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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-2000 General Information on IPD-CPB )_.1-q. 4 City of Ithaca GCP Minute Manage,- * 18.7 Mayor - Request to Release Contingency Funds for Lay Advocate Program By Alderperson Booth: Seconded by Alderperson Johnson WHEREAS, a revised plan (dated January 3, 1994) for the implementation of a Lay Advocacy Program has been submitted by Chemung County Neighborhood Legal Services Inc., and WHEREAS, Common Council has reviewed and accepted said proposal, which provides for and is limited to the selection, training and supervision of lay advocates; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That $10,000 be transferred from Account 1990 Restricted Contingency to A1012-435 Contractual Services with Community Service Agencies, for said purpose. Discussion followed on the floor. Amending Resolution By Alderperson Booth: Seconded by Alderperson Hanna RESOLVED,That in the second Whereas clause, before the word "accepted", the word "generally" be inserted. Carried (9-0) Amending Resolution By Alderperson Booth: Seconded by Alderperson Johnson RESOLVED,That a Resolved Clause be added to the resolution to read as follows: "Common Council hereby establishes the following goals and objectives for the lay advocates program, as recommended by Chemung County Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., as follows: I. Creating a reliable two-way channel of communication between the Ithaca Police Department and the community. A. Providing information and advice to community members who might be hesitant to call the police or the Police Commissioners. B. Providing information regarding community concerns, complaints and inquiries to the Community Police Board and the Chief of Police. II. Serving as advocates for individuals or groups within the community who might want to make complaints to the Community Police Board or the Chief. A. Providing information and advice regarding the complaint procedure. B. Referring complainants to appropriate community resources other than the Community Police Board as appropriate. 1 City of Ithaca GCP MinuteManager C. Assisting and/or representing complainants through the complaint process as appropriate." Discussion followed on the floor with Alderperson Booth explaining why he felt this Resolved Clause should become part of the resolution. A vote on the amending resolution resulted as follows: Carried (9-0) Amending Resolution By Alderperson Booth: Seconded by Alderperson Efroymson RESOLVED, That at the end of the final Resolved clause, the following words be added: ", provided that this authorization of the use of City money to provide funding for this program does not include any authorization for Chemung County Neighborhood Legal Services to provide attorney-client services to any person." Extensive discussion followed on the floor. No vote was taken on this amending resolution. Motion to Refer Back to Committee By Alderperson Booth: Seconded by Alderperson Schroeder RESOLVED,That the proposal for a Lay Advocates Training Program be referred back to the Budget and Administration Committee for further review and consideration. Carried (9-0) 2 17-2-'1 • City of Ithaca GCP MinuteManager Joint Statement regarding Police/Community Relations Ithaca Police Officer Beau Saul and MRC Coordinator Terrence Calhoun presented the following statement to Council: "First, we would like to thank the many well intentioned people who share some of their ideas and some of their sample language with us. It is interesting to note that the focus of some sample language was on acknowledging a problem exists, while other sample language focused on the tough job policing in Ithaca is and the many fine dedicated officers we have. We started our meeting with most of that focus already understood and acknowledged. Perhaps, with the burden of being elected officials not upon us, we decided to focus on some specifics. And, further exercising our freedom as just regular residents, as opposed to elected officials, we also decided to leave the whereas' and resolveds' to you. Even after reviewing the notes and some of the tape of last week's meeting, we were unsure as to what exactly our charge was. That stated, allow us to share some of our concerns and some easily attainable solutions. We realize that our community demands that aggressive, thorough, and proactive enforcement be conducted by our police officers, especially in the area of drugs and violence. Police officers acknowledge that consistent with this demand, an environment is created in which unfounded biases come into the interaction between our community members and of our police officers. As a result, there are problems that occur in the everyday encounters between some of our community members and some of our police officers. These problems can and have resulted in strong feelings of mistrust, anger, and frustration. We also sense that there is a strong desire to change this current dynamic in police/community relations. In order to better address these issues, we would like to develop a strategy for both an immediate course of action as well as on-going future actions. Some possible plans for action are listed below. In order to do these things and address these problems, we would like Common Council to: 1) Agree that the issues of Police Community relations are important and that the situation that currently exists is not as good as it should be; 2) Commit to both the immediate and the on-going action plans suggested in this statement and to consider the resolves listed in the "MRC Police" resolution. As for our suggestions for immediate action we would like; 1) Common Council to make available the resources necessary to facilitate, and make happen, frequent opportunities that bring together members of our community and police officers in an environment of positive interaction. 2) There is a need for a group to examine training for the remained of 1996 and in the future. Other than infrequent, inconsistently provided training, and the twice a year required trip to the 1 City of Ithaca GCP MinttteMatnager shooting range, our officers have none. This group shall consist of members of the community, the Chief of Police, police officers, members of the 1992 task force on training, and members of Common Council. 3) A commitment to a new hiring procedure of police officers and the promotion of officers internally within our police department. Recognizing that it is ultimately the Chief of Police's decision whether he/she hires or promotes somebody within the police department, we feel that increasing the avenues of input in such a selection is critical. As such, a screening committee should involve people of color from the downtown community, as well as from other constituencies. An immediate formation of such a committee would demonstrate Common Council's and the Mayor's commitment in addressing these issues. We understand that the Mayor has already stated publicly that he is willing to have this type of involvement in the selection and hiring of a permanent Chief of Police. 4) Keeping in mind that we should be committed to having our police department be reflective of our community and the community it serves, we want to ensure that the hiring practices of the IPD reflect our City's diversity. The statement by Chief Barnes (7/1/96) addresses this, and we fully support and applaud his statement. Diverse hiring practices need to be an on-going commitment. Our suggestions for long-term, on-going action include, but are not limited to the following: 1) Having diverse hiring practices as mentioned above. 2) addressing structural systems deficiencies with the police department. 3) Documentation concerning on-going trainings within the police department. This documentation needs to reflect any directive, allocations of time, and an action plan which would ensure its longevity (this includes planning for financial needs as they relate to any and all trainings. 4) An examination of the current methods of community interaction with the police department (i.e. the Police Community Review Board, Lay Advocates of CDRC) to determine that they are operating with community interests in mind. It is our understanding that now these methods are simply viewed as an extension of the police department. You have now been told, put on notice, if you will, by some of our community members that there is a problem. Our police officers agree. Our Chief and our Mayor agree. It has reached the stage where our officers feel the City has become negligent in its actions and inactions to the officers and, in turn, to the people of our City. Finally, as we see it, a commitment to all these issues (immediate and on-going) is the only manner in which you as members of Common Council can ensure that we have a truly reflective, 2 City of Ithaca GCP MinuteManager responsive, and accountable police department. Thank you very much for your consideration." 3 Z-4- City of Ithaca GCP MinuteManager 19.7 Common Council - Transfer of Funds for Community Police Board Contract By Alderperson Marcham : Seconded by Alderperson Sams WHEREAS, the 1998 Budget included $8,380 in the Police Department for the hiring of a temporary half-time position to assist the Community Police Board, and WHEREAS, it has been determined that the funds could be more effectively used if the Community Police Board work was done under contract in the Common Council accounts instead of a City roster position in the Police Department; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That $8,380 be transferred from the A3120-5120 account to the A1010-5435 account for the purpose of contracting for Community Police Board support. Carried Unanimously 1 5- 3-2600 City of Ithaca GCP MinitteManager REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS: 17 . NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY ISSUES COMMITTEE: 17 . 1 A Local Law to Amend Section C-16A of the Ithaca City Charter Regarding the Membership of the Community Police Board By Alderperson Taylor: Seconded by Alderperson Pryor WHEREAS, Section C-16 . A. of the City of Ithaca Charter establishes a Community Police Board made up of seven (7) Commissioners, and WHEREAS, the workload of the present Community Police Board and its Commissioners has increased greatly each of the last three years due to; increased efforts to fulfill the charge to "act as community liaison to the Police Department, actively fostering positive communications between police and all segments of the community" increased attention to the settling of complaints through the use of dialogue and mediation, which effort is more time consuming than simply investigating and issuing a finding regarding the complaint, and WHEREAS, efforts to better serve the needs of the community as described above have resulted in an increase in the number of complaints each of the last three years (1997-11 complaints; 1998-15 complaints; 1999-18 complaints) , making it difficult for seven Commissioners to adequately handle the workload, and WHEREAS, it is recommended by the Commissioners that one (1) additional Adult Commissioner be added to the Board, and WHEREAS, it is additionally recommended by the Commissioners that a Youth Commissioner be added to the Board to better represent the voice of youth in discussion and decision making, as well as in community liaison functions of the board; now, therefore, be it LOCAL LAW 2000- BE IT ORDAINED AND ENACTED that Section C-16 . A. of the City of Ithaca Charter be amended to read as follows : A. The Mayor shall appoint a Community Police Board, subject to the approval of the Common Council . The Commissioners shall be chosen from a range of culturally and economically diverse community groups with consideration given to the effect each appointment will have on the diversity of representation, 1 City of Ithaca GCP MinuteManager including geographic representation, on the Board. The Community Police Board shall consist of nine (9) Commissioners, including eight (8) Adult Commissioners and one (1) Youth Commissioner. Adult Commissioners will be eighteen(18) years of age or older. The Youth Commissioner will be sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age. The Youth Commissioner will fulfill all functions of the Adult Commissioners except that of investigating complaints against police officers . The term of office of each Commissioner shall be three years, commencing on the first day of January, including the Youth Commissioner in spite of his/her attaining the age of eighteen (18) years during his/her tenure . No more than three Commissioners shall be appointed in any one year. The terms of the existing Commissioners shall continue unchanged. No elected city official shall be a member of the Community Police Board. A Commissioner shall hold office until his/her successor shall have been chosen and qualified. A vacancy for an unexpired or newly created term shall be filled in the manner set forth in this Charter, except that the limitation on the number of appointments per year, the term of office and the term' s starting date shall not apply. All Commissioners shall have been residents of the City of Ithaca for at least two years immediately preceding their appointment . All Commissioners shall serve without salary. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately in accordance with law upon publication of a notice as provided in the Ithaca City Charter. Carried Unanimously 2