budget as it would limit the public's trust in the program. Mr. Franklin explained each jurisdiction LEAP has 12/2/21 -4- worked with has found both law enforcement and dispatch want the program to be consistently reliable, as does the public. Mr. Irwin thanked Mr. Franklin for his comments. Councilmember Ryan asked if the responders would be mental health specialists. Mr. Franklin stated it would be a combination of mental health specialists and other designated civilians. Councilmember Ryan noted his appreciation of Mr. Franklin's anecdote. Councilmember Ryan stated his concern is that several other jurisdictions are trying to set up the programs. Therefore, they may be competing with a smaller pool of well-trained people. Councilmember Ryan stated he would ask Dr. Edwards to share more information about the costs for individualized personnel. Councilmember Graves asked what information the Staff has about the County response program. The County has provided information about the co-responder model they are launching via email and through the County Commissioner, but she would like more information. Dr. Edwards noted the City had received a presentation from the County about models they are considering. The County explained a model they are doing in Brooklyn Park, and they stated there was potential to add Brooklyn Center to the model in Brooklyn Park. The Deputy Fire Chief also shared models they are considering. Staff will be traveling to Denver to learn more about their response model. The role of the Implementation Committee is to formulate those ideas to bring back to the Council, as articulated in the city Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution. He added Interim Police Chief Tony Gruenig may have additional information. Chief Greunig added Hennepin County is about to start a pilot program, and their recommendations are to move slowly to ensure the success of the program. Chief Greunig noted Hennepin County District 1 Commissioner Jeffrey Lunde was on the call and would have additional information. Commissioner Lunde stated the County program is launching with seven embedded social workers. Brooklyn Park is adding three social workers, one of which is dedicated to group homes. There is money allocated to fund 36 social workers across the County, and it is not considered a pilot program anymore. The social worker would be embedded within a city's police department. Commissioner Lunde explained the County spent a lot of time traveling around the country studying different models. and they came back with the best practices and localized them. There are great plans out there, but they have to be consistent with existing State law and programs. The embedded social worker program is meant to respond to and connect people back to County services. Oftentimes people who are experiencing mental health challenges are also facing other issues. The County prioritizes offering a continuum of care. Commissioner Lunde added he will be in Denver with Brooklyn Center's Fire Chief next week to tour the 911 facility there. The County is looking at having embedded social workers within the dispatch center to triage issues immediately. Commissioner Lunde noted it is very important to have the responses available seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The County faced a similar challenge when their assessment facility was only available during regular business hours. Lastly, it may be advantageous to do a tour with Brooklyn Park or another jurisdiction with the embedded social workers. There are multiple types of programs being rolled out. 12/2/21 -5- Ms. Gross, a representative with Communities United Against Police Brutality, stated embedded social workers have traditionally been a follow-up option. She has attended meetings with Hennepin County regarding the social workers, and she hadn't been told the social workers would be primary responders. However, that would be a welcome change. Ms. Gross explained her initial proposal included a 24 hours per day, seven days per week response. Under State statute, there must be mental health professionals to respond to mental health calls, and there are requirements for their education. Ms. Gross stated Brooklyn Center had around 540 mental health crisis calls in 2020, which is not enough to keep a full-time person busy doing just that work. Her proposed hybrid model included a licensed clinical social worker to supervise a team and also provide the mental health responses as required by statute. Then regular social workers, emergency medical services, and peer counselors could respond to the community response calls at a lower cost. Ms. Gross stated the Council thought the initial proposal was too expensive, so Ms. Gross later recommended the City partner with Hennepin County's Community Outreach for Psychiatric Emergencies (COPE) for all-day everyday services. Ultimately, it would be the Implementation Committee who would make those decisions. Mayor Elliott stated the Council has a lot of decisions to make. They spend a lot of money on public safety. If they look at the difference between $517,000 and $800,000 and consider they have spent$800,000 on a single lawsuit before, the investment in an alternative response program would pay back huge dividends for the community. Mayor Elliott stated they should allocate $800,000 to allow for a total response, 24-hour model if that is what the Implementation Committee chooses to move forward with. Councilmember Graves asked if Ms. Gross' second proposal included a 24-hour model. Ms. Gross stated the second model was based on a 12-hour model. However, she does not think a 12-hour model is an ideal solution. State statute says mental health response must be a 24-hour model. Councilmember Graves asked what the cost is to be part of COPE and how the current embedded social worker compares to other City's embedded social workers. Chief Greunig stated Brooklyn Center's embedded social worker just started, and they are trying to fine-tune how they receive reports. They are hoping for a 90 percent referral rate to the social worker,but his last presentation showed they were at a 60 percent referral rate. He noted their first social worker moved into a different program, so there were some time setbacks to hiring and training a new social worker. Chief Greunig stated COPE will not respond to calls without a police officer. Brooklyn Center has tried to get COPE to respond to other situations, and they weren't able to do so. As part of the 2022 budget, the Police Department has a person to respond to barricaded situations. The responder will have access to the barricaded person's medical records, as they would be a trained therapist or social worker. The embedded social worker currently stays in the office. He stated it is important for the responding social worker to be connected to the County as the County provides the majority of mental health referrals and services for the community. 12/2/21 -6- Mike Risvold, Hennepin County Suburban Community Engagement Liaison, stated most of the County's responses are based on data. The County is looking for a countywide approach. They wouldn't have an alternative response in every city for the entire day as that is expensive for everyone. Instead, they would like to develop a program with teams positioned throughout the County. The collected data will inform the staffing needs. Mr. Risvold explained the embedded social worker is one layer and is designed to be a follow-up service after law enforcement responded to a situation. Brooklyn Park identified that the calls from their 25 most frequent 911 callers decreased by 85 percent thanks to the embedded social worker. Additionally, there is a social worker embedded in the 911 dispatch portion of the response. They are entered phase two of the pilot in 2022 by hiring more embedded social workers for dispatch. Mr.Risvold stated another layer of the County's approach is modeled after Denver's Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program. Hennepin County is going to have a community paramedic paired with a licensed social worker. Denver piloted that in 2020, and they are ramping it up in the coming months. Mr. Risvold noted someone mentioned a co-response option. He pointed out Hennepin County piloted a co-response option in Minneapolis, but the pandemic got in the way of that. They are working on that program down the road. Mr. Risvold stated people want change today. He agrees with that, but since they want it to be countywide they are taking it slowly. It is important to have a behavioral health response available all day every day, and they are working toward that. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked what the time frame is to add cities to the program Hennepin County program mentioned by Commissioner Lunde. She stated she does not understand if they are looking at an independent entity program or if it would be more cost- effective to utilize Hennepin County resources and avoid duplication of efforts. That is a question the Council needs to answer for themselves. They need to decide what would be most cost- effective and just effective in the long term. Ms. Gross stated there was a recent law passed called Travis' Law which requires that 911 calls for mental health crisis response be deflected to mental health crisis response teams. Those teams are available in every single county in Minnesota. Additionally, COPE has traditionally visited people in their homes, although they have currently paused that service due to COVID-19. Some services can be handled via telephone, but there are instances where there needs to be a response to the residence. Best practice says a trained mental health professional should respond to the scene and comport with the law. Ultimately, the Council has to decide on how to provide 24-hour service. Mayor Elliott stated if they use COPE for the mental health response, they could still provide around-the-clock service to the community. The Implementation Committee has to work through the details, but the Council must set aside funds to allow them to make those decisions specific to Brooklyn Center. He noted Brooklyn Center is almost 70 percent people of color while the County is closer to 25 percent people of color. The City has a foreign-born population of 25 percent. The County may be creating a model that will be great for Hennepin County, but Brooklyn Center has 12/2/21 -7- a unique community with unique needs. Investing $800,000 can have a very big impact on the community and allow for the Implementation Committee to explore all possible options. Councilmember Ryan stated it is very logical to consider Travis' Law. The Council should know what assistance the State is going to provide to cities without a rich property base such as Brooklyn Center. Mr. Risvold stated Travis' Law was covered in a recent presentation to the City. The Hennepin County Director of Emergency Communications Tony Martin chairs a statewide working group that addresses Travis' Law. The statute does require a mental health response where available. It is the interpretation of the County Attorney's Office that Hennepin County is still in compliance with that law even though they are in the building process of such a response. The County, however, has not received a response from the Attorney General's Office on the matter. Mr. Risvold stated Denver STAR and Portland's Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) are completely different. Denver's STAR program uses a licensed clinician to respond, and that is the model Hennepin County is trying to use along with a community paramedic. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked what the time frame is to add cities to the program Hennepin County program mentioned by Commissioner Lunde. Mr. Risvold stated there are eight cities in the County that will be adding embedded social workers to their response programs. Commissioner Lunde was not referring to an alternative response option. Mr. Irwin stated it is important to remember the majority of calls that would be handled by community responders are not mental health calls. Some calls may have a mental health aspect to them such as calls focused on addiction and homelessness. They would also respond to noise complaints or juvenile issues. LEAP has found that 75 percent of the calls are not mental health calls. Therefore, mental health services would not respond to 75 percent of the calls. Mayor Elliott asked if LEAP has worked with other cities to build alternative community response options. Mr. Irwin stated that information is not yet public from a collaboration with Amherst, Massachusetts, but they will be able to give more details later. There is a public report about percentages of calls that fall into different categories from work with jurisdiction in Ohio. Councilmember Ryan asked if the County has a policy decision that is still awaiting concrete appropriations. Commissioner Lunde stated his understanding is the Attorney General would not give an opinion, so that is why the statewide working group was formed. At this point, the County's dispatch center complies with Travis' Law. Councilmember Ryan stated it would be important to seek further clarification from the State level. Commissioner Lunde stated the issue is on the list to be addressed in the upcoming legislative session. Mr. Gilchrist showed a chart comparing the proposed budgets. He explained it was meant to be a starting point for the Council's discussion. Additionally, there is a different language being used between the two budgets. The language is within the realm of the Council's authority, and the Council has already acted to name a new office during the passing of the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution. The language needs to 12/2/21 -8- be consistent with the language in the Resolution unless they decide to change the Resolution. Mr. Gilchrist stated the City Manager's proposed budget and the Mayor's proposed budget have a difference of$357,193. Councilmember Butler asked if the numbers on the slide were from the City Manager's first presentation or the presentation from that evening. Mr. Gilchrist stated the typed numbers are from the original presentation, and the handwritten numbers are from the adjusted budget that Dr. Edwards proposed that evening. Mayor Elliott asked if the $357,000 is the difference between the two most recently proposed budgets. Mr. Gilchrist confirmed Mayor Elliott's question was correct. Mayor Elliott asked how much money is allocated for each of the three proposed police officer salary freezes. He stated his math showed about $100,000 per position. Dr. Edwards stated the money depends on the position, and he left that up to the Police Department to decide which three positions would be frozen. He confirmed he estimated a little over $100,000 per frozen position. Councilmember Graves stated the Resolution was passed rather quickly, and they didn't talk about the structure of the new department or what should or shouldn't be included. She wishes she would have taken more time to talk about the details. Now that they are talking about the details, they may decide they may need fewer departments or to combine the departments. They are trying to build an office and a program without looking at data or tailoring it to the needs of the City. Being chained to the language in the Resolution may inhibit their progress on implementing it. She asked how they could make the document more fluid. Mr. Gilchrist stated the Council enacted specific language, and they need to be consistent with it until they change it. The Council could use a fluid approach and make adjustments to the Resolution by creating another resolution. Councilmember Graves noted Mr. Gilchrist's chart was helpful to decipher the differences. There were line items in the City Manager's budget that are not captured in the presented chart. Dr. Edwards stated Mr. Gilchrist's chart does not include Health On The Go, Cities United, the new health focus embedded in the Parks and Recreation Department, the Inclusion, Equity, and Antiracism Office. Over $2 million would be allocated for the efforts in the spirit of the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution in 2022, and just under $2 million would be allocated in 2023. Dr. Edwards' proposal exceeds the amount shown in Mr. Gilchrist's chart. Dr. Edwards stated the Resolution called for the creation of the Implementation Committee and for the Committee to present the Council with recommendations. The proposal included pilot programs with sustainable funding. The language being used in the Resolution does not match up with his proposed budget because the entire Resolution will not be implemented in 2022. They have not gotten to the point of final implementation because the Implementation Committee has yet to be formed and has yet to create recommendations. 12/2/21 -9- Mr. Gilchrist confirmed the chart does not include all of the items in Dr. Edwards' presentation. Mr. Gilchrist's thinking was to keep it to the provisions specific to those listed in the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution. Mr. Gilchrist assumed that the other efforts would move forward regardless of the specific numbers presented in his chart. Councilmember Graves thanked Dr. Edwards and Mr. Gilchrist for their clarification. She noted the efforts not listed in the chart are complementary to one another. Community programming as proposed by Dr. Edwards addresses social determinants of health and its effects on public safety. The other funded programming does apply to the community programming line on Mr. Gilchrist's chart. Public safety and violence prevention looks a lot of different ways. For example, BrookLynk could even be considered on Mr. Gilchrist's chart as additional community programming. Mayor Elliott noted the$150,000 for the Implementation Committee was intended for them to visit with other cities and pay for technical assistance, data modeling software, and the likes. Those items are not included in the City Manager's proposed budget. The youth and community programming are similar to the community transformational change and innovation process. The youth programming in his proposal allows youth to have a place to build skills such as finances, health, or coding. Both are needed, and the two do not compete. All of the line items represent collective transformation for the community. Councilmember Graves stated the youth programming specified by the Mayor is near to her heart. Mayor Elliott explained he learned those things from Councilmember Graves. Councilmember Graves noted her appreciation of those efforts but explained she does not see which specific programs are going to be implemented. Some of the programming mentioned by Mayor Elliott is available in the City through other organizations. She asked if the youth programming would be partnerships with community organizations or if it would just leave space for the Implementation Committee to decide. She understands and is on board with the vision,but she doesn't understand the plan. She asked how does he know how much funding to allocate to that programming and if that is something the Implementation Committee should guide the Council on. A guiding body such as the Implementation Committee has to have the knowledge, expertise and lived experiences to steer the City in the right direction. There also needs to be buy- in from the community and build upon the work that is already being done. Mayor Elliott noted his agreement with Councilmember Graves and explained the dollar amount is a placeholder for the Implementation Committee to work with. Councilmember Butler asked how soon will they have an Implementation Committee and how often they will be meeting. She wants to make sure the Council does not design too much. Sometimes community is invited into a space where things have already been created rather than presenting them with a blank canvas. She noted there are currently 14 open positions in the Police Department. Councilmember Butler asked if they are partially through the year and they have open positions still, could those funds be reallocated to support the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution. 12/2/21 -10- Mayor Elliott stated they had a round of interviews already, and they have a final interview round next week for the Implementation Committee Manager. Once that position is in place, they can move forward with filling the Committee. After they have appointments to the Committee, it will depend on the plan of the Manager for the start and frequency of meetings, but hopefully, it will happen early on in the new year. The Committee will work through the alternative response models and tailor them to Brooklyn Center. The projection is they will have a model within the first two months of 2022. LEAP has done similar work with other cities, and they have experience with timelines. As for reallocating Police Department funds, he would like to see something like that happen as well. Councilmember Ryan noted his appreciation for Councilmember Graves' remarks about language in the Resolution and fluidity of the offices. He looks forward to hearing from the Implementation Committee about their thoughts on the language and possible departments or offices. Mayor Elliott stated if the recommendation of the Implementation Committee is to change the structure or language in the Resolution, then it would come back to the Council to be considered. Councilmember Ryan stated one percent of the levy is $184,000. If there is only a $367,000 difference between the two potential budgets, they could make that up with two points on the property taxes. His concern about Travis' Law is if the State legislature gave them an unfunded mandate, and he wouldn't want to financially harm the people they are seeking to help. Ms. Gross stated the legislature did allocate $13 million towards the implementation of Travis' Law and strengthening 911 response teams. While the Council cannot budget on maybes, there are several funding opportunities for starting alternative response teams. The Implementation Committee could look at those potential opportunities to fund the gap between the two plans. Mayor Elliott stated the Implementation Committee Manager and the Implementation Committee will be pursuing alternative funding services. However, this is an investment in the community to address the conditions that lead to public safety issues and to create culturally-responsive resources. It is a net benefit for the community to make the investment. Additionally, it would yield savings for the City with a lower cost to respond to the calls. CAHOOTS' reports show savings of roughly $8.5 million each year. Councilmember Butler asked if they are partially through the year and they have open positions in the Police Department still, could those funds be reallocated to support the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution. She noted the reallocation could be dependent upon the studies on the effectiveness of the alternative responses mentioned by Dr. Edwards. Dr. Edwards stated they can make adjustments to the allocations at any given time. His adjusted budget details they would implement the freeze, begin the pilot program, then do the workload study to assess the effects of the pilot. He anticipates being at the point of presenting those findings to the Council in 2023. 12/2/21 -11- Dr. Edwards noted Councilmember Graves mentioned letting the Implementation Committee speak to the creation of programs and avoiding overdosing before their input. The Implementation Committee will have to get to know one another, learn more about the needs of the community, and look into various options for a model. The likelihood of that happening in two months is low. By the time a program would be up and running and exist long enough to make an impact for a workload study, they could adjust for the results in the 2023 budget. Mayor Elliott stated LEAP and Ms. Gross have engaged in the implementation of similar programs and worked with data in other cities before. The Council can hold space for the Implementation Committee to make the decisions on how to use the allocated funds. Brooklyn Center is extremely unique and faces unique challenges. Working with the Council and the community,they can build a unique model for the City. Councilmember Graves asked if the interviews the City has been having would be for the position to oversee the Implementation Committee. Mayor Elliott confirmed they have been interviewing for the Implementation Committee Manager. Councilmember Graves asked if that position reports directly to the Mayor in the Mayor's proposed budget. Mayor Elliott confirmed the position reports directly to him in his proposed budget. Councilmember Graves asked if the Implementation Committee would then make recommendations to the Council. Mayor Elliott confirmed the Implementation Committee would then make recommendations to the Council. Councilmember Graves stated the hiring of the position to oversee the Implementation Committee and appointing members of the Implementation Committee needs to move along. Mayor Elliott stated they are working on that process. They will have the Implementation Committee Manager hired by the end of the following week, and they will begin to appoint members to the Committee. They are working with the FUSE fellows to move the process forward. Councilmember Graves stated she will be meeting with the FUSE fellows soon. The Council talks about theories and ideas, but it is people like the FUSE fellows and the Implementation Committee who do the legwork. Councilmember Graves asked if Dr. Edwards increased the budget for the Implementation Committee in his adjusted budget. Dr. Edwards confirmed he increased the budget for the Implementation Committee in his adjusted budget. He explained there was an initial gap of $267,000, and Staff identified $366,000 in additional resources. They spread out the additional money throughout the various offices and committees. Councilmember Graves noted she was happy to see Dr. Edwards address the gap in the budget. She added she looks forward to hearing about the hiring of the Implementation Committee Manager. Councilmember Graves stated she believes LEAP's presentation laid out implementation in three- or six-month steps. What they have in the budget is sufficient to get the implementation started. After hiring the Implementation Committee Manager and appointing the Committee members, they could secure more funding for the work, especially considering the funding opportunities mentioned by Ms. Gross. They would have a very strong application and would have support from various communities. She stated she feels confident about the adjusted budget proposed by Dr. Edwards. There are other avenues open to them once the Implementation Committee moves forward. 12/2/21 -12- Mr. Irwin stated Brooklyn Center is further ahead than where most jurisdictions start in the timeline. The fact that there is imminent hiring for a Manager decreases the timeline. Six months is a reasonable amount of time to allow for the training and hiring of responders. Mayor Elliott stated his understanding is that there is sufficient money available for the community response model and the Implementation Committee. Councilmember Graves stated it is enough to at least get started. The decisions are supposed to be informed by the police assessment, the pilot programs, and the pilot programs evaluation. The Implementation Committee Manager and Staff can continue to apply for additional funding. The Council cannot ensure what every detail will look like at this time. Mayor Elliott asked what Dr. Edwards' revised budget includes from the Mayor's proposed budget. Dr. Edwards stated in January they will be hiring Staff, and, therefore, the capacity of Staff will increase once that happens. The Office Manager and its operations would have$200,000 and the pilot civilian traffic response has $260,000. Mayor Elliott asked how much money would go toward the Implementation Committee. Dr. Edwards stated the Implementation Committee didn't have a specific line item, but the money from the other lines would include funding of the Committee. Mayor Elliott stated if the$150,000 for the Implementation Committee from the Mayor's proposed budget is not included in Dr. Edwards' adjusted budget, then they need to add funding for the Implementation Committee, especially for technical assistance. Dr. Edwards stated the Office of Violence Prevention, Health, and Safety budget of$200,000 which includes Staff for $104,000 and then programming. Since they would not be prepared to implement that right away, the City could use some of those funds for technical assistance for the Implementation Committee. There are more enough resources to provide $150,000 for the Implementation Committee. Councilmember Graves asked if Mayor Elliott was looking for the difference of$70,000 between the proposed budgets. Mayor Elliott confirmed that was correct and noted it should be a line item to make it clearer. Mayor Elliott stated they should be in alignment with the Resolution until the names are officially changed. The Office of Violence Prevention, Health, and Safety would mean the same thing as the Resolution's Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention. There are important responsibilities laid out in the Resolution that is critical in moving forward, as is having a Director for that Department. Councilmember Graves stated the Resolution calls for three departments and,therefore,three new directors. That would require more money and would be preemptive because they do not know if they need three departments. The Implementation Committee and the pilots would inform that decision. As previously discussed, they did not have a lot of time to go over the details in the Resolution. Councilmember Graves asked how long it would take to hire three directors and if that would benefit the pilot programs. There is enough capacity for one new department, then the process could inform if they need more. The Council nor too many people from Brooklyn Center helped Mayor Elliott draft the Resolution. She explained that she was in favor of the Resolution, 12/2/21 -13- but they need to diligently process the details. The Implementation Committee may say they should follow everything in the Resolution, but they may not. At that time, they could change the title of the office to the department. Councilmember Graves stated Mayor Elliott was getting too caught up in the language of the Resolution rather than making and acknowledging progress. Mayor Elliott stated they are making progress. Mayor Elliott stated he brought the Resolution forward, but the Council passed it. It is the same amount of money whether they use the term office or department. He noted he would like support to follow the Resolution's language. Mayor Elliott added he is not asking to hire three directors immediately but to start with one. It also upholds trust with the public to follow through with what they have said. The Council committed to the department and the responsibilities that go along with a director. He added he is willing to be flexible on the funding question. Councilmember Graves noted she does not care if someone has the title of manager or director. However, not everything has to be laid out exactly as written in the Resolution as that may inhibit progress. She asked if title matters in terms of finances or written policy. Dr. Edwards stated the title does matter. There cannot be a director that reports to another director. There are already directors in the current departments, and the new director cannot report to a current director. The pay is different and is based upon responsibility. If they had a director report to another director, it would mean the pay is not based upon skill and responsibility. There are ramifications of titles, pay scales, and who reports to whom. Councilmember Graves thanked Dr. Edwards for his clarification. Mayor Elliott stated he has spoken with Dr. Edwards about this topic before and has since researched the topic. Numerous organizations have directors report to other directors. It is important to tie the responsibilities of the role in the Resolution to the title. If they have the agreement to create the role as designed in the Resolution, then they are making progress. The names are semantics, and it is ultimately about responsibilities. If the Council agrees that the position will fulfill the responsibilities as written in the Resolution then the Implementation Committee could provide input on the title. Councilmember Graves stated her impression was the role would carry out the responsibilities as written in the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution as well as overseeing pilot programs and collaborating with the Implementation Committee. The difference is only in the name. She noted her respect for the City Manager's perspective, and multiple directors could create confusion of hierarchy in the City until the Implementation Committee informs the decisions. She stated it would make more sense to amend the Resolution than to change the City's operating structure to align with the Resolution. Mayor Elliott stated there seemed to be consensus about the role of fulfilling the responsibilities of the Resolution and to change the name if needed at the direction of the Implementation Committee. Councilmember Ryan noted his appreciation of Mr. Gilchrist's input on language and departments. The Resolution specifies departments and directors, and those titles have meaning. He asked if they could amend the Resolution to rename the departments and directors so they would align with the current structure and allow the Council as policymakers to meet the scale and operational needs 12/2/21 -14- of the City. If they have a Director of Public Safety over the Fire Department, Police Department, community response, and traffic enforcement, they inherently have to pay the Director more than any other chief or director. Mr. Gilchrist stated the Resolution allows the City Manager and the City Attorney to raise issues with the Resolution,which is exactly what the City Manager is doing. Additionally, Mr. Gilchrist did the same by encouraging the Council to follow the language of the Resolution. Mr. Gilchrist stated the Council can make changes. As stated by Dr. Edwards, the City Manager can also raise the issues with the Implementation Committee. From there,the Implementation Committee could provide input on such issues. They are projecting a lot of what the programs and departments could look like, but it is ultimately the role of the Implementation Committee to exercise its discretion to make those decisions. Councilmember Ryan stated it seems logical and reasonable to wait to create units until the responsibilities and organizational structure is determined. Mr. Gilchrist stated budgeting for a position doesn't necessarily create the position. If they start to label things differently than in the Resolution, then it creates a disconnect and confusion. Additionally, it could place the City in a position where they are not following their documents. Councilmember Ryan stated it would be prudent on the part of the City leaders to change the document before creating the organizational units. It would allow the Council flexibility while Mayor Elliott's concerns about responsibilities would be addressed. Mayor Elliott stated he has spent time in Fridley, and he toured their City Hall, Fire Department, and Police Department. They have a Director of Public Safety, a Police Chief, a Police Department, a Fire Department, and a Fire Division. It would appear they have a Public Safety Department with two departments under it. They also use the terms department and division interchangeably. The Council has to look at their City. Mayor Elliott agreed with Mr. Gilchrist about maintaining consistency with the Resolution. Dr. Edwards explained he would not like to duplicate Fridley. He added he hopes the Council can trust him in his role as City Manager. Dr. Edwards noted he has experience throughout the country and at various levels of government, and he explained he is trying to be better than other places. He added he would like to clear up the titles, roles, and organizations before implementation as it would be cleaner, more effective, and simpler. Mayor Elliott stated it is important they stay consistent with the Resolution, and the Implementation Committee can report back to the Council with recommendations on structure and titles. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson stated she agrees with Dr. Edwards that they should be more concerned about the duties performed than the titles assigned. She asked what number they are starting at when implementing a freeze of police officer positions. Councilmember Lawrence- Anderson asked what dollar increase is reflected by the latest adjusted budget for evolving their public safety and mental health model for 2022. Dr. Edwards stated they have 14 vacant positions currently in the Police Department. Throughout 2022, they would authorize the Department to hire 11 police officers. They will hear back from the labor study, receive feedback about the pilot programs, and look at the impact on crime in the 12/2/21 -15- City by the end of 2022 to inform the 2023 budget and the freezing of positions. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked what would happen in the case of additional attrition in the Police Department. Dr. Edwards stated they would fill those roles. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson stated they need to consider the additional services from Hennepin County that are not in the contract for the current year. Dr. Edwards agreed with Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson. He noted it will take the course of the year to assess their efforts. Additionally, they can typically only hire 12 police officers in a year, so allowing for only 11 additional officers is not a large change. The Police Department will decide which roles will have the smallest impact in providing a high level of service to the community. He added he had conversations with police staff on the topic. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson noted her support of the six-month increments of reassessing the efforts. Mayor Elliott stated Dr. Edwards also needs to find $70,000 for technical assistance for the Implementation Committee. Dr.Edwards confirmed they could find$70,000. Mayor Elliott stated the $250,000 for the traffic enforcement unit was already in the budget. Dr. Edwards stated Staff increased that item to $260,000. Mayor Elliott stated the Resolution asked for $950,000 for the community response unit. He noted Ms. Gross recommended $517,000 for a 12-hour model, but she agreed with LEAP it should be a 24-hour model at $800,000. Mayor Elliott asked if the adjusted budget covered the full $800,000. Dr. Edwards explained the original budget allocated $267,000 for the community response unit,and the adjusted budget added$366,000. Overall,over $2 million is committed. Mayor Elliott asked how much is specifically allocated to the community response unit. Dr. Edwards stated it would be $518,000 for the community response unit. Mayor Elliott noted Ms. Gross agreed with LEAP it should be a 24-hour model at$800,000. Dr. Edwards stated it will take at least six months to start the programs, so the $500,000 will cover the programming for 2022. Mayor Elliott stated he wants to make sure the budget covers all of the Resolution components and added they will keep the titles the same until the Implementation Committee provides input to the Council. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked what is the increase is reflected by the latest adjusted budget for evolving their public safety and mental health model from 2021 to 2022. Mayor Elliott stated it depends on what they consider public safety. For example, they could argue down payment assistance is a public safety effort. If they define it as traffic enforcement, community response, mental health, and other 911 responders, then it would be $1.05 million-plus the Police Department budget at around $9 million. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson asked how much money they are putting toward enhancing public safety in 2022 in comparison to 2021. Mayor Elliott stated Dr. Edwards could come back to the Council with that information. Health On The Go would be a public safety effort moving forward where they wouldn't have considered that a public safety measure in the past. Councilmember Lawrence-Anderson stated that is the point: things that they are doing to promote public safety that they haven't done before. Councilmember Ryan stated they are planning to allocate $250,000 toward civilian traffic enforcement. They already have community service officers that are already used to writing parking tickets and things of that nature. It was somewhat misleading for outside people to predict 12/2/21 -16- how much money they would be saved by police officers not writing parking tickets when they haven't been doing that. There have been City complaints about parking enforcement. Councilmember Ryan asked if there could be savings to ramp up the community service officers to respond to traffic incidents at a lower cost. Dr. Edwards stated they have had conversations around that, but he hopes the Implementation Committee could influence that decision. The community service officers are unarmed personnel that could be transitioned to other roles. Additionally, the Fire Department could respond to more medical calls as they are already trained for that. It would reduce the number of calls that police are needed for. The City has spoken with local hospitals and emergency medical responders about options for responding without any armed personnel. They are simply waiting for the Implementation Committee to further engage in those conversations. Councilmember Ryan asked if the fourteen open positions in the Police Department include the three police officers on long-term medical disability leave and the officer on limited duty due to an injury. Dr. Edwards stated if someone on long-term disability were to leave, then the Police Department could fill that position. They would only freeze currently unfilled positions. Dr. Edwards noted he discussed the freeze of the police positions with the Police Department staff. Councilmember Ryan thanked Dr. Edwards for his clarification. Mayor Elliott stated the City looks for savings everywhere, and the Implementation Committee will look at all of the options. Minneapolis has traffic control personnel, for example, and there are several opportunities to look through. Mayor Elliott noted Council and Staff have several areas of agreement. Councilmember Graves noted the gap in funding was smaller than Mayor Elliott thought it was, and Dr. Edwards found funds to fill most of that gap. He also got buy-in from the Police Department. Therefore, Mayor Elliott's proposed budget is not needed. Councilmember Graves asked how they address the Mayor's proposal in terms of procedure. Mayor Elliott stated there hasn't been a motion on his proposal, so they don't have to do anything to respond to it. Mayor Elliott stated they have all done some compromising. Mayor Elliott's budget included $100,000 more for community programming than Dr.Edwards' budget, so there is still a gap there. Councilmember Graves stated she agrees there is still a gap. Therefore, the new positions, the Implementation Committee Manager, and the Implementation Committee can seek out additional funding to fill the gap. Mayor Elliott stated they can amend the budget Resolution to what they have all agreed upon. Councilmember Graves asked if that was necessary for light of Dr. Edwards adjusted budget and the small changes he will make after their discussion. Mr. Gilchrist stated the process doesn't necessarily require the adoption of a resolution. The Resolution may provide findings of a wider context for the numbers, but it is up to the discretion of the Council. Councilmember Graves asked if they can ignore the Mayor's proposed budget as there was not a motion for it. Mr. Gilchrist confirmed the Mayor's budget is not officially before 12/2/21 -17- the Council for action. Councilmember Graves noted she is confident with the information she has received. Councilmember Ryan stated he sees no need for the Mayor's proposed budget. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Ryan moved and Councilmember Graves seconded to adjourn the meeting at 9:23 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. STATE OF MINNESOTA) COUNTY OF HENNEPIN) ss. Certification of Minutes CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER) The undersigned,being the duly qualified and appointed City Clerk of the City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, certifies: 1. That attached hereto is a full, true, and complete transcript of the minutes of a Special Session of the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center held on December 2, 2021. 2. That said meeting was held pursuant to due call and notice thereof and was duly held at Brooklyn Center City Hall. 3. That the City Council adopted said minutes at its January 10, 2022, Regular Session. iblak /11111 City Clerk • ayor 12/2/21 -18-