2026-10-13 - Committee of the Whole

Summary

Based on uploaded (human-made) English captions with no speaker labels; minor errors are possible, and a few remarks cannot be tied to a named speaker.

Time on topic (from transcript timestamps; approximate, includes side talk):

Topic	Minutes	Share
Benchmark Analytics police software procurement	33	29%
Police dispatch response times	12	10%
ShotSpotter renewal (Ord. 2026-447)	11	9%
Police patrol vehicle purchase (Ord. 2026-448)	9	8%
Vacant Property Registry Enforcement	5	4%
Urban Forestry Tree Planting Contract (Order 2026-426)	4	3%
Landlord registry referendum	4	4%
Steel transmission pole contracts (Ord. 2026-425)	1	1%
Other business and public comment	36	32%

Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
Recording runs about 1 hour 54 minutes: a minute of pre-meeting chatter (0:04-1:05), the call to order at 1:06, and adjournment at about 1:54:15 by voice vote.
All votes were voice votes with no counts; the committee advanced everything it acted on, and the Oct 20 council meeting took up the items placed on the debate agenda.
No recesses or closed session; the chair said no executive session was needed.
Small caption gaps (under 25 seconds each) occur while speakers are called, at about 1:04:42, 1:25:27 and 1:38:07.

Steel transmission pole contracts (Ord. 2026-425)

3:16-3:49

Ordinance authorizing contracts for steel transmission poles with Belfort Capital, Fletcher Reinhardt and Rohn Products, not to exceed $1,418,000, for the city utility.
Moved, seconded and advanced by voice vote with no discussion.

Urban Forestry Tree Planting Contract (Order 2026-426)

4:11-8:08

Order accepting a contract with Paul Tree Farms for 950 trees, $398,050, under the urban and community forestry grant program; on the consent agenda and approved by voice vote.
Alderman Gregory welcomed it and urged replacing trees that grow into power lines, especially along major east-side streets, with species that will not need repeat trimming.
Alderwoman Conley asked the criteria for locations and offered streets in the lower-income parts of her ward. Public Works Director Dave Fuchs said funding is about $340,000 in grant money, $62,000 from a tax-increment district and about $30,000 from the city; most planting will be in economically distressed areas (primarily wards 2 and 3), plus South MacArthur Boulevard and downtown replacements.
Alderman Williams asked whether these are smaller trees; Fuchs said yes, smaller ornamental varieties suited to narrow rights of way, not the large sycamores and oaks planted decades ago.

ShotSpotter renewal (Ord. 2026-447)

20:39-31:20

Three-year renewal of the Sound Thinking (ShotSpotter) contract for the police department, about $1.1 million. Moved to the debate agenda.
Gregory introduced an amendment asking for data before budget season: alerts, how many are confirmed gunfire versus false alarms, outcomes, and neighborhood patterns. He said only a fraction of alerts are confirmed gunfire (about a quarter, as heard), which can make some areas look worse than they are, and cited Sound Thinking's own "data for good" and independent-review materials. He said he supports ShotSpotter.
The corporation counsel said the price and term did not change; the police chief (captioned "Chief Beal") said coverage is 5.25 square miles (4.25 plus one added), that much of the data is already tracked, and that publishing a map of sensor locations would be counterproductive. He worried an independent evaluation would cost money and might need another staff hire.
Alderman Hanauer asked for a financial analysis of what the reporting would cost. Alderwoman Conley asked that the whole council be kept in the conversation between Gregory and the chief.
The item was left on the debate agenda for the following week while Gregory and the chief talk.

Police patrol vehicle purchase (Ord. 2026-448)

31:21-32:25, 33:39-34:14, 35:01-40:35, 1:11:55-1:14:00

Purchase of 10 Ford Explorer Interceptors from Morrow Brothers Ford, not to exceed about $620,564, on the debate agenda.
The chief said the money comes from the corporate fund (about $465,000), the annual federal justice assistance grant (the city's share is about $94,000) and restricted DUI forfeiture funds; the budget director confirmed about $466,000 was in the corporate-fund forecast. The grant ordinance (2026-445, $145,658) had just passed on consent; the city administers it and passes about 28% to the county sheriff.
Some of the cars replace detective vehicles; the chief said the older compact models are end of life and no longer sold. Alderman Cox confirmed the vehicles were in the budget passed this year.
Alderwoman Conley supported a regular replacement cycle, citing earlier carbon-monoxide complaints, and urged treating officer wellness funding as "and, not or". The chair thanked the chief for not asking for 30 vehicles at once. Williams asked whether carbon-monoxide problems persist; the chief said reports still come in occasionally, and no floor holes.
Alderwoman Notariano used the item to raise software funding (see Benchmark below). Left on the debate agenda for the following week.

Benchmark Analytics police software procurement

32:25-33:39, 34:14-35:01, 40:35-1:11:55

Notariano proposed funding an early-warning and officer-support program from Benchmark Analytics at $75,000 per year, roughly 1.5 patrol vehicles' worth, and said the price rises past $100,000 per year after the year ends. She said the police department has talked to the vendor for over a year, the union is supportive, the tool was bid through a federal schedule, and the proprietary software suits a sole-source purchase. She said it was left out of this year's budget and she has been unable to see the department's spending to move money.
Cox and Hanauer asked whether it was in the budget (no) and about the procurement route; the corporation counsel said the purchasing agent decides sole-source questions under city code. Hanauer said choosing products is an administration function, and a sharp exchange followed on whether the council sets policy and oversees police (Notariano) or only budgets (Hanauer, who said he was misquoted).
The chief said the department already offers employee assistance, peer support and a gym, and is seeking a grant for wellness software. He said the vendor's price excludes integration with the city's timekeeping system, which the city has been quoted at about $250,000, and that total cost could be $350,000-$400,000. Notariano said the vendor told her integration is included and noted the chief had not spoken with the vendor about it.
Alderman Williams said the council should question spending, that police and fire dominate the budget while public works lacks crews (branch pickup lag), and that exposing administration stalling in public is the council's tool. Hanauer said that under the strong-mayor system the administration can decline to spend budgeted money. Cox said he backs officer wellness but wants it done the right way. Alderman Carlson read the city's branch-pickup schedule.
No vote on the software; it was discussed during the vehicle ordinance.

Police dispatch response times

1:14:03-1:20:34, 1:25:43-1:30:48

Under unfinished business Williams described a resident's report that police took a long time to reach a lost child, and a past hotel theft with a long wait. The chief said afternoon shifts are busiest, the police do not triage calls (the joint county dispatch center does), and he had not heard the call. Williams asked him to look into it. Notariano confirmed the child got home safely and thanked the resident who helped.
During public comment a resident criticized the council and administration over the same case and police spending, arguing the council holds the purse strings.

Vacant Property Registry Enforcement

1:20:38-1:25:23

Notariano said many unoccupied houses in her ward are not on the vacant-property registry, some are open to trespass, and she asked what is needed to get them listed and secured.
The public works director said he would review the list with city staff. The corporation counsel said an inspector must cite the property before it reaches her office for enforcement, and that open properties can be secured without court. Notariano said the city has only six inspectors and asked for a proactive plan to secure vacant houses before winter.

Landlord registry referendum

1:49:36-1:53:57

A speaker for a faith coalition and the Safe Homes campaign urged a yes vote on the advisory ballot question on a landlord licensing and registry program, saying the fee would be about $25 a year per unit, the program would be self-funded, and Peoria and Bloomington have registries. A ride-to-the-polls offer for the November 3 election was mentioned.

Other business and public comment

Opened at 1:06 with roll call and a quorum; committee minutes approved; the treasurer reported the September corporate fund ending balance at about $54.3 million (including about $2.0 million of federal pandemic relief funds), accepted. No presentations. Item 2026-339 stayed tabled.
Consent agenda (about 12 minutes of readings, 8:08-20:39, all approved by voice vote): rock salt purchase, right-of-way and property purchases, road and bridge motor-fuel-tax resolutions (Headley Road, Bruns Lane Bridge, Lawrence Avenue-MacArthur Boulevard-Walnut Street, Meadowbrook Road Bridge, Cockrell Lane), two liquor license increases, a workers' compensation settlement, a tentative agreement with the electrical workers' union for public works inspectors, a $30,000 First Night agreement, the police and fire pension levy estimate, a surplus property declaration, and the sale of three city-owned lots. Alderwoman Purchase asked about extending Walnut Street improvements; Gregory asked about zoning timing for the lot sale and supported it.
Public comment also included a resident describing a long wait for answers on a police investigation and asking the council to demand accountability (the aldermen offered follow-up and the chief was present), an appeal for sponsors for a holiday event at White Oaks Mall, and a resident urging more mental-health resources and noting the new city-county mental health board.
Adjourned by voice vote at about 1:54:15.

Sources

Video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=A_-YH7zwsog

Video

Transcript

These are uploaded (human-made) English captions; minor errors are possible.

Transcript

00:04So.

00:28And I didn't bring that.

00:30I'll bring it tomorrow. I

00:30figured you were.

00:37Yeah.

00:38It's bad. It's even worse today.

00:41Oh, that'll work. I think it'll

00:42work.

00:44That'd be sweet.

00:48OK.

00:55He, he noticed the smiles on the

00:57words.

00:58That's right.

01:06Good evening.

01:08We will convene the Committee of

01:08the Whole for Tuesday, October

01:1113th, 2026, if you'll all rise

01:12and join me in the Pledge of

01:14Allegiance.

01:15I pledge allegiance to the flag.

01:17Of the United States of America.

01:20So.

01:21Which is.

01:21One.

01:25Under God, indivisible liberty

01:27and justice for all.

01:28Mr. Clerk, if you will call the

01:29roll.

01:31Absurd.

01:34Alderman Cox here.

01:38Alderman Gregory all the women

01:41purchased all the women. I'm

01:44sorry, Haldeman Netriano here.

01:49Alderman Carlson Alderman

01:50Alderman Alderman, Alderman

01:51Conley here. Ultimate hand here,

01:53Mr. Chairman, you have a quorum.

01:54Thank you, Mr. Clerk. The chair

01:55will entertain a motion to

01:56approve the committee meeting

01:58minutes. Motion to a second. Any

01:59discussion, any discussion, any

02:00discussion, hearing, none. All

02:01those in favor signify by saying

02:03aye. Aye. All those opposed nay,

02:04the ayes have with the

02:04treasury's report.

02:06Madam Treasurer, thank you,

02:07Chair. The Treasurer's report

02:08for the corporate fund for the

02:10month of September, beginning

02:15balance is $57,722,0807. We took

02:20in total receipts of 25 million.

02:26$108,000512 had total

02:28disbursements.

02:3028,500.

02:313000.

02:36$751 which left the corporate

02:37fund ending balance of the month

02:42of September at $54,327,649. The

02:49ARPA ending balance was

02:54$1,976,398 which was included in

02:55the above balance that concludes

02:57my report. Thank you, Chair. The

02:58chair will entertain a motion to

02:59accept the Treasury's report as

03:01submitted.

03:01Move Beckett motion in a second.

03:03Any discussion, hearing none.

03:03All those in favor signify by

03:05saying aye. All those opposed,

03:06nay, the ayes have it. There are

03:07no presentations this evening.

03:09Next on the agenda are

03:10ordinances and resolutions

03:11tabled to remaining committee,

03:142026339. Does anybody wish to

03:15act on 339.

03:16OK, on that note, ordinances for

03:18committee consideration CWLP, Mr

03:19. Clerk.

03:22WWLP 2026 425 is the Norton's

03:25authorizing contracts for steel

03:27transmission poles.

03:28For Belfort Capital LLC,

03:30Fletcher Reinhardt Company and

03:32Roan Products LLC in the amount

03:35not to exceed $1,418,000 to the

03:38Office of Public Utilities

03:39motion and a second for

03:42Hearing none, all those in favor

03:44signify by saying aye. All those

03:45opposed, nay, the ayes have it.

03:49Public Works 2026426 is in

03:52orders accepting and authorizing

03:53execution of a contract number

03:58RFPPW 27-20 with Paul Tree Farms

04:01LLC to furnish 950 tree

04:03plantings and the amount of

04:06$398,050 to be planted as part

04:08of the urban and community

04:09forestry grant program for the

04:11Office of Public Works consent

04:14motion in a second for the

04:15consent agenda. Any discussion,

04:16Alderman Gregory, real quick, um

04:18, just.

04:18with this I'm happy to see this.

04:19I think this is great. I just

04:20want to, uh, comment. I, um,

04:23talked to our um.

04:25arborist and and um uh I know

04:27he's going around particularly

04:28in War 2 in the East Side

04:29looking at some some older trees

04:31so I, you know what, what I

04:32would encourage, I think we've

04:33had these conversations before

04:34some of the trees that we took

04:36back from the lines, um, or sort

04:38of you know this way or that way

04:39or missing a lot of the canopy

04:41so I I take down some of those

04:43trees, especially on our major

04:46thorough um thoroughfares like

04:4711th Street South Grand, etc. um

04:49, and put up some, some, some

04:52trees that won't grow into those

04:53power lines so we don't have to

04:54repeat.

04:55Continue to um address that with

04:56taxpayer money.

04:57But thank you.

04:59Thank you, Alderman Alderwoman

05:01Conley, thank you, Chair. Do we

05:02have someone here who grant, uh,

05:04Dave.

05:06Nope.

05:11Oh, OK. Never mind. The

05:12director's coming in, you're up.

05:17Mhm.

05:17Welcome.

05:21To

05:21No, all the way up, director way

05:23way up, director way. We're

05:24talking about the, um, the urban

05:27forestry grant for those trees.

05:28Oh yes.

05:29Podium should be turned around,

05:31huh? Um, what's the criteria for

05:32where those are going to be

05:34located. I've had people reach

05:36out and make requests about

05:38getting trees there's a variety

05:39of funds.

05:42All

05:42Talking to Mike. Thank you.

05:43There you go. How's this?

05:44Yeah.

05:52Well, don't touch the mic. We've

05:53had enough issues with that.

05:55Uh, the, the funding sources

05:57come from a variety of areas, um

05:59, the urban and community

06:02forestry grant will uh be about

06:044 $340,000.

06:06Uh, we also have $62,000 from

06:10the Northeast TIFF, as well as

06:12about $30,000 from our

06:14corporation. The vast majority

06:15of the trees that are gonna be

06:17planted are gonna be

06:18economically distressed areas as

06:20defined by the grant that would

06:21be primarily wards 2 and 3.

06:23But they're gonna be uh uh other

06:26places as well we're also gonna

06:28be planting some trees on South

06:31MacArthur Boulevard and uh one

06:32of the big issues is that we're

06:33gonna replacing.

06:34Uh, trees that have, uh, died or

06:36had to be removed particularly

06:38downtown.

06:39OK. I, so I've had people ask,

06:41and it's in the more eastern

06:43stretches of, of Ward 8. Also,

06:45uh, maybe a little.

06:48In old Ward 8, which would be my

06:50lower income areas in the ward.

06:52So if possible, could we maybe

06:54touch base after the meeting, um

06:55.

06:56Just to I can give you some

06:57ideas of where people have asked

06:59for new trees to go, you got a

07:00couple of streets. I mean, I'll

07:01give it to you after. I don't

07:03have to debate it.

07:04throw it all out right here. I

07:05just want to make sure they meet

07:06the criteria of what you're

07:07looking for. Um, so I'll, I'll,

07:09I'll shoot you an email on that.

07:11Very good. Thank you. Thank you,

07:13Director. Alderman Williams.

07:14Yeah, thank you, Chair. These

07:15are the

07:17The urban variety.

07:20The smaller trees, correct?

07:21We're not doing the big forest

07:24things like we did 2030 years

07:27ago, uh, as I have been working

07:29with, uh, our arborist and the

07:31forestry crews, uh, these giant

07:35sycamores and uh variety of oaks

07:38that were planted 30, 40 years

07:40ago are just too big for the

07:42small right of ways that we uh

07:43we've been, they were planted in

07:45so uh this will be a

07:47fundamentally different approach

07:47, uh, smaller trees, a lot of

07:49flowers.

07:49towering trees

07:50decorative.

07:52Thank you, thank you, but no

07:53fruit tree.

07:55Please.

07:58Thank you, Alderman. On the

07:59floor is the motion for the

08:00consent agenda. There is a

08:02second. Any further discussion,

08:03any further discussion, any

08:04further discussion, hearing none

08:06, all those in favor signify by

08:07saying aye. Aye. All those

08:08opposed, nay, the ayes have it.

08:112026 427 North authorized

08:14acceptance of a right of way for

08:15Rachel Lane located south of Old

08:17Jacksonville Road at the south

08:19end of Rachel Lane and on the

08:20north side of Mill Creek Estates

08:23phase 2 plot 8 for the Office of

08:25Public Works. Move to consent

08:26motion to 2.

08:27For consent to any discussion,

08:29any discussion, any discussion,

08:29hearing none, all those in favor

08:30signified by say aye. All those

08:31opposed, nay, the ayes have it,

08:32Mr. Clerk.

08:34Mr. Williams

08:36Oh, I'm sorry.

08:40Good.

08:41OK.

08:452026428 is an ordinance

08:46authorizing the purchase of rock

08:47salt from Compass Minerals, and

08:49the amount not to exceed

08:54$292,475 under the state

09:03contract 27-416

09:03CMS-BOSS4-P-102536 for the

09:09Office of Public Works. Move to

09:11consent motion in the 2 for

09:12consent. Any discussion, any

09:14discussion, any discussion,

09:15hearing none, all those favors

09:16by saying aye. All those opposed

09:17, nay, the ayes have it.

09:192026 429 is the North's

09:21authorization, the purchase of

09:22real estate between the city of

09:23Springfield and Philip M. Stone

09:24and Nancy A Stone located at 20,

09:27I mean 20 2:30 South Cokie Mill

09:30Road in the Mount not to exceed

09:33$20,0027.26 for the Office of

09:34Public Works. Move to consent.

09:35Second motion in a second for

09:37consent. Any discussion.

09:38You're a noun. All those in

09:39favor signify by saying aye. All

09:40those opposed, nay, the ayes

09:41have it.

09:422026 430 is the North's

09:43authorizing the purchase of real

09:45estate between the city of

09:46Springfield and John Wolf and

09:48Buffy A. Lyle Wolf located at

09:50801 South Walnut Street in the

09:52mountain not to exceed $14,200

09:54for the Office of Public Works.

09:56Motion and a second for consent.

09:59Any discussion, any discussion,

10:00any discussion, hearing none,

10:02all those in favor signify by

10:03saying aye. All those opposed,

10:04nay, the ayes have it. 2026 431

10:08is the North's authorizing

10:09execution of an agreement

10:10between the city of Springfield

10:11and the state of Illinois

10:13Department of Transportation for

10:14the reconstruction of Headley

10:16Road in West White Oaks Drive,

10:22MFT section number

10:2805-00446-00-PV in the amount,

10:28not to exceed 4,2.

10:31$9820 for the Office of Public

10:32Works motion in a second for

10:34consent. Any discussion, any

10:35discussion, any discussion,

10:36hearing none. All those in favor

10:37signify by saying aye. All those

10:39opposed, nay, the ayes have it.

10:412026, 432 is a resolution

10:43notifying the state of Illinois

10:44Department of Transportation and

10:46motor fuel tax funds in the

10:49amount of $4,029,820 may be used

10:53for the reconstruction of

10:54Headley Road from Cokie Mill

10:55Road to West White Oaks Drive,

11:01MFT section 05-00446-00-PV for

11:07the Office of Public Works

11:08motion in a second for consent.

11:10Any discussion, any discussion,

11:11any discussion, hearing none.

11:12All those in favor

11:13Signified by saying aye. All

11:14those opposed, nay, the ayes

11:15have it. 2026 433 is the

11:17resolution notified the state of

11:19Illinois Department of

11:20Transportation that more fuel

11:21tax funds and the amount of

11:28$170,593.46 may be used for the

11:29reconstruction of the Bruns Lane

11:33Bridge under MFT section

11:4005-00444-00BR for the Office of

11:42Public Works with consent motion

11:44in a second for the consensus

11:45agenda. Any discussion.

11:45discussion, any discussion, any

11:46discussion, hearing none, all

11:47those in favor signify by saying

11:49aye.

11:49All those opposed, nay, the ayes

11:50have it. 2026, 434 resolution

11:54notifying the state of Illinois

11:55Department of Transportation

11:56that motor fuel tax funds in the

11:58amount of $19,800 may be used

12:00for the land acquisition for

12:02Lawrence Avenue and MacArthur's

12:04Boulevard and Walnut Street

12:06safety Improvement Project MFT

12:11section 20-00494-00 SP for the

12:16Office of Public Works. Move to

12:17consent. Motion to second for

12:18the consent agenda. Any

12:19discussion.

12:19Discussion, any discussion,

12:20hearing none. All those in favor

12:21signify by saying aye aye.

12:22Alderwoman Purchase. My

12:23apologies. That's OK, um,

12:25director Fuchs.

12:26I have a question. I know this

12:28is um Mac MacArthur Boulevard in

12:30Walnut and just looking at all

12:32of these that we're bringing up

12:33today, is there any way that you

12:35can ask them about going a

12:36little bit further down Walnut

12:39between Carpenter and North

12:42Grand, like a lot of that area

12:44we've been talking about for a

12:45few years for it to be addressed

12:46and I know that's also a third

12:48way too for DOT.

12:51Uh, the parameters of this

12:52project are pretty much set. I,

12:54I'd be glad to. I'm talking

12:56about as I'm looking at all of

13:00these get passed through, you

13:02know, uh, once we conclude the

13:04construction season which is

13:06about upon us, the month of

13:08November our engineering techs,

13:10uh, traverse the city and look

13:12at streets, sidewalks, curbs and

13:14gutters, and that we put

13:14together a list of the things

13:16that we're going to address next

13:17season. So, uh, I'll certainly

13:18make sure that they.

13:19Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

13:22Thank you, alderwoman. Any

13:23further discussion?

13:24Hearing none, all those in favor

13:26signify by saying aye, aye. All

13:28those opposed, nay, the ayes

13:28have it.

13:322026 435 is a supplemental

13:34resolution notifying the state

13:35of Illinois Department of

13:37Transportation that motor fuel

13:38tax funds in the amount of

13:44$170,593.46 may be used for

13:46reconstruction of the

13:47Meadowbrook Road Bridge under

13:52MFT sections 07-00453-00BR for

13:57the Office of Public Works. 2nd

13:59motion in the 2nd for consent.

14:00Any discussion, any discussion,

14:02any discussion.

14:02session this evening.

14:03Hearing none, all those in favor

14:05signify by saying aye aye. All

14:06those opposed, nay, the ayes

14:07have a 2026 436 is a

14:10supplemental resolution

14:11notifying the state of Illinois

14:12Department of Transportation

14:13that motor fuel tax funds in the

14:16amount of $172,329.62 may be

14:21used for preliminary design of

14:24Cockrell Lane under MFT Section

14:319800399-00BR for the Office of

14:32Public Works. Move to consent.

14:33Second.

14:33Motion in the second for consent

14:34. Any discussion, any discussion

14:35, any discussion, seeing none,

14:37all those in favor signify by

14:38saying aye. All those opposed,

14:39nay, the ayes have it.

14:42General city business 2026 437

14:44is in order to increase the

14:46number of Class D liquor

14:47licenses by one for Lapete,

14:49Springfield LLC, DBA Lapete

14:52located at 3232 Ginger Creek

14:55Drive. Move to consent. Motion

14:56in the second for consent. Any

14:58discussion. Hearing none, all

14:59those in favor signify by saying

15:00aye. All those opposed, nay, the

15:01ayes have it.

15:052026, 3, 4:38 is in order to

15:07increase the number of Class E

15:09liquor licenses by 1 for Clock

15:12Tower CafeC Tower Tower CafeC

15:13DBA Tower Clock Tower Cafe

15:15located at 751 South Dirksen

15:18Drive. Move to consent.

15:19Motion in a second for consent.

15:20Any discussion, any discussion,

15:21any discussion, hearing none,

15:22all those in favor signify by

15:24saying aye. All opposed, nay,

15:26the ayes have it. 2026439 is the

15:29Norton's authorizing payment to

15:31Matthew O'Brien, as the city of

15:33Springfield firefighter captain

15:34for settlement of workers'

15:40compensation claim number

15:4521-WC-033738 and the amount not

15:46to exceed $50,000. consent

15:49motion in the 2nd for consent.

15:50Any discussion, any discussion,

15:51any discussion, hearing none,

15:52all those favor.

15:53Signify by saying I opposed nay,

15:55the ayes have it.

15:562026 440 is as the North's

15:58authorizing execution of a

15:59tentative agreement with the

16:00International Borough of

16:02Electrical Workers Local 193

16:04audio visual unit and the Office

16:05of Public Works Inspectors for

16:07the August 1, 2026 through July

16:1031, 2029. to consent motion in

16:13the 2nd for consent. Any

16:15discussion, any discussion, any

16:16discussion, hearing none, all

16:17those in favor signify by saying

16:18aye. All those opposing, nay,

16:19the ayes have it.

16:222026441 is the North's

16:23authorized execution of an

16:24agreement between the city of

16:25Springfield and Springfield Area

16:27Arts Council for the purpose of

16:28first night and general

16:30operations to be held December

16:3231, 2026, and the amount not to

16:34exceed $30,000 to the office of

16:36mayor. Move to a second motion

16:38in the 2nd for the consent

16:39agenda. Any discussion, any

16:41discussion, any discussion,

16:41hearing none. All those in favor

16:43signified by saying aye. All

16:44poles of the eyes have it.

16:472026 442 is a resolution

16:50estimating real property taxes

16:51to be levied to partially fund

16:53the statutory contribution of

16:54the police and fire pensions

16:56funds.

16:57Move to Move consent motion in a

16:58second for the consent agenda.

16:59Any discussion, any discussion,

17:01any discussion, hearing none,

17:02all those in favor signify by

17:04saying aye, aye. All those poses

17:05nay, the ayes have it.

17:082026, 443 is the North's

17:10declaring a real property

17:12located at 820 North 4th Street

17:14to be

17:15The surplus property directing

17:16the sale and said real estate in

17:19authorizing the publication of

17:22the notice of said self and

17:24request for proposals. Motion

17:25for consent motion in the 2nd

17:27for the consent agenda. Any

17:29discussion, any discussion, any

17:30discussion, hearing none, all

17:31those in favor signify by saying

17:33aye, aye. All those opposed, nay

17:34, the ayes have it. 2026-444 is

17:38the order authorizing the

17:39acceptance of the proposal under

17:43RFP CS 26-22 and execution of a.

17:46agreement with Manny Davis for

17:47the purchase of city-owned

17:49property consisting of 3 vacant

17:52lots located at 2006, 2008, and

17:552012 South 11th for the office

17:58of Budget and Management. Motion

18:00for consent. Motion a second for

18:01the consent agenda. Alder

18:02McGregory, real quick, uh,

18:03corporation counsel, do we know

18:05when the zoning relief for this

18:07will come for approval?

18:09Um, I do not know, but I can, I

18:11can find out where that petition

18:13is and uh and circulate that to

18:15council. OK, thank you. I'm, I'm

18:17in very much support of this

18:18project and the zoning relief

18:20that is um with that it has been

18:22discussed so I hope we can get

18:23that so he can get his project.

18:25I thank you. Any further

18:26discussion? Any any further

18:28discussion, any further

18:29discussion, hearing none, all

18:30those in favor signify by saying

18:32aye. All those opposing nay, the

18:33ayes have it.

18:352026 445 is an ordinance

18:37authorizing acceptance of an

18:40execution of the 2025 burn

18:43justice assistant grant.

18:4815 PBJA dash 25 GG 03438 JAG X

18:57from the US Department of

18:59Justice Bureau of Justice

19:00Assistance in the amount of

19:04$145,658 and authorizing the

19:05supplemental appropriation of

19:07grant funds and authorizing the

19:08execution of a memorandum of

19:10understanding with the Sanguin

19:11County, Illinois Illinois for

19:11the Springfield Police

19:13Department. motion to 2 for the

19:14consent agenda.

19:14Any discussion, any discussion,

19:15any discussion. Yes, sir, please

19:17. Alderman Williams is the chief

19:20here or someone that can speak

19:21and explain this. The chief is

19:22here. You know what this is

19:24actually doing.

19:30So this, this is a JAG grant

19:32that we get annually, um, we are

19:34the administrator for the county

19:35, so, uh, we pull all the money

19:37into our fund lines and then we

19:39distribute that. I believe it's

19:4028% that we distribute to same

19:41county sheriff's office.

19:43And the rest is ours, correct,

19:46you had 94,000, I believe, yeah,

19:4894,000. Thank you, sir. Thanks.

19:50Nice badge, Chief.

19:52Thank you, uh, Chief, not so

19:53fast. Alder McGregory. Are, are

19:54both these in, in, in the, uh,

19:56details that says both of these

19:57are going to vehicles, am I

19:59correct? Correct. All right,

19:59thank you.

20:01Anything further, Alderman?

20:03Great, thank you. Any further

20:04discussion, any further

20:05discussion, any further

20:06discussion, hearing no, all

20:07those in favor signified by

20:08saying aye. All those opposed,

20:08nay, the ayes have it.

20:132026446 is an authorizing

20:15budgetary transfer in the amount

20:16of $60,000 in the restricted

20:18federal.

20:20The Federal asset forfeiture

20:23expense budget line 2306 and the

20:26expense line 1507 for the

20:28Springfield Police Department.

20:29motion in the 2nd for the

20:30consentgen. Any discussion, any

20:32discussion, any discussion,

20:33hearing none, all those in favor

20:34signify by saying aye, aye

20:36oppose nay, the ayes have it.

20:392026 447 is the Lord's

20:41authorizing the three-year

20:46renewal contract number NB

20:5024-250C of professional services

20:52agreement with sound thinking

20:53Inc. for spot shotter detection

20:56technologies, the amount of

20:59$1,100,0012 for the Springfield

21:00Police Department. Motion for

21:01debate motion for debate. Is

21:02there a second?

21:032nd.

21:03The 2nd.

21:04Any discussion, any discussion,

21:05Alder McGregory, yes, I would

21:06like to, um.

21:10Introducing the proposed

21:12amendment to the ShotSpotter

21:14sound thinking contract um my

21:16first question is what, um,

21:18corporation counsel, what

21:19changed in this contract was it

21:21previously 1.3 million down to

21:241.1.

21:25Which I'm fine with this, so, um

21:27, the, the, the terms of the

21:29contract, the cost, um, and the

21:31duration of the contract did not

21:32change. I believe there were

21:35discussions between the company

21:37and uh and the SPD about

21:40implementation and location, so

21:41I would defer to, uh, to Chief

21:43Beal on on those discussions and

21:45what, what came of that, um, but

21:48the, the amount and, and the

21:50term did not change.

21:52Um, chief, so I would imagine

21:54this square footage.

21:56Um,

21:58That we're gonna have

22:00ShotSpotter change.

22:00I, I, I'm, I've

22:02I've seen 2 numbers like a 6 so

22:05um the initial square mileage

22:07that we had, um, and then we

22:09added an additional square mile,

22:11um, shortly after the initial

22:12contract, and which brings us up

22:14to 5.25 square miles. What was

22:15it previously?

22:16Was it?

22:18Uh, that's, that's what it's

22:19been for some years. I think

22:20originally I'll look real quick.

22:25Originally it's 4.25 and then we

22:27added 1 square mile to that to

22:29bring us to 5.25.

22:31Alright thank you I appreciate

22:32you so I I originally I, I

22:34produced this amendment and, and

22:35you know when we pulled the

22:37contract before I spoke on

22:38amendment to.

22:41And

22:42I'm I'm open to talk with you

22:43and and and really work towards

22:46a uh um.

22:48A solution that's that's that

22:49really works for our community

22:50so what I'm looking for is us

22:54having some data um before our

22:56budget season so um when me or

22:58whoever sits in these chairs, um

23:00, go to our budget and and and

23:02sit down with Dave Fuchs and and

23:04CWLP or whoever that we have

23:06some data saying, hey.

23:07Gunshots are happening in this

23:09area, um.

23:11Sure I have fly dumping and bad

23:13houses and stuff and how do we

23:15address that to make these

23:16communities better? How many of

23:17our, our, um.

23:21Um, gunshots are, are real and

23:23and leading to investigation and

23:25arrest and how many are false

23:27alarms, you know, sometimes

23:27people go over the railroad

23:29tracks alone and it it it it

23:31goes off as a um ShotSpotter

23:34alert right? So what that does

23:36for our community, right? And,

23:37and I don't think people think

23:38of it this way and and and

23:40really think about this but if

23:41we have.

23:43500.

23:46ShotSpotter things and we're

23:47showing this map everybody like

23:47oh my God you know it's crazy in

23:49war too.

23:52But

23:5325% of those are actually.

23:56Gunshots or gunshots that we um

23:59can can can uh identify or or

24:02approve.

24:02Um, so it makes things look a

24:04lot worse than than than what

24:05they are in in some areas and

24:07stuff and I and I really wanna

24:08get better at that so we can

24:09really pin down um the areas

24:11that that really are having the

24:12most violence, um, when and, and

24:14, and you know your email is

24:16great kudos to you know we have

24:18made a uh um.

24:21Significant, um.

24:25Call it in Rosa, so to speak, in

24:26in in in violence and stuff and

24:29you know um I believe our

24:30numbers was 59, 11, 2 as far as

24:33murders, you know, we we're

24:34gonna knock on wood for this

24:35year, right? um.

24:37So we're seeing that decrease

24:38and I'm happy about that, right?

24:39We don't wanna see death in our

24:41community, um, but we wanna have

24:43good stats and things, um, to,

24:44to place these resources we had

24:47a a fantastic Bill Springfield,

24:49um, event on in Pillsbury for

24:50the 2nd year in a row, right?

24:52But if we use these stats, the

24:54two murders this year were.

24:56Not there.

24:58The fly dumping.

25:00It's not really over there

25:02anymore as it once was, right?

25:03because we've been there, we've

25:04done some work, so, so there's

25:07other places in our community

25:09that these stats and this data

25:11will help us identify um

25:13improvements for the residents

25:14of our people. I mean, and you

25:15know, quite frankly, I think

25:15it's a win-win not only for the

25:17community but for our officers,

25:19right? ripping and running

25:21thinking that it's somebody

25:22shooting and somebody ran over

25:24the raggedy 19th Street tracks,

25:26so you know, I don't think we're

25:27gonna stop that. I think there's

25:27gonna be some uh false positives

25:29that we're gonna have.

25:31Um,

25:31Uh, and, and yes, we can, we can

25:32discuss. I, I, I got your

25:33amendment. I didn't get it till

25:35late today, uh, and we had a

25:36quick correspondence between you

25:37and I, uh, and I appreciate that

25:38and I look forward to

25:39conversation with that because I

25:40think there's some things that

25:41we need, we should probably

25:42discuss before we push this

25:44thing forward, absolutely, um, I

25:46look forward to it thank you.

25:47Alder Alderman Alder a point of

25:49clarification is your, is your

25:50plan this evening to put this

25:52out and not vote on it until

25:53next week so you have an

25:54opportunity to meet with the

25:55chief and discuss it with him,

25:57uh, Alderman Hanauer, thank you.

25:58Yeah, thank you. Um, I just was

26:00kind of wanting to know, based

26:02on, and, uh, again, it's a quick

26:04dive into this as we got it. Um,

26:09What's it going to take and I

26:11guess Chief, if you, you haven't

26:12really had a chance to really

26:13look at it.

26:14Um,

26:16What is, can, can you provide

26:18all this information and, and if

26:20not, you know, what, what can

26:22you provide and.

26:23What it's gonna

26:25Require you to have, or, you

26:27know, this is pretty, there's a

26:28lot of stuff here.

26:29And, uh,

26:32The other, the other aspect is,

26:34I, I'm kind of, we, we kind of

26:37need a financial analysis of

26:38this thing because Because

26:39there's, there's a lot of stuff

26:40on here I mean.

26:42Um, and I'm sure some of it is.

26:44Some of it is definitely

26:46warranted, but

26:47Um.

26:47You know,

26:48A lot, a lot of this data, I

26:49don't mean to interrupt you, but

26:50a lot of this data we do track,

26:52um, there's some concerns that I

26:55do have, uh, such as response

26:56times and things of that nature,

26:58um, and really putting out the,

27:00the, uh, mapping of where our

27:02ShotSpotter locations are, um, I

27:03think that's gonna be

27:05counterproductive to what we're

27:06trying to do for public safety,

27:08um, and then I think, um,

27:09there's a provision in here for

27:11an independent evaluation which

27:12I, I'm concerned with because

27:13that's gonna come at a cost.

27:15For the city and the and the

27:17police department, so I, I don't

27:18know what that looks like or

27:18what that costs. I know we just

27:22did, um, uh, uh, a study with

27:24UIS that costs us a considerable

27:26amount of money that was grant

27:27funded, um, but nonetheless

27:28there would that would be come

27:29at a cost. I, I don't know what

27:30that would be.

27:32Yeah, I would just like to make

27:33sure we have some sort of

27:35financial analysis on this on

27:36what it's going to cost and

27:38And, uh and the way it kind of

27:39sits right now, I, I mean, I

27:41probably have to hire another

27:42person to really track all this

27:44information, um, I think there,

27:45there could be some adjustments

27:46made that that make it much

27:47easier for us and I think a lot

27:48of it we already have it's just

27:49a matter of kind of diving down

27:50into it and see exactly what

27:51we're looking for.

27:52Thank you.

27:55Alderman. Yes, thank you. Holder

27:57McGregory, and I just wanna

27:58follow up. I don't wanna make

28:00this terribly little too long

28:01conversation but it's an

28:02important conversation I can

28:03tell you that I just didn't sit

28:05down and dream this up. I

28:07actually had good conversations

28:08from our people at Sound

28:09Thinking.

28:09And that's one of the things

28:10they advertise.

28:14Advertised data for good

28:15assisting community violence

28:16intervention and public health

28:18gaps sound thinking data for

28:19good program enables law

28:21enforcement to share gunfire and

28:22crime data with community

28:23partners helpline.

28:26Helping identify areas impacted

28:27by violence or resource can be

28:30deployed quickly um to support

28:32um so I have this whole packet

28:34from Sound thinking when I met

28:35with him. So in this packet it

28:38talks about independent um um

28:41looks at this thing to make sure

28:42it's right by public officials

28:43to make sure that that we have

28:45to understand that the people

28:47who bring this are salesmen and

28:49women.

28:50Their job is to sell it to us.

28:53Make us believe in it.

28:55And our job is to vet it and

28:57make sure that it's doing the

28:58best job. I'm not saying I'm

29:00against ShotSpotter, certainly

29:01not. I want it. What I wanna

29:02make sure is that we're using

29:03that data to push the resources

29:05to make it better so our

29:06officers don't have to keep.

29:08Going to the same area.

29:11About gunfire, etc. etc. um, and

29:13, and, and those things you know

29:15um.

29:17Uh, stats and studies with

29:18people way smarter than us have

29:20proven that when we address

29:21those issues lighting, housing,

29:24etc. crime does go down in those

29:25those areas we've seen it before

29:26we, we, we did it in the middle

29:29um of of an area and, and, um,

29:31crime has reduced in that area

29:33that's why we moved, um, fly

29:35dumping houses.

29:36You know, we're about to be 35

29:38new houses in that area so um it

29:40does work, but I would encourage

29:41you all, um.

29:43To, to, uh, get this information

29:46from Sound thinking and review

29:47it because when you review what

29:49they do offer, um, and then, you

29:50know.

29:51Uh.

29:53It wouldn't be a bad thing to if

29:54they had to hire somebody else

29:56they'd make good money and

29:57they'd be OK, um, in the

29:59department, so, um.

30:02Don't wanna do that hopefully we

30:02can work it out. I'm willing to

30:04work with Chief on something

30:05that's amenable that we can get

30:07to much of this information they

30:09already give to us there's just

30:10some missing pieces that that

30:11that we need um.

30:14For multiple reasons, so I

30:15appreciate you.

30:16Thank you Alderman Alderwoman

30:17Conley. Thank you. Um, uh, thank

30:19you, Almond Gregory. I just,

30:21it's an interesting concept. I,

30:23we definitely want to be using

30:24our data to drive decisions and

30:26I think that

30:27Certainly there's a wealth of

30:29information that we gather from

30:30here. I would just ask that the

30:32The rest of the council be

30:33looped in on the conversation,

30:35um, that the two of you will

30:36have just kind of fleshing this

30:37out just so that we can have a

30:39better understanding of where,

30:40uh, where things are going.

30:41Maybe just copy, um.

30:43Coordinator Tim Griffin so that

30:45we can get a copy of that too

30:47and the only reason I'm even

30:49pressing this because when I see

30:50a a a pie chart and they say 65%

30:54of these shots spotters don't

30:55come from the east side, they

30:56come from War too. I take

30:58special interest in that. I, I,

31:00I, I, I'm not arguing. I just,

31:01I'm, I'm intrigued. I would just

31:02want to see how the conversation

31:04plays out so that we can all be

31:05informed for next week. Thank

31:07you. Thank you, Chief. Thank you

31:09, Alderwoman, Alderman Gregory,

31:10anything further? No, sir. OK,

31:11the motion on the table is for

31:12the debate agenda.

31:13Next week. All those in favor

31:15signify by saying aye. A pose

31:16nay, the eyes have it, Mr. Clerk

31:20.

31:212026448 is the North's

31:22authorizing the purchase of 10

31:24new Ford Explorer interceptors

31:26from Marl Brothers Ford Inc. and

31:27a amount not to exceed

31:36$6620,563.90 for the Springfield

31:37Police Department. Move to

31:38consent. Motion for a debate

31:39motion for the debate. Is there

31:40a second for the debate?

31:41Is there a 2nd 22nd motion in

31:42the 2nd.

31:43Any discussion

31:44A couple signed up. Alderwoman

31:45Uriano.

31:46Yeah.

31:46Um,

31:48Thank you for coming back up,

31:50Chief, can you talk about the

31:53funding lines that

31:54Uh, the money that's gonna be

31:56used to pay for these new

31:58vehicles.

31:59Uh, the fun lines that we're

32:00using corporate fund, we're also

32:01using uh the JAG grant which we

32:03just, uh, passed the ordinance

32:04or put on consent. I'm sorry, uh

32:06, earlier and then we're also

32:08using a restricted uh DUI

32:10forfeiture funds as well to help

32:11pay for for this. OK, but, uh,

32:14that, uh, the lion's share of it

32:18, 465,000 is coming from

32:21corporate fund, correct, um, and

32:25so I, uh, have been.

32:28Um, working with the budget

32:32director to uh figure out what

32:36funds from the police budget

32:38have been expended and not

32:40expended this year, um, and so

32:43it's really helpful to, to see

32:46this come forward, um, because.

32:49You know, the, the program that

32:51I would like for us to consider,

32:57um, the early warning program

32:59from Benchmark Analytics to help

33:02us identify officers who are, um

33:05, struggling and also officers

33:07who are doing a good job to get

33:08them the, uh, help that they

33:11need and or the encouragement

33:13they need, um, could be

33:18purchased for us, uh, something

33:19that could.

33:20help the entire department, um,

33:26for $75,000 per year, um, and so

33:30that would just be maybe, you

33:33know, 1.5 fewer admin use

33:38interceptors, um.

33:39Can you, uh, speak to the need

33:41to replace these admin use

33:44interceptors.

33:44Yeah, we have uh the admin cars

33:46are not actually for

33:47administrative folks. They're

33:48for detectives. Uh, there are,

33:50uh, Ford Fusions are end of life

33:52, essentially, and we're milking

33:53them along and trying to get

33:54everything we can out of them,

33:55but at this point we're having

33:57as many service issues with them

33:58as we would if we invested in

34:00something new.

34:00When were those purchased?

34:03Uh, I don't know for sure. I

34:04couldn't tell you.

34:07OK.

34:08Um,

34:10Yeah, it would be helpful to

34:11have a look at that budget, but,

34:14um, I put this on debate so we

34:16could discuss it more when the

34:17budget director, um, and the

34:20mayor were here, uh, so yeah, so

34:23we can talk about it more next

34:26week, um, but.

34:29Uh.

34:32Yeah, it's, it's just, um,

34:37interesting to see.

34:39Uh, us use so much money on new

34:44vehicles for the police every

34:46year, and we can't spare $75,000

34:52for a program that would help

34:54the officers and help the

34:57community, um, so I look forward

34:59to that discussion next week.

35:01Thank you. Thank you, Aldermen.

35:024 more speakers have signed up.

35:03We'll start with Alderwoman

35:05Purchase. Thank you, Chair, and

35:06sorry, Chief, if I missed um

35:09alderwoman Nutriano's first

35:10question. M was point of

35:11clarification. I know that we

35:14just um had ordinance.

35:192026, 4:45, how much of those

35:22funds are going to any of the

35:24vehicles? I know you said some

35:25of the money for the county,

35:27those funds go towards their

35:28vehicles. How much of it goes

35:30towards ours? The the the our

35:31portion of it, which is 94, is

35:33going towards our vehicles, and

35:34you still need an additional 620

35:37? No, it's, it ends up being 400

35:39and some change because we're

35:40using that 94 plus some, uh, DUI

35:43forfeiture funds as well.

35:44OK, I just needed clarification

35:46to understand cause it looks

35:47like y'all have pots of money

35:48pulling from everywhere. We,

35:49we're trying to pull as much

35:50money as we can from other

35:52revenues outside of the

35:53corporate fund uh in order to

35:55keep pulling from the corporate

35:56fund to try to be as responsible

35:58as we possibly can.

36:00OK, I think um to um having like

36:04I told Ms. Ramona last week she

36:06did a very good job of bringing

36:08us information forward, but Ms.

36:09Ramona, I couldn't remember if

36:10you talked a little bit about

36:12the police department and the

36:14budget. I know you was going to

36:15look at a few things that alder

36:16woman kindly asked about for

36:18future forecasts. Did you talk

36:20about some of that?

36:21So the the forecast that I gave

36:24did include police departments

36:25of the corporate fund budget.

36:28Um

36:28So like the corporate this.

36:34$466,000 of the police cars that

36:36would be coming out of out out

36:36of Corpot out that was budgeted

36:38funds in corporate.

36:40OK.

36:40Are we.

36:41In the forecast that was given.

36:44OK, thank you.

36:46Thank you, Alderwoman, Alderman

36:47Gregory.

36:48Yes, can

36:50You know I, I see these units

36:51are in stock. I can see why you

36:52guys are trying to get them, um,

36:54but can you tell me a rationale

36:56for going from

36:59Little bitty 4 focuses to more

37:01of our.

37:02They don't sell a Ford Focus

37:04anymore or the Fusions. They

37:05don't sell them, and then the

37:07interceptors on state bid, so

37:09what, what was the thinking for

37:10having those back in the day

37:13maybe for stealth or well I

37:14think they got a deal on him, to

37:15be honest with you, so honesty

37:16is best. I, I appreciate you,

37:18sir. Thank you.

37:20Anything further, Alderman.

37:23Alderwoman Conley, thank you.

37:25First, I just want to say, um,

37:27Altima Notrio, I.

37:28I don't know if we've had a

37:30discussion that something can or

37:31can't be spent. I, I would love

37:32to know more about the program

37:33you're talking about. I think

37:35that's something, and certainly

37:36the chief has, has.

37:39indicated a lot of support for,

37:41um, you know, wellness

37:43initiatives for the police

37:44departments. I, I, I want to be

37:47real careful that we not

37:50conflate that expense with these

37:52, these cars, um,

37:54I've been supporting us getting

37:56back onto a more regular cycle

37:58of buying vehicles, um,

37:59A lot of the

38:01People on the Horseshoe weren't

38:01here for the first term, but we

38:04had vehicles where, um,

38:06Officers were complaining of

38:08carbon monoxide issues within

38:09the, in the car, they were being

38:12driven well past their end of

38:13life and to a point where we

38:14were actually, I mean, again,

38:17this is a workplace safety for

38:18our officers. This is where they

38:20spend their time, and this is,

38:21we want them on the streets. We

38:23want them patrolling. We want

38:25them all over the city, but we

38:26want them in vehicles that, that

38:28are safe and healthy for them.

38:32So, um, I certainly understand

38:34concerns about different

38:35expenses. I, I would like to

38:36encourage you to, let's.

38:37Let's make that an and instead

38:38of an or because I think it's

38:40really important that we look at

38:42all aspects of our police

38:43officers and make sure that

38:45they're fully supported. We want

38:45people who are

38:48Mentally, physically, and, and

38:51professionally healthy and, and

38:53well-being. So, um, but again

38:54just.

38:55That's been a big push. It's

38:56something, and I appreciate

38:58Chief, you're trying to find all

38:59the dollars that you can so that

39:01we can ensure that we're on a, a

39:04cycle to keep our vehicles

39:06functional, um, and, and make

39:08sure that our officers'

39:10workspace is, is healthy. We

39:11don't, I.

39:12I had

39:13People reaching out to me

39:15letting me know that there are

39:16officers in the emergency room

39:18with carbon monoxide poisoning

39:19symptoms, and that's not

39:21something that we, it's that

39:23that basic maintenance of, of,

39:25again, our infrastructure of

39:26keeping things on a regular

39:28purchase cycle, instead of what

39:29we had to do back then, which

39:30was make a huge investment.

39:33Um, this is, this looks like

39:35these are big numbers, but this

39:36keeps us on that regular cycle.

39:38And I think, um, it's important

39:39that we ensure that

39:41We may, we keep that going

39:42forward. So thank you, Chief.

39:44Thank you, Chair. Alderman

39:45Hanauer, thank you, Chief. How,

39:46how much, uh,

39:48How many miles are usually on a

39:49car when we,

39:51Scrap it. Want to get rid of it.

39:53Well, it just depends. Some of

39:54them last quite a while, 115,

39:57120, 130,000, which for, for a

39:59regular car, that's probably not

40:00too bad for a squad car, uh,

40:02runs a lot, sometimes 24 hours a

40:04day, so they say that you can

40:05probably double the mileage on

40:07that. So if you have a car with

40:08100,000 miles on it, it's, it's

40:09roughly what they, what the

40:10garage, uh.

40:12Attributes to about 200,000

40:13miles. So and then, and then

40:15this year alone, how, how many,

40:17uh, vehicles have we, have we

40:19lost due to either they've

40:21gotten too old or.

40:24had accidents and I, I don't

40:25know that number off the top of

40:26my head. I can find out though,

40:27but it's more than 10.

40:29Sure, yeah, I'm, I'm I would say

40:31over the last 12 months, maybe

40:31not this calendar year but

40:32definitely the 12 months I would

40:34say probably right around that

40:35right and then as far as this,

40:37um,

40:39What is the software that that

40:42goes with, uh,

40:43The

40:44Alder woman is talking about, is

40:46that something that that we had,

40:48uh, that, that we had in the

40:50budget for this year.

40:51No, sir. You don't have it in

40:52this year's budget? No.

40:55OK.

40:55Thank you.

40:58Aldermancas

40:58Uh, thank you for coming to

40:59follow up on that, uh, was this

41:02original $620 in the budget that

41:03we passed? Yes, sir, for this

41:05purpose. Yes, sir. Yes sir,

41:06sorry.

41:06Thank you, that's all I have.

41:08Thank you. Hold Neutrano.

41:11Thank you, chair. I appreciate,

41:13um Alderman Cox and Hanna, um,

41:17uh, asking those questions and

41:19and bringing to light that yes,

41:21this did not end up in the

41:22budget, but if you remember back

41:23, it's something I've been

41:25talking about for probably the

41:26past couple of years. I was

41:28talking to the previous chief

41:29about implementing this program,

41:30and no, it didn't make it in the

41:32budget.

41:35So.

41:35Question answered there. And

41:37that's why I'm looking for

41:40funding, um, I have been uh.

41:43I, I appreciate your interest,

41:44Alderwoman Connolly, and I'd

41:45love to talk to you more about

41:47this. Um, I've been trying to,

41:52uh, work with the administration

41:54, uh, since the spring.

41:56In order to find money to fund

41:59this program after it did not

42:00end up in the budget, and the

42:03most recent excuses that I've

42:05been given is that there is no

42:07money for this this year.

42:10And so that's why I've been

42:12asking to see current

42:15expenditures from the budget so

42:16that perhaps we would reallocate

42:19some money away from something

42:21else, which it doesn't have to

42:23be, you know, vehicles, um, this

42:26is just convenient that it came

42:28up this week when I was looking

42:29for some money, even though I

42:33haven't been granted access to

42:35the SPD budget as it stands, um.

42:41Recently, um, and so it that's

42:43why, that's why I'm bringing

42:44this up now, and that's why it,

42:47it, it hasn't been funded. It

42:49ended up not in the budget. I'd

42:51have to go back and, and watch,

42:55um, the, the budget discussion.

42:57It was during one of our budget

42:58hearings, but I believe Officer

43:00Beale, or Chief Beale, you had

43:02said something about like you

43:04were redoing the gym and that

43:06would be um part of.

43:10Your officer wellness solution,

43:12um, but what benchmark could

43:16provide, uh, is an officer

43:19management system that is

43:21evidence-based and uses the

43:23existing predictive analytics

43:25that we already collect.

43:27Um, to, uh, help.

43:31Support officers reduce risk and

43:33improve measurable outcomes.

43:35It's grounded in research from

43:37the University of Chicago.

43:38And um.

43:42Agencies like uh the Chicago

43:45Police Department, uh, have had

43:47success using it. So this is um.

43:53I mean, honestly, if we're

43:55looking at moving the department

43:59into um the tech age and

44:03actually using our data to

44:06improve outcomes and um make

44:08sure that the officers have the

44:10resources they need, um, and

44:12we're able to spot problems

44:14before they come up, before

44:17someone destroys their career

44:19with a DUI, um, that would be

44:21wonderful, right?

44:23Um, so I think that's all I'm

44:25gonna say today on this. Thank

44:26you so much.

44:29Thank you, Alderwoman. Any

44:31further discussion, Alderman

44:31Hanauer, Alderwoman, would you

44:34mind sharing what, what this

44:35with us, you know, I don't know

44:37if you can email us what it is

44:40and that and then, uh, how much

44:41did you say this was? This was.

44:44Thanks. So, um, yeah, thank you

44:47for uh bringing that up. 75,000,

44:50but, um, I have just been

44:52notified, uh,

44:55After looping in the the

44:57representative from Benchmark

44:58that I've been working with, uh,

44:59I've been notified that that

45:02price will increase, uh, at the

45:04end of the year. So it's gonna

45:06be over 100,000 per year. Uh,

45:10this 75,000, um, was a special

45:11rate that they were offering us,

45:13and they have been offering the

45:17uh SBD has been talking to this

45:20company, um, for.

45:21Uh, ah, like I said, over a year

45:23now, um, and.

45:26There's buy-in, there is support

45:30, um, but for whatever reason.

45:35Uh

45:36The administration doesn't want

45:37to do it.

45:40Alderman Hanauer, well, I, I

45:41guess the concern I have is, uh.

45:44Our threshold is, I believe, 50

45:45before it has to go off for bid,

45:47right? RFP or whatever is that.

45:50Yeah, so this actually has

45:53already been competitively.

45:54It has gone out for a bid. It is

45:57available to us through the

45:59Federal General Service

46:00Agreement contract.

46:02Um, which was competitively bid

46:04so we could access it that way,

46:06and then this is proprietary

46:08software, so honestly, it's a

46:10sole source.

46:12Well, thank you. I'm sorry. I'm

46:15just trying to get so um.

46:17Uh, Greg, if.

46:19In your opinion, does this have

46:20to get, this would have to go

46:23through procurement so I'd, I'd

46:25wanna see the materials

46:26obviously I haven't seen the

46:27materials for this program and

46:28then I would turn that over to

46:30our purchasing agent to let him

46:31make the determination. He's the

46:33one under our city code that has

46:34the authority to determine.

46:36Items like whether or not

46:37they're sole source, whether or

46:39not they're uh.

46:41The joint source bidding that

46:42type of thing. Alderman Hannah,

46:43are there any further discussion

46:44? Well, the only thing is we

46:46You know, and, and, and I know

46:48we do a lot of work and we, we

46:51do the research, but really when

46:53it, our, our,

46:56Our job isn't to really, uh,

46:59push a software or hardware or

47:01whatever product to, it, it's,

47:04that's an administration

47:04function in my mind.

47:05And I think that uh.

47:06You know, if this, I hope that

47:08something like this would, would

47:10.

47:10Work and work well with our

47:12systems and that.

47:14Um, but to me, it, it should

47:17come from, from the police

47:18department and the

47:20administration, and we shouldn't

47:20be pushing.

47:22Um,

47:22You know, 11

47:25Over another or whatever, it's.

47:27It really has to come from.

47:29Anything further, Alderman?

47:31Alder Roman Neutrino. Thank you,

47:32Chair. So as I said, this is um

47:39proprietary software. This is

47:40not something that uh a bunch of

47:44vendors are going to be able to

47:47supply to the same level and for

47:50the same cost as this company,

47:53um, and I really have to push

47:56back on you, saying that it's

47:59not the council's responsibility

48:02to create.

48:03policy or conduct oversight of

48:05the police department. That's

48:06not what I said, alderwoman.

48:07Quit putting words in. Well, I

48:09mean, it's, it's what it sounded

48:12like, um, this um, is um,, well,

48:14I, I'm sorry that you said that.

48:16I'm sorry that you believe that,

48:20but it is this council's

48:23responsibility to have oversight

48:25over the police department,

48:26believe it or not, and also to

48:29set policy for the police

48:31department, believe.

48:31or not.

48:34Um, and I am not saying that I'm

48:37an expert by any stretch of the

48:40imagination. But what I am

48:41saying is that.

48:46I

48:46No this, uh, this area of

48:50research and I understand how it

48:52could be used to benefit our

48:55officers. Um, It it's really

48:57wild to me that an

48:58administration that is so

49:00supportive of our officers is

49:03pushing back so hard on

49:04something that would be a

49:06benefit to them. So as I said,

49:08it's not only about helping

49:11people or finding people who

49:13need help and extra resources.

49:15But it's also capable of finding

49:19people who deserve recognition

49:20and making sure they get it,

49:22right? We've all worked at a

49:24place before where, you know,

49:26it's, it's only the bad apples

49:28that get all the attention.

49:30Wouldn't it be nice for us to be

49:33able to create a list or have at

49:37our finger tap finger fingertips

49:40, officers who th through actual

49:43evidence.

49:43Are are known to be excelling at

49:47their job in one form or another

49:51. Um, again, this will, this

49:55will interface with every like

49:58so this company um has

50:00experienced and are facing with

50:02every system that Springfield

50:04Police Department uses, um, they

50:07have actually talked to a former

50:09leadership about the ability to

50:12interface. Uh, it's not gonna.

50:13cost any more money on the IT

50:16side to do that, uh, integration

50:20and.

50:20Yeah, I've

50:22Uh.

50:23I, I, I, I don't know. I think

50:28that I addressed all the

50:30concerns, but again, we'll talk

50:31about it next week, but I, I, I

50:35will say again that um this is.

50:39The type of software that would

50:41be perfect for a sole source

50:44procurement, and I know.

50:47That are, um, uh, procurement

50:52officer is um well versed and uh

50:56is able to use sole source, um,

50:58procurement, so it shouldn't be

51:00an issue. Thank you. Thank you,

51:02Altimer Williams. Thank you,

51:03Chair, and thank you to my

51:04colleagues who, who are asking

51:07these questions, um.

51:08So long we just passed tons of

51:11money to not just this

51:12department but all the

51:14departments in particular, uh,

51:16police.

51:17And

51:18You're, you're asking legitimate

51:20things.

51:20Is it, are we getting bang for

51:22our buck? Is it worth it? Are we

51:24really taking care of our

51:26officers? That is our job. We do

51:29have an oversight

51:31responsibilities. He's hired to

51:32run a police department. He's

51:34hired to bring it to us and for

51:35my first two years, we just kept

51:38giving without question. And my

51:39citizens have asked me, ***,

51:41they come up, they get all their

51:43money pass because they see from

51:45their homes that we are topsided

51:48here with giving money to two

51:50departments.

51:51Israeli police and fire, which

51:52is important to the citizens.

51:54They understand that, but they

51:56lack in citizener services when

51:57we talk about public works,

52:00enough crews, nothing. So we do

52:02have to ask aldermen, do our due

52:04diligence and start thinking

52:05about are there other ways to do

52:07things? Can we take some money

52:09from here and put it here that

52:11would be a direct impact on the

52:13citizens' lives. There's nothing

52:14wrong with that.

52:15Now,

52:16I hope this new console there

52:18that's coming gets even better

52:20at this because the days are

52:21just consent, consent, consent,

52:23consent is over.

52:24If you, if you're gonna be the

52:27Chiefs or the department heads,

52:28you gotta come with your

52:29homework. You got, and there's

52:31nothing wrong with us asking

52:34questions we should ask

52:36questions because we're lopsided

52:37right now. Everything goes to a

52:39couple of departments. The rest

52:41is suffering. The city's in

52:42horrible shape.

52:44I don't care what kind of

52:45pickups we're talking about,

52:47leaves, I don't care if we're

52:49talking about the large items. I

52:50don't care if we're talking

52:52about fly jumping, uh, all the

52:56social-oriented issues are real.

52:58And the only department that

52:59really sees the truth.

53:01It's community relations

53:02director Posey's office.

53:03I have me over there and watched

53:05a few hours of activity. And I

53:07go, well this is backwards, you

53:09need some more help, man.

53:10You need some more money.

53:13I, I, I, uh, um, uh, Director

53:18Fuchs needs some more crews.

53:20To pick up some more of these

53:21leaves after these storms, I

53:23mean branches after these storms

53:25and just the breasts that we

53:27give our citizens horrible

53:29service. So it's OK to ask these

53:31questions and squeeze the budget

53:32a little bit and quit doing the

53:34things that ain't that we're

53:35trying to take their job.

53:37We're just trying to make it

53:39better and utilize the money

53:40better. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

53:42Thank you, Alderman Alderman Cox

53:44.

53:44Thank you, sir, um.

53:47My name was brought up a couple

53:49of minutes ago after I spoke,

53:50and I just want to be on the

53:51record that

53:54Mm

53:54Nobody's a bigger supporter of

53:56police well-being than me.

53:59OK. Whether it's equipment or

54:00it's mental health. And believe

54:01it or not, I guarantee you can

54:04ask 97% of the police officers,

54:06whether the gym is good for

54:07their mental health, and they're

54:08going to tell you yes, OK? So

54:10don't smirk. That's rude.

54:12Um,

54:17Do, would I love to get them

54:18more mental health help?

54:20Absolutely. I don't think

54:21anybody is saying that this idea

54:22of the software is a bad idea.

54:24What we're saying is let's just

54:26do it the right way. Whether

54:27it's sole source, great, if it's

54:29that easy, I'm 100% behind it if

54:31we can do it that way. I don't

54:33think that's what Alderman

54:34Hanauer was getting at. I think

54:35he just wants to make sure that

54:36we don't end up in an audit or

54:37end up in a lawsuit down the

54:39road if we just grab a company.

54:41If this is the proprietary place

54:42, great, fine. I don't think

54:43you'll see any arguments as long

54:44as we can find the money. And if

54:45that means we don't buy a car,

54:47maybe, so be it. I don't know

54:49their full budget either. I

54:51don't know the drama between

54:53whoever in this council and the

54:54administration, and I don't

54:55really

54:55want to know, um.

54:58I think this got way off on a

55:01tangent.

55:01Um, you know, right now we're

55:03talking about buying some police

55:04cars. We can vote it up or vote

55:05it down next week, but, um, I'm

55:09all for. I, I, I echo, I'm sorry

55:10, I'm getting a little fired up,

55:12but I'm all for, um, like what

55:14what Alderwoman Connolly said,

55:16Let's talk about this and let's

55:17see what is out there. I'm happy

55:19to be a part of that, but

55:21Uh, you know, the, the police

55:22and the fire, yeah, they get a

55:23lot of our money, absolutely.

55:25Public works gets a pretty fair

55:26chunk, would, wouldn't you agree

55:28, Director, uh, oops.

55:30Yes.

55:31Do we need more? Sure, we would

55:33all love to have more money.

55:34Budget season's around the

55:35corner, so let's get busy, but,

55:37um, I just had to say that

55:38little piece. Thank you very

55:39much, Chair. Thank you, Alderman

55:41, Alderman Gregory. No, no, no,

55:44I get fired up. Go ahead, go

55:46ahead. Thank you, Alderman.

55:48Alderwoman Notriano, thank you,

55:50dear. Um, so Alderman Cox,

55:52please no.

55:56That, um, my smirk was just

56:00because you by saying that the

56:03gym was helpful, um,

56:07misinterpreted what I said just

56:08as you had accused me of

56:12misinterpreting what you said.

56:14Um, I think everyone knows.

56:16In this day and age, that

56:18physical activity and exercise

56:20is good for your mental health.

56:23Absolutely.

56:24That is one piece.

56:27I agree. What we're talking

56:28about here.

56:31Is a program that can pull from

56:36officers experiences in the

56:37field.

56:37I, I, you.

56:39I, I don't know. I have no idea.

56:46The difficulties and the level

56:49of trauma that officers

56:51encounter on the day to day

56:53basis.

56:55This system would allow us to

56:59flag affected officers and make

57:02sure that they are being taken

57:03care of.

57:08I don't know. Sounds like a good

57:09idea to me.

57:14Anything further all want.

57:15Ottoman record.

57:17Uh, so Chief, uh, help me out.

57:19Do we have anything right now to

57:20, to, to help these officers

57:22like the auto was talking about.

57:24No, we got an EAP. We have, yes,

57:26we have a lot of, a lot of

57:27avenues. I'm sure there's things

57:28out there that, that the

57:29officers can go to.

57:32You know, meetings and functions

57:33and these kind of things, but

57:35group sessions, you know, help

57:36me out because I, I agree

57:38wholeheartedly we want the best

57:39for our officers, but, but again

57:41I think there's, there's things

57:42out there that that they're

57:43already.

57:45It's been implemented, you know,

57:46to help these, these folks 1st,

57:491st, you know, subject matter

57:50experts within law enforcement

57:51say the single best thing you

57:52can do is get a workout in for

57:53your stress, whether it's

57:55physical, uh, stress, whether

57:56it's mental stress, whatever,

57:57what have you. That is the

57:59single best thing you can

57:59possibly do. That is why we

58:01invest money into our gym.

58:03Um, secondly, uh, we are seeking

58:05a grant right now to pay for uh

58:09a software, whatever that might

58:11be to track officers wellness.

58:13Um, it's similar to what, uh,

58:14the, the older woman is talking

58:15about with benchmark, um, a

58:17software that might do that.

58:18There's, there's a plethora of

58:19softwares out there. The problem

58:20with that is, it's not just

58:24$75,000 or $78,000 and then

58:26$100,000 after that. There's an

58:27integration fee that comes with

58:28this.

58:28They integrated on the side of

58:30the software, but when you go to

58:32integrate with.

58:33Our software on our side, such

58:35as CGI, it is going to cost you

58:39$250,000. We know this. We tried

58:40to do this with other software

58:41that we have at the police

58:43department to integrate with CGI

58:45, which is our timekeeping

58:46software, and that is a part of

58:48Benchmark.

58:48In order to do that, it's a

58:49quarter of a million dollars.

58:51There's also conversations that

58:52had to be had with the

58:55collective bargaining unit. So

58:56having conversations with the

58:57unit saying, hey, is this

58:58something you're interested in?

58:59What do we think about this? Do

59:00we need to have an MOU? All

59:02those conversations have been

59:04had. They're supportive. We're

59:05supportive. It's

59:06We just don't have

59:09350 $400,000 in our budget to

59:11make sure all these integrations

59:12are done. If you don't have the

59:13integrations, you don't get the

59:14data pulled into the benchmark

59:16or whatever software it is.

59:17To, to come up with this

59:20algorithm that says, hey, we

59:21should probably check on this

59:22officer.

59:23But that's that's the cost of it

59:25.

59:26Benchmark may have an

59:27integration, may not have an

59:28integration fee, but I promise

59:30you CGI does because we've tried

59:31to do it before. So, let me ask

59:32you.

59:35Again, um, I spent 35 years with

59:36the city, and I, and I know

59:38there's, there's avenues you can

59:38take, but.

59:40the, the function, I, I've never

59:42been a police officer. Nobody,

59:42you know, a lot of us have it.

59:45Nobody has, but so I don't know

59:46what goes through their minds,

59:47you know, do we have, do we have

59:52?

59:52Doctors or psychiatrists that

59:53can pull these people and say,

59:54hey, I think, I think Chief

59:56Bill's having some problems

59:57pulling aside. Let's talk to him

59:58and get him, I mean, there's a

59:59recommendations coming from your

1:00:00, your, your, your senior

1:00:03officers and, and commanders

1:00:04anytime.

1:00:05Anytime there's a critical

1:00:06incident such as, uh, well, we

1:00:08don't have to name them, but a

1:00:09critical incident. If we have a

1:00:11critical incident, those direct

1:00:12supervisors and command staff,

1:00:14me on down are checking out a

1:00:15particular officer or group of

1:00:16officers. We offer them EAP.

1:00:17We're checking them on a regular

1:00:19basis. We're calling them at

1:00:20home. We're making sure they're

1:00:21OK, and I'm fine, uh, statement

1:00:23that we get from every single

1:00:24cop is not, is not acceptable

1:00:25for us. I want to know you're

1:00:27fine. I want to hear that you're

1:00:28fine. I wanna see that you're

1:00:30fine. We have peer support

1:00:30program. We just implemented

1:00:31that. It's a new program we just

1:00:33started. Not only is it peer

1:00:34support within our.

1:00:35Department, but we can reach out

1:00:37to other departments where other

1:00:39officers are peer supporters to

1:00:40reach out so you don't have to

1:00:42necessarily talk to somebody

1:00:43within your within your agency.

1:00:44We have EAP.

1:00:46Right, so, so again, older women

1:00:47, I think, I think this is a

1:00:49good point. I think it's, it

1:00:52needs discussion. I just, uh,

1:00:53you know, we're, we're, it came

1:00:54up on a, uh, for automobiles. I

1:00:57mean, it's, it's, it's uh apples

1:00:59and oranges, so I think, I think

1:01:01when it comes time for budget.

1:01:03And we need to talk about it as

1:01:04a as a group, so thank you,

1:01:06Chair. Thank you, Alderman. Any

1:01:08further discussion, any further

1:01:10discussion? Older woman, Noriano

1:01:11. Thank you, Chair. Um, so again

1:01:16, I'll say, um, yes, we have an

1:01:18AP.

1:01:20That's

1:01:20That is not the same thing you

1:01:22have to come and get that.

1:01:25As an employee.

1:01:26You have to go and utilize it.

1:01:29Um,

1:01:31So.

1:01:34There's that, and I did talk

1:01:36about this during budget, and I

1:01:38tried to handle this.

1:01:41Between just me and the

1:01:43administration. I tried for this

1:01:44not to be a big dust up.

1:01:49But there is some.

1:01:52Uh, I don't understand

1:01:54resistance, uh, I, I, I, so I

1:01:56can only go off of.

1:01:59Uh, TP, have you spoken with

1:02:02anybody from Benchmark regarding

1:02:04integration directly. I talked,

1:02:04talked to him via email a couple

1:02:05of times and told them to uh

1:02:07speak with my staff.

1:02:08OK, so you have not talked to

1:02:11them about integration costs.

1:02:13I'm not talking to benchmark

1:02:14about integration costs. I know

1:02:15that we've tried to integrate

1:02:17other programs with CGI. CGI

1:02:18being our main, uh, timekeeping

1:02:21program, and CGI told us it

1:02:23would be a quarter of a million

1:02:24dollars to do that, OK.

1:02:25Well,

1:02:28The person I've been speaking

1:02:29with.

1:02:31Works with CGI, that's, that's

1:02:33obviously a big part of what.

1:02:37This program is integrated with

1:02:40and has said that there aren't

1:02:43any integration costs. I don't

1:02:45know. I'm not a technically

1:02:48savvy person. I don't know how

1:02:49it's going to integrate, um, or

1:02:52anything like that.

1:02:56But

1:02:56They they assured me that the

1:03:0075,000 a year was going to be

1:03:02their cost, and that covers

1:03:04integration. So I just don't

1:03:07understand the pushback, um.

1:03:13Especially if you haven't

1:03:15actually spoken to them.

1:03:17Um, I, I know that we have

1:03:20emailed back and forth on this.

1:03:21I, I really, it's.

1:03:25It's

1:03:25I don't know. I'm, I'm at a loss

1:03:27for words. I, I.

1:03:29I don't, I don't understand.

1:03:33The

1:03:34Reticence and the pushback for

1:03:38this, um, literally every

1:03:39everything that has come up as a

1:03:42roadblock.

1:03:43Via email.

1:03:46Is not an issue.

1:03:48Talking to the union already

1:03:51happened. How it's gonna be

1:03:53procured, uh, we can do it one

1:03:54or two ways, one of which would

1:03:56be competitive, one of which

1:03:57would be a sole source, um, I, I

1:04:00.

1:04:00I really

1:04:03Like the resistance to this is

1:04:07remarkable, honestly.

1:04:09Um,

1:04:09And you know what, I, I, I,

1:04:12Alderman Rockford, I, I am sorry

1:04:14that we had to talk about it now

1:04:16, you know, and it's a little

1:04:18bit off topic for for vehicles,

1:04:20but I have been asking since May

1:04:26, probably even earlier for

1:04:28budget information from uh the

1:04:30police department to see what's

1:04:31been expended, to see if we can

1:04:33move some money around to get

1:04:34this going.

1:04:36Um, I.

1:04:37Hm.

1:04:39Did I, I did not bring it

1:04:41forward.

1:04:42Because.

1:04:44I knew it was going to turn into

1:04:46an us versus them.

1:05:04Anything further Alder.

1:05:06Um,

1:05:07No.

1:05:07OK.

1:05:10Aldermann.

1:05:12I think I don't know how long

1:05:14ago, way back, uh, it might have

1:05:16been the previous administration

1:05:17, I'm not sure, but we put in.

1:05:20I'm not sure and I don't even

1:05:21remember who did it. It might

1:05:22have been Sean we put in for

1:05:24extra.

1:05:24Um,

1:05:25Extra crew.

1:05:28Republic works, I think.

1:05:31And it and it didn't, it, it

1:05:33never.

1:05:35The the administration decided

1:05:37that they were not going to

1:05:38spend that money.

1:05:39And the reason why I brought

1:05:40that up is.

1:05:43We can make, we can put the

1:05:44money in the budget.

1:05:46And

1:05:48But

1:05:48And we can even say, hey, we

1:05:50looked at this software, we

1:05:51looked at this pro this this

1:05:53thing.

1:05:55And we can talk to the

1:05:56administration.

1:05:56But in the end.

1:05:58All that's all we can do.

1:06:01The administration and I'm

1:06:02pointing at you, Chief, because

1:06:03you're a part of the

1:06:04administration.

1:06:05And I'm talking about, you know,

1:06:08all the administration

1:06:08ultimately the mayor.

1:06:10It's their decision what they do

1:06:12with the money that we budget

1:06:13them.

1:06:14Now,

1:06:15Um,

1:06:16You know, this wasn't put in, I

1:06:18guess it could, it should

1:06:19probably should have been a uh

1:06:22amendment of some sort, but

1:06:23again, we could have put, we

1:06:25could have put $500,000 in as an

1:06:29amendment for this and if it's

1:06:31not something that they're the,

1:06:33the administration.

1:06:34is ready to move on yet.

1:06:36That's up to them. We can't do

1:06:38anything about it. We can't

1:06:40force them.

1:06:42To do that, we, there's, that's

1:06:44not our job as the a legislative

1:06:46body.

1:06:47And that's the function and, and

1:06:49, you know.

1:06:50I guess that's why people run

1:06:52for the ad, you know, for the,

1:06:54for mayor because they wanna be

1:06:56able to make those decisions.

1:06:58And, and, and I mean.

1:07:00I

1:07:01I think that this is good and I,

1:07:02I'm not, I don't think that that

1:07:04.

1:07:05I don't think chief is your,

1:07:07your, you're wanting to say no

1:07:09to, to anything like this, but

1:07:10you're just trying to find the

1:07:11right time and.

1:07:13And, and go through the right

1:07:15processes.

1:07:17To move forward with it and, and

1:07:18if we do have to really sit down

1:07:20with the unions and and move

1:07:22forward then then so be it, but

1:07:24just, just keep in mind, and I'm

1:07:25not.

1:07:26Look.

1:07:27I think it's a good idea, but in

1:07:29the end, we can, we can put in

1:07:32for all the dump trucks and all

1:07:33the, all the stuff we want.

1:07:35But, and I, I saw it with the

1:07:37last administration. I've seen

1:07:38it with this. If they don't want

1:07:40to spend the money on it.

1:07:43They don't have to and there's

1:07:45not a dang thing that we on this

1:07:48council can do about it.

1:07:50That's the purpose of the strong

1:07:51mayor form of government, so.

1:07:53Um,

1:07:54End of, end of, uh, I guess, uh,

1:07:57civics lesson, so thank you,

1:07:59Alderman Williams. There's

1:08:00plenty that we can do about it.

1:08:02Uh, and this is why we have

1:08:03these kind of nights, Ralph,

1:08:06because when we don't get the

1:08:08right responses invited to the

1:08:10right meetings, we just sit back

1:08:12because they're coming with

1:08:13something they're gonna want,

1:08:15boom.

1:08:16There's my opportunity to tell

1:08:17you about what I want. The only

1:08:20because they won't communicate,

1:08:20because they're arrogant.

1:08:22And they wanna do things only

1:08:24their way and in their silo.

1:08:26What I want my people to know

1:08:28that's why I bring half of what

1:08:29I bring up on the floor. I want

1:08:32my people to hear the

1:08:34explanation of what you're

1:08:35saying.

1:08:36That the ministration don't do

1:08:37it, so it won't. So that's why

1:08:39you branches are still out there

1:08:41. That's why you're, whatever it

1:08:42is, cause this budget season is

1:08:44gonna be interesting. The Knicks

1:08:46City council is gonna vary and

1:08:48be very interesting, but there's

1:08:50nothing wrong with either of

1:08:51these two arguments or not at

1:08:53their desk right now, did

1:08:56tonight. They're supposed to ask

1:08:58questions. They're supposed

1:09:01They're supposed to try to

1:09:02provide oversight, but you're

1:09:04right, cause I had a $100,000 my

1:09:09first budget.

1:09:10For trees, for trade renewal.

1:09:11This air stuff that she did with

1:09:13that, that my very first one was

1:09:16I got approved, got put in the

1:09:18budget, under my buddy, under my

1:09:21that administration. They did

1:09:22nothing.

1:09:22So I hear what you're saying,

1:09:24but it don't mean it don't have

1:09:25to happen. What we have to do is

1:09:28expose it. Like, like tonight.

1:09:30What, what happened? people have

1:09:31learned more.

1:09:33About how we operate probably

1:09:35than in a long time.

1:09:37Because just because they

1:09:38operate that way a body passing

1:09:41something, 10 votes or whatever,

1:09:43once it's passed.

1:09:44They really should do it.

1:09:46And if they drag their feet and

1:09:48they, we have to expose that to

1:09:50the people that it ain't that

1:09:51your alderman ain't putting your

1:09:53request in, we ain't trying to

1:09:54get nothing done. It's the way

1:09:56they choose to operate. I've

1:09:58been and asked for lists, when's

1:09:59the next schedule? We don't get

1:10:01schedules. We don't get, we just

1:10:03get, oh, it's pickup season.

1:10:05Where are we gonna start? Where

1:10:06are we gonna, we don't get any

1:10:07of those kind of things so I can

1:10:10give some people a definite

1:10:11month even or during this month

1:10:13they for sure gonna get you

1:10:15right now, I'm sitting with

1:10:16people saying

1:10:16Alderman.

1:10:18And a neighborhood associates

1:10:19with me. You told us that branch

1:10:22pickup starts for us October 1st

1:10:24. Today is the 13th. The

1:10:26branches are still down. Now,

1:10:27I'm not gonna beat up on public

1:10:30works cause I understand from

1:10:32dealing with all this, they need

1:10:34help.

1:10:35They need help. It has to get

1:10:37done somehow. When it comes to

1:10:38the unions, they sign the

1:10:40contract. OK, you wanna change

1:10:41something or you don't like

1:10:42something, just like they hold

1:10:43us, we can hold them too. They

1:10:46don't get to always just veto it

1:10:48cause they're in the union.

1:10:50So I just think we need to talk

1:10:52more and be more open.

1:10:54But when, when we get a

1:10:56menstruation that don't wanna do

1:10:58that, we end up here in the

1:10:59public, where people can at

1:11:01least understand why my all man

1:11:04or all woman couldn't get it

1:11:05done.

1:11:06Because they won't move on it.

1:11:08You just gave them their answer

1:11:09because they, you know, we can

1:11:11pass it and you're right, we can

1:11:12pass, but if they don't

1:11:14implement it,

1:11:16That we just passed it, but I

1:11:18think the people should know

1:11:19that, so they understand why

1:11:21sometimes things don't get done.

1:11:22Thank you.

1:11:23Thank you, Alderman Alderman

1:11:24Carlson.

1:11:26I just want to read the branch

1:11:27pick up that

1:11:29We all seem to get and on

1:11:31Thursdays, October 5th would be

1:11:32the Northwest portion of the

1:11:34city. October 12th, the

1:11:35Southwest.

1:11:36October 19th, the Southeast.

1:11:39In October 26th, the Northeast.

1:11:41Um,

1:11:43I mean, we have branch, we have

1:11:45branch pick up 4 times a year.

1:11:46We have 4 branch we go 4 times a

1:11:48year and it's, and it's clearly

1:11:51spelled out.

1:11:51On the city's website.

1:11:53So thank you, Alderman. um.

1:11:55Let's back up. I, I want to

1:11:57thank everybody for the

1:11:58passionate discussion.

1:12:00To the ordinance itself though,

1:12:01Chief, I want to say thank you

1:12:03for bringing this forward. Thank

1:12:05you for not bringing 30 vehicles

1:12:08forward, uh, I remember the days

1:12:09when we had not only carbon

1:12:11monoxide issues, but we had,

1:12:11which is very serious. We had

1:12:14vehicles that had holes in the

1:12:16floor. They were being literally

1:12:18kept together with duct tape and

1:12:19twine and, and, uh, this is so

1:12:22important long term and short

1:12:24term for the department and for

1:12:25the city as a whole to have this

1:12:27regular replacement program, so

1:12:28thanks for bringing it forward.

1:12:29Is there any.

1:12:30Further discussion, Alburn

1:12:30Williams are down a couple of

1:12:31times. Yeah, I'm sorry.

1:12:35Chief, is that the the situation

1:12:37right now. These vehicles that

1:12:39you're trading out are disorder

1:12:41speaks to is the carbon monoxide

1:12:43is that, is that an issue right

1:12:44now with these vehicles? We do

1:12:45get reports of that still every

1:12:46now and then. OK. And is there

1:12:48still holes in the floor? No.

1:12:50Good. So, so we need to know

1:12:52that it has improved and that we

1:12:54have moved on because we have

1:12:56purchased vehicles since I've

1:12:57been here.

1:12:58So just because it happened in

1:13:00the past don't mean it's still

1:13:01happening today and we use it

1:13:03when it's just, you know, uh, uh

1:13:06important to use to justify

1:13:08something.

1:13:08You know, and Carlson, I just

1:13:10wanna say to you that.

1:13:12You know, all it takes is a star

1:13:15.

1:13:15If it storms this weekend like

1:13:16it's supposed to, and branches

1:13:18come down, we're always

1:13:20scheduled last, so guess what

1:13:22happens. Now all the new

1:13:23branches and all the new damage

1:13:26takes over. When I call in the

1:13:28food department, that's what

1:13:29they tell me. Well, you know, we

1:13:30gotta get the ones on the store.

1:13:32So when do mine get picked up?

1:13:34What I'm trying to get picked up

1:13:37is from two storms ago. 2.

1:13:39Storms ago. So we do need more

1:13:41money in the budget for them.

1:13:42But like I said, it'll be

1:13:44interesting times when the

1:13:46When the storms come.

1:13:47And I'll leave it at that.

1:13:49Thank you. Uh, the, the motion

1:13:50on the floor is for the debate

1:13:51agenda. Any further discussion,

1:13:52any further discussion, any

1:13:53further discussion. We have a

1:13:54motion in a second. All those in

1:13:55favor sign divide by saying aye.

1:13:56All opposed, nay, the ayes have

1:13:59it. Any unfinished business to

1:14:00come before the council. Alder

1:14:01Williams, uh, Chief.

1:14:03They didn't piss me off now. I'm

1:14:04going to get,

1:14:06Um, so I, I got an email maybe

1:14:09some of these y'all got it. I

1:14:10won't mention the gentleman's

1:14:12name, but he discusses being

1:14:14across from Chick fil A.

1:14:17Uh, late one evening and

1:14:19encounters a 12 year old that

1:14:21missed the bus.

1:14:23Um, in the email he describes

1:14:24how he fed the kid, did this,

1:14:26made these calls, but he also

1:14:29talks about how many times and

1:14:31how long it took, how many times

1:14:33he called, how long it took for

1:14:35the police to respond. Can you

1:14:37explain? First of all, have you

1:14:38heard of this incident? I've

1:14:39heard of it, yes. OK. Can you

1:14:41explain why it took so long?

1:14:42Well, it's pretty much our peak

1:14:44day, uh, peak hours right then,

1:14:46uh, that, that evening shift

1:14:48typically from about 3 p.m. to

1:14:50about 7 p.m. is the busiest time

1:14:51of the, uh, busy.

1:14:52time of the day, sometimes even

1:14:53a little bit later, 8 to 9 p.m.

1:14:56That is the busiest time of the

1:14:57day for us, so, um, that's

1:14:59probably why we were, uh,

1:15:00delayed in getting there. I will

1:15:01say this, that we do not, the

1:15:03Springfield Police Department

1:15:04does not triage calls for

1:15:05service. The calls for service

1:15:07don't go to Samon County

1:15:08combined dispatch. The same in

1:15:11county combined dispatch triages

1:15:13the calls they, they classify

1:15:14the calls however it is that

1:15:16they're trained to do so and

1:15:17then they dispatch our police

1:15:19officers to these particular

1:15:20calls. Those are not city

1:15:21employees. They're not, they're

1:15:22not employ

1:15:23by the city of Springfield or

1:15:25the police department, so is

1:15:26that a good system to you that

1:15:29our officers respond and the way

1:15:30we is under a whole another

1:15:33jurisdiction and and gets

1:15:35labeled or category by someone

1:15:37else other than the

1:15:39The people they work for and

1:15:40then we just start responding

1:15:42cause it may not be our fault,

1:15:43but is it a good system be under

1:15:45in your opinion, being the chief

1:15:47to be under that kind of system

1:15:49or should we do that different?

1:15:51Well, it's, it's repetitive for,

1:15:52uh, for other, uh, dispatchers,

1:15:55so, um, they all are trained to

1:15:57the same standard. What what

1:15:58whatever that might be, um, that

1:16:00way a Springfield, uh, City of

1:16:02Springfield dispatcher can work

1:16:03on the sheriff's department side

1:16:04and what have you, so that's all

1:16:06consistent across the board for

1:16:07everybody, so, um.

1:16:08I think it's a good system for

1:16:10them to be trained, uh, the same

1:16:12and appropriately, um, to triage

1:16:14these calls for service. Now I

1:16:15don't know the circumstances.

1:16:16I've not listened to the call to

1:16:18uh dispatch, so I don't know the

1:16:20circumstances around what was

1:16:21reported, why it was, uh,

1:16:23triaged in a certain manner. Um,

1:16:24I don't, I don't know their

1:16:25policies or procedures as to why

1:16:27they did that. Well, you know,

1:16:28this thing is going around on

1:16:29Facebook. I would just ask you

1:16:31to please find out, look into it

1:16:34, who was responsive, who was

1:16:36not responsive because the

1:16:37indication is.

1:16:38We weren't responsive for ours.

1:16:41This guy tried to get the kid an

1:16:43Uber, was told you better not do

1:16:45that, uh, try to take the kid

1:16:48home himself, all the stuff when

1:16:49the Uber arrives finally when he

1:16:51decides to just I guess disobey

1:16:54and call the Uber any way to get

1:16:56the 12 year old home. Now our

1:16:57police officer shows up, but

1:16:59it's so much time went by, Chief

1:17:02, and I realized this system may

1:17:04be convenient for the law

1:17:05enforcement, but it, it's not a

1:17:07good service for the people that

1:17:09somebody calls in and say I got

1:17:10a.

1:17:1112 year old that missed the bus,

1:17:12he doesn't even know how to get

1:17:14home.

1:17:16That type of thing and the

1:17:18response is, well,

1:17:20We're coming but then they don't

1:17:22come. It reminded me of the

1:17:23other one I gave you a while

1:17:25back where a guy, I'm in my

1:17:27hotel lobby of one of my

1:17:30constituent hotels and a guy

1:17:31wants male and and he says you

1:17:33don't live here you don't get

1:17:34mail.

1:17:35It was drugs.

1:17:36But to make a long story short,

1:17:38the guy jumps up on the counter.

1:17:39I'm right there.

1:17:42And then jumps over.

1:17:44Not Jenny robs him, he grabs the

1:17:46mill, but he grabs a bunch of

1:17:47other stuff too, jumps out, we

1:17:49call in. I'm sitting there with

1:17:51the owner of the hotel. I'm on

1:17:53my 2nd hour going, where are

1:17:54y'all at? When are y'all coming?

1:17:56Well, what's going on now? And

1:17:58we say, well, the guy got in his

1:17:59car and left.

1:18:01Well, now I got dropped way down

1:18:03to where they may come tonight,

1:18:05They they may not type thing.

1:18:06What is that?

1:18:08When we telling you that this is

1:18:10happening, why isn't the

1:18:12response time immediately when I

1:18:13talk with you, I remember you

1:18:15saying almost the exact same

1:18:17thing. It's peak hour. We don't

1:18:19have, you know.

1:18:20And I'm, I'm thinking all the

1:18:23resources, all the things, every

1:18:25camera, this, that, every tool

1:18:26that you got, and we can't

1:18:28respond to simple stuff.

1:18:31Like a 12 year old being lost.

1:18:33Like somebody jumping on a hotel

1:18:36counter and then jumping over

1:18:37the counter and just snatching

1:18:38up a bunch of stuff that wasn't

1:18:40his plus the male that they was

1:18:42trying not to give it to him

1:18:43because

1:18:43They were trying to give that

1:18:45package to your police officer.

1:18:47But I, I

1:18:49And I do complain about the

1:18:49police a lot because I believe

1:18:50if we're gonna invest in you

1:18:53this council is gonna keep

1:18:54giving you all these stuff. Some

1:18:55should get solved.

1:18:57Something should get done, we

1:18:59should get something for our

1:19:01money. This is why I be trying

1:19:03to talk all start asking

1:19:04questions. Start to see if

1:19:05there's other ways we can do

1:19:07these things because the service

1:19:08to our people is not there. It's

1:19:11missing because we're too busy

1:19:12doing the protocol thing and,

1:19:14and following the rule type

1:19:15thing and but you got the tools

1:19:17over but I didn't turn on the

1:19:18camera. Oh, I forgot to turn it.

1:19:19I forgot to charge my taser just

1:19:21goes on and on, chief.

1:19:23So my, my remedy is just don't

1:19:25give them nothing no more until

1:19:27budget time and we reorganize

1:19:28some of the way the city does

1:19:30the money.

1:19:31Thank you, Alderwoman Notrano.

1:19:34Thank you, Chair. Um, I am

1:19:38actually looking to speak on a

1:19:40public works issue.

1:19:41Mr. Chair, I was gonna follow up

1:19:41on that if, if it's OK. that's

1:19:43fine. Do you mind? That's fine

1:19:46on that topic that topic. Thank

1:19:48you that topic that topic. Thank

1:19:48you, thank you, Chief. Uh,

1:19:49can I get a stool? Yeah, yeah,

1:19:51right, it gets you a chaise

1:19:52lounge or something here, um.

1:19:56Were you able to follow up on

1:19:56this? I, I, I heard some rumors

1:19:59about this as well and um I

1:20:01guess first question is, is the,

1:20:02is the child OK? Did he get home

1:20:05? Yes, we, we showed up, um, our

1:20:07officers, there were two

1:20:08officers that showed up, uh, we

1:20:09showed up, had a discussion with

1:20:11the gentleman who's reporting it

1:20:12with the, and the child as well.

1:20:14We took custody of the child,

1:20:15returned the child back to his,

1:20:17uh, his parents and guardians.

1:20:18OK, great. And I guess my second

1:20:20part of this is whoever this

1:20:21good Samaritan is, I, I don't

1:20:22know if it's this gentleman

1:20:22because he's shaking his head a

1:20:23lot. Thank you for doing.

1:20:24doing the right thing.

1:20:26Um, a lot of people would have

1:20:28just said, tough luck kid and

1:20:29dripping off, so kudos to you.

1:20:31Um, and thank you. Appreciate it

1:20:34.

1:20:34Thank you, Alderwoman Notriano.

1:20:38Thank you, Chair. OK, so for a

1:20:42minute.

1:20:44So.

1:20:47And this is probably something

1:20:50director folks, you can help

1:20:51with and maybe also.

1:20:53Oration council, um, so in Ward

1:20:586 and I'm sure many wards across

1:21:01the city, we have a serious

1:21:04problem with vacant houses, um,

1:21:07that have or have not been

1:21:10abandoned, but are unoccupied.

1:21:13Um, I'm hearing from residents

1:21:15that some are being used as

1:21:18storage, um.

1:21:19Storage for.

1:21:22Things

1:21:23Not people, no, no, um, and, and

1:21:26there are multiple owners who

1:21:31have houses that are unoccupied,

1:21:34um.

1:21:35And I have been working with a

1:21:37zone manager and he has

1:21:40painstakingly gone through these

1:21:40vacant homes these vacant and

1:21:42vacant these vacant homes and

1:21:42identified them and they're not

1:21:44on the vacant registry. So is,

1:21:47is what, what do we have to do

1:21:48to get these homes on the vacant

1:21:50registry.

1:21:51Uh, let me get together with Mr.

1:21:53Horn and let's take a look at

1:21:54the list and uh see what we've

1:21:56got I I I can't.

1:21:58houses with stuff in it.

1:22:01OK, I need to know the addresses

1:22:03Mr. Yeah, no, he's definitely

1:22:05got that. Yeah, well, let, let

1:22:06me get together with him and see

1:22:08what he's got. OK. All right?

1:22:10And, and then I also have

1:22:15reports of houses that are open

1:22:17to trespass and have been turned

1:22:19in, but have not been secured.

1:22:22Again, don't have the address.

1:22:24Horn would have that, um, and I

1:22:27just, I'm just coming to see

1:22:29because these aren't things that

1:22:30were just put in the budget.

1:22:32These are actual city code.

1:22:35And I, I just don't know why

1:22:38it's not being enforced, um.

1:22:41And then, uh.

1:22:43Corporation counsel, can you

1:22:44speak at all to what

1:22:48What bar do uh these properties

1:22:50have to cross.

1:22:51To get on the vacant registry.

1:22:55So, um, that would be in code

1:22:57and I can, I can pull, pull that

1:22:58up if you'd like me to, um, but

1:23:01the, the process that that it

1:23:03goes through is um an inspector

1:23:05needs to site the property

1:23:07before it gets to us, and as

1:23:08soon as we have what what we

1:23:09call a referral in our office,

1:23:11then we can go to uh enforcement

1:23:13now for the properties open to

1:23:15trespass, we're allowed to go in

1:23:15there and secure them, uh,

1:23:17without going through, uh, going

1:23:19through the court process

1:23:20because it's, it's open trespass

1:23:22it's just dangerous, so um.

1:23:24So if we have those addresses

1:23:26typically public works handles

1:23:27that and then they send it to us

1:23:28and we find on the back end.

1:23:30Yeah, and, and these are houses,

1:23:33the ones that are open to

1:23:35trespass, they are known to us

1:23:38and there's certainly known to

1:23:39the people who are squatting

1:23:42there. They are opened up

1:23:44regularly. I.

1:23:46I, I, my only guess as to why

1:23:49we're unable to stay on top of

1:23:51this is because we only have 6

1:23:54inspectors for the entire city.

1:23:56Um,

1:23:59There some are open now and they

1:24:02need to be closed, and um some,

1:24:06you know, you just ask a

1:24:08neighbor, and, and you can find

1:24:10out that these residents have

1:24:12been unoccupied, uh, for years,

1:24:16so it, it's really.

1:24:17I don't know.

1:24:21Defies logic, um, but thank you.

1:24:24I, I believe that is it for you,

1:24:27Director folks, um, I, I also

1:24:29would like to.

1:24:31Put out to you, um, and also to

1:24:36the fire chief that we're

1:24:38eventually, not today,

1:24:39eventually it's gonna get cold,

1:24:41and people are going to be going

1:24:43into these vacant houses for

1:24:46shelter, um, these houses,

1:24:47especially in Ward 6, are mere

1:24:51feet from other people's

1:24:53occupied homes, and so it, it

1:24:56poses a great danger to people's

1:24:59.

1:25:00Livelihood and lives. So I hope

1:25:02that we have some sort of

1:25:05proactive plan for how we're

1:25:06going to secure these vacant

1:25:09houses before it gets cold and

1:25:11before people.

1:25:12Start squatting in them and

1:25:14bringing in propane tanks and so

1:25:16on and so forth, and burning

1:25:17them down.

1:25:18Thank you, Chair. I share your

1:25:20concern on that one.

1:25:21Thank you.

1:25:23Any new business, seeing none,

1:25:25any citizens to request to

1:25:26address the committee.

1:25:27In Fish

1:25:43Hi Ralph.

1:25:47I just want to note for

1:25:49everybody, US courts have

1:25:50repeatedly ruled that police

1:25:51officers do not have a

1:25:53constitutional duty to protect

1:25:55individual citizens from harm.

1:25:56In the decision Warren versus DC

1:25:58, a DC Court of Appeals case

1:26:00established that police do not

1:26:01have a general duty to the

1:26:03public or do have a general duty

1:26:05to the public not specific

1:26:09individuals. Castlerock versus

1:26:10Gonzalez established that the

1:26:12Supreme Court ruled that a town

1:26:13and its police department could

1:26:14not be sued for failing to

1:26:16enforce a restraining order that

1:26:17resulted in the murder of a

1:26:18woman's children.

1:26:19During the Parkland School

1:26:20shooting, they were sued for

1:26:21failure to act. Federal judges

1:26:23reaffirmed that law enforcement

1:26:25agencies have no constitutional

1:26:26obligation to protect people who

1:26:28are not in police custody.

1:26:29The law structured that way to

1:26:32help cut down on lawsuits as

1:26:33well as

1:26:34The duty to the general public

1:26:35as a whole. Again, not to

1:26:38individuals. They've noted that

1:26:39holding police liable would just

1:26:41open them and city governments

1:26:42and state governments open to

1:26:44lawsuits, not out of concern for

1:26:45anyone else, mind you, just the

1:26:47bottom line.

1:26:48The idea of people say, well, it

1:26:50says protect and serve on the

1:26:51car. Well, the reality is, is

1:26:53that phrase is widely used for

1:26:55PR purposes rather than

1:26:57illegally binding mandate or

1:26:59contract with an individual

1:27:00citizen. See, the problem I have

1:27:02is that when I hear about a 12

1:27:03year old who sat with 2 hours

1:27:04with a complete and utter

1:27:06stranger good thing it was a

1:27:07good person, right?

1:27:08I mean, am I missing something

1:27:11here?

1:27:11There's a 12 year old child

1:27:15unattended where strangers

1:27:15calling in to get them. They're

1:27:16not important enough. How many

1:27:18cops are in the vicinity of that

1:27:19114 year old we tackled over a

1:27:21Terry stop.

1:27:24Hm?

1:27:26You get 2 hours to find him. You

1:27:28remember the kid that didn't

1:27:29actually commit a crime.

1:27:33Right. So I, I think the real

1:27:34answer is if it's a busy time,

1:27:36where's it busy at?

1:27:39Where are the police? Where are

1:27:40they finding crime at?

1:27:44I think we know the answer to

1:27:45that, and if you don't, you

1:27:47should probably look at police

1:27:49maps.

1:27:51It's absolutely insane that a 12

1:27:52year old child had to be left

1:27:54unattended to the point that

1:27:55somebody had to make sure that

1:27:56they got home safely. I mean,

1:27:58the police.

1:27:59don't have a duty to that, and I

1:28:00think that's part of the problem

1:28:01. That's what we're trying to

1:28:02get about this funding for you

1:28:04guys, but none of you seem to

1:28:05get when we come back over and

1:28:07over and over and over again.

1:28:09When you put more money into the

1:28:10community and programs and

1:28:11things that could actually help

1:28:13them like say a program that you

1:28:14could call to help a lost 12

1:28:16year old child that isn't law

1:28:18enforcement.

1:28:19That might actually improve

1:28:20conditions.

1:28:21Instead, were we're giving away

1:28:23over a half a million dollars

1:28:24for more police cars.

1:28:27But I mean, the discussion was

1:28:29had tonight because it needs to

1:28:30be had. You guys hold the purse

1:28:33strings.

1:28:33The fact that one of the people

1:28:36that thank God he's leaving.

1:28:38I can't tell you. I, I'm sure

1:28:39some of you, even in the staff

1:28:41were excited that we don't have

1:28:42to listen to this anymore.

1:28:44What do you mean it's not your

1:28:46responsibility or you don't have

1:28:47the authority. What has he been

1:28:48doing here for 12 years?

1:28:51You absolutely have the

1:28:52authority to tell the police

1:28:53what to do with that money. Do

1:28:54you get the micro minutes daily

1:28:57operations? No.

1:28:57But when they're not going to do

1:28:58what you ask them, you start

1:28:59holding that money out.

1:29:01That's how that works.

1:29:03That's what it means to hold the

1:29:04purse strings. If you don't

1:29:06understand that authority, leave

1:29:08. You don't belong here. You

1:29:10don't even understand what

1:29:11you've been elected to do, which

1:29:12is hold them culpable for their

1:29:14behavior to make them do what we

1:29:15need to do to make this a better

1:29:17city for the citizens within it.

1:29:20I've been coming here for 3.5

1:29:21years and not tell you who will

1:29:23be the happiest day of my life.

1:29:24If the candidates that I want to

1:29:26see get in here next time, get

1:29:27in here, because God forbid I

1:29:29have to listen to this garbage.

1:29:32For another 4 years and

1:29:35ineffective loss counsel in a

1:29:37city that is dying in front of

1:29:39us.

1:29:39It is a failure left and right,

1:29:42infrastructure falling apart in

1:29:43front of our eyes. Local

1:29:45businesses like the founder and

1:29:46people are coming up with a 3rd

1:29:48hotel. Where do I live?

1:29:52It's embarrassing. I've said it

1:29:54before. It's ridiculous trying

1:29:55to explain the choices in this

1:29:57city that are made to the people

1:29:58that don't even live here.

1:30:00They don't even understand it

1:30:01and I'll be honest listening to

1:30:03some of the older persons, I

1:30:04don't think they do either.

1:30:10You know, I come here every week

1:30:12. I've taken one week off in

1:30:13almost 3.5 years from these

1:30:15meetings.

1:30:15And it, it is just appalling

1:30:17that we have to keep having this

1:30:19discussion.

1:30:19Or do we allow

1:30:22Absolute fallacies to just take

1:30:24hold.

1:30:24Of which should be easy

1:30:26decisions. The mental health

1:30:26program that would help the

1:30:28police. I mean, exercise sure is

1:30:30great, but it's nothing without

1:30:31a holistic program that

1:30:32confronts more than that, like

1:30:34the PTSD, half of them have from

1:30:36the terrible things that they

1:30:37endured out on the streets every

1:30:39day.

1:30:40But God forbid we spend $75,000

1:30:43on that. We need a financial

1:30:45study to figure that one out.

1:30:48Joanna Nelson.

1:31:03I

1:31:06Hi.

1:31:06My name is Johanna and my life

1:31:08changed forever on June 22, 2025

1:31:11.

1:31:11A piece of me was taken away

1:31:12from me in my own home, a place

1:31:14where I should have felt safe.

1:31:17Maurice Johnson raped me because

1:31:18he was angry I played a song by

1:31:19an artist he didn't like.

1:31:22During the assault, I screamed

1:31:23and cried repeatedly, telling

1:31:25him no. I thought I could fight

1:31:27to protect myself. I begged him

1:31:29to stop choking me. I told him I

1:31:30didn't want to take my clothes

1:31:31off or have sex with him.

1:31:33I have audio evidence that

1:31:35captures my pleas, my resistance

1:31:37, his threats in the assault

1:31:39itself.

1:31:40Yet he still have not been

1:31:41arrested.

1:31:43I reported what happened to the

1:31:44police less than 2 hours later.

1:31:47I underwent a rape kit

1:31:49examination, proved audio

1:31:50evidence, gave written and

1:31:51verbal statements and cooperated

1:31:53with the investigation.

1:31:54I did what I believed I needed

1:31:56to do to see justice, yet I have

1:31:58spent more than one year

1:31:59fighting for answers.

1:32:01I'm concerned about how my

1:32:03evidence was handled. I was

1:32:05initially told to upload my

1:32:06audio recording, but weeks later

1:32:08, after I called to check for

1:32:10updates, I was told it had not

1:32:12been captured clearly and that I

1:32:13needed to bring in a device, I

1:32:15recorded it on.

1:32:16I still have not been received

1:32:18the update and whether the audio

1:32:20was properly reviewed or whether

1:32:21anything else is needed.

1:32:24I was also informed that my

1:32:27detective detective T. Craven

1:32:28was willing to travel to Chicago

1:32:30to attempt to locate or make

1:32:32contact with Maurice after his

1:32:34phone was disconnected, but a

1:32:35higher up told her she could not

1:32:36go.

1:32:36I'm not sure if this is due to

1:32:39the budget on detectives' cars

1:32:40that we spoke about today.

1:32:42I need to understand why if my

1:32:44detective was willing to take

1:32:45the additional step to make

1:32:47contact with the man I reported

1:32:48raping me. Why was she not

1:32:50allowed to do so? What other

1:32:52steps could have been taken to

1:32:53locate him?

1:32:55An officer at the scene told me

1:32:56they could not stop the train

1:32:59Rico was on Maurice, um, was on

1:33:01because it was a he said she

1:33:04said situation.

1:33:05As a vulnerable woman who had

1:33:06just been raped in her own home,

1:33:07that statement was devastating.

1:33:10I raised this concern to

1:33:11Detective Craven who told me she

1:33:13had reviewed the footage and

1:33:14that the officer had not made

1:33:15that statement.

1:33:17I have requested the body camera

1:33:18footage because I want the

1:33:20interaction reviewed. I do not

1:33:22know the identity of the officer

1:33:23who had made that comment, but I

1:33:25know exactly what cold words he

1:33:26said to me that morning.

1:33:28My biggest frustration is the

1:33:30lack of communication and follow

1:33:32through. According to the

1:33:34information I found myself, my

1:33:35rape kit results were sent to

1:33:37law enforcement and the State's

1:33:39Attorney's office on November 25

1:33:40, 2025.

1:33:42Nobody notified me.

1:33:44I discovered this on September

1:33:4625, 2026, almost a year later.

1:33:51On September 25th after I called

1:33:53Detective Craven, she told me

1:33:55that my case hasn't been sent to

1:33:56the state's attorney's office. I

1:33:58had spent months calling

1:33:59different places, leaving

1:34:00messages and trying to find out

1:34:01what was happening with my case

1:34:03because once again, the city of

1:34:04Springfield had failed to

1:34:05communicate with me.

1:34:07October 7th, I was informed that

1:34:08the state wanted to pursue

1:34:10charges. I'm grateful that the

1:34:11state intends to move forward,

1:34:12but I should not have had to

1:34:14call repeatedly just to learn

1:34:16what was happening with my case,

1:34:17and I still wasn't the one

1:34:19notified that morning.

1:34:21I am a victim and have been

1:34:23forced to advocate for myself.

1:34:24I am not just a case number. I'm

1:34:26a human being.

1:34:29This assault has affected every

1:34:30part of my life.

1:34:31I'm a single mother. I'm a

1:34:33recent nursing graduate. This

1:34:34has all happened only weeks

1:34:35before I started nursing school,

1:34:36and there were times where I

1:34:37wanted to end my life just to

1:34:39stop the mental and emotional

1:34:41pain I was experiencing.

1:34:43Meanwhile, Maurice get to

1:34:44continue his life as though

1:34:45nothing happened while I fight

1:34:46every day to cope with what

1:34:48happened and get answers about

1:34:49my case. It makes me angry.

1:34:52Many women and men never speak

1:34:53up because they fear they will

1:34:54not be believed or seeking

1:34:56justice will be a waste of time.

1:34:57I understand that fear now

1:34:59because I am currently living

1:35:00through the frustration of not

1:35:02being heard.

1:35:03I am asking the Springfield City

1:35:05council to take these concerns

1:35:07seriously and demand answers

1:35:08about how my case was handled. I

1:35:09want to know who made these

1:35:11decisions? Why was I left

1:35:13without communication and what

1:35:15accountability will follow?

1:35:16I cannot change what happened to

1:35:17me that night, but I should not

1:35:20have to have fight this hard

1:35:21just to get information about my

1:35:23case.

1:35:23I want the city to recognize

1:35:25that how survivors are treated

1:35:27after reporting an assault

1:35:29matters too our mental health

1:35:30matters just as well as the

1:35:31police officers that y'all speak

1:35:33on.

1:35:33I want you to remember that I am

1:35:35not just a report number and I

1:35:36deserve to be taken seriously.

1:35:39Until my concerns have been

1:35:41properly addressed and I receive

1:35:42answers, I will continue to

1:35:43advocate for myself.

1:35:45You will not silence my voice by

1:35:47leaving me without answers.

1:35:49And I will continue to speak up

1:35:50for others who are afraid to

1:35:52speak up for themselves. Thank

1:35:53you. Thank you, Ms. Nelson,

1:35:55before you go, I just want to

1:35:56say thank you for coming.

1:35:58Thank you for your strength. I

1:36:00would encourage the chief who

1:36:01believes in the back of the room

1:36:02, follow up with you on your

1:36:05specific questions this evening,

1:36:06but thank you for coming. I know

1:36:07a couple of my colleagues, uh,

1:36:08have, uh, pushed their buttons.

1:36:09Alderwoman Connolly, thank you,

1:36:11Johanna. I, I want to echo that

1:36:13and I, I appreciate that you

1:36:14said that you're a survivor, not

1:36:16just a victim.

1:36:18That's a critical, critical

1:36:20difference.

1:36:21Um, and I, I want to tell you, I

1:36:22am sorry. I've heard.

1:36:27Other survivors have similar

1:36:28sorts of issues when they're

1:36:30dealing with the law enforcement

1:36:31system and

1:36:32I am sorry that was your

1:36:34experience.

1:36:34Um, certainly, if, if you can

1:36:35hang around after the meeting,

1:36:36I'd like to talk to you just.

1:36:39We can connect at another level

1:36:40too, but please know that, um,

1:36:44What you did tonight and coming

1:36:44in and speaking up.

1:36:48I braver and bolder than

1:36:50anything that that other person

1:36:51could have done.

1:36:52And

1:36:53I'm very proud of you and

1:36:55appreciate you for coming in.

1:36:57Thank you, and if, if we can

1:36:58help, um,

1:37:00In any way, shape or form,

1:37:01including connections to some

1:37:03other different resources and

1:37:03things like that.

1:37:04That's what I'd like, we'll talk

1:37:06after the meeting. Thank you.

1:37:07Thank you for coming in and

1:37:09speaking. Thanks. That was.

1:37:12Pull up one more one more person

1:37:14one purchase. Thank you and I

1:37:16wanna echo with both of my

1:37:17colleagues just said and wanna

1:37:18give you my card because these

1:37:20are the things that's

1:37:21frustrating to us.

1:37:23It took you over a year. You

1:37:25stated that you didn't get a

1:37:27follow up. He wasn't uh uh

1:37:29notified when things was coming

1:37:31forward and this was something

1:37:33that is traumatizing.

1:37:35And so understanding where you

1:37:37are now today took a lot of

1:37:38strength and you're gonna

1:37:39inspire other people to reach

1:37:40out to us as well and that's why

1:37:42we are in our roles you coming

1:37:43up here and speaking to us so

1:37:44that we can follow up and I

1:37:46wanna give you my card and again

1:37:48it's Alderman Donalyn said, the

1:37:50chief of police is sitting in

1:37:51this room right now so you're

1:37:53able to talk to him before you

1:37:54leave this room and then you're

1:37:55able to communicate with us too

1:37:57to make sure that you're being

1:37:58followed up with.

1:38:00Thank you so much for coming out

1:38:01and I'm sorry that this happened

1:38:02to you.

1:38:04Yeah.

1:38:07For

1:38:07Sean Dickerson.

1:38:26It

1:38:27Sir, before you begin, Alderman

1:38:28Cox, we have the chair for just

1:38:30while I step out for a moment.

1:38:31Sure.

1:38:35Ready? Yeah.

1:38:40Uh, good evening uh, you're

1:38:40probably wondering why this guy

1:38:42shows up in a Santa Claus shirt

1:38:44that's 90 degrees out and mid

1:38:46October.

1:38:47Uh, but I'm here to bring

1:38:49attention to Wintry Wonderland

1:38:51at White Oaks Mall.

1:38:52Um, this holiday season.

1:38:54Um,

1:38:56You may ask yourself, what is

1:38:58Wintry Wonderland, um, years ago

1:39:00, the city hasn't had an amazing

1:39:02event called Festival of Trees.

1:39:04I know my family attended it. It

1:39:06was a, a great tradition.

1:39:09Um, so with that going away, a

1:39:10group of us decided we needed to

1:39:12bring forth a new tradition for

1:39:14families.

1:39:14Therefore, we came up with

1:39:16wintry wonderland.

1:39:18We are 501c3 not for profit

1:39:20group looking to provide a

1:39:21unique fun-filled, magical

1:39:23experience for families in our

1:39:24community.

1:39:25The event is also designed to

1:39:27provide opportunities for local

1:39:29charitable organizations to

1:39:30raise funds and awareness for

1:39:31all the great things they do for

1:39:33our community.

1:39:35Elements of winter wonderland

1:39:37include the festive Forest where

1:39:38we had 48 decorated trees last

1:39:40year. We're hoping to double

1:39:41that this year. There's also

1:39:43Santa's workshop where a

1:39:45different non for profit each

1:39:47weekend will come in and offer a

1:39:48make it, take it, uh, project.

1:39:50Last year they did 3D printed

1:39:53trees, stocks,, stocks, snap,

1:39:55sorry, Zock Snowman, and other

1:39:57things. This year we're looking

1:39:59at Cookie and Cocoa stations

1:40:01where we're hoping to get some

1:40:02high school booster clubs or

1:40:04organizations that come out.

1:40:04raise money for their groups,

1:40:07North Pole Elfie stations, these

1:40:08photo opportunities were built

1:40:09by the Lafair High School

1:40:11Building and Trades class, um,

1:40:12who are doing a phenomenal job

1:40:15at District 186. Uh, we cannot

1:40:17speak.

1:40:17Highly enough of that of that

1:40:19program.

1:40:20And those uh selfie stations

1:40:21were also painted by the uh Laer

1:40:23High School art classes, and we

1:40:26also have holiday window murals

1:40:27that will be painted by local

1:40:28high school art classes as well.

1:40:30This will be our 2nd year at

1:40:32White Oaks Mall. The event is

1:40:34free for people to attend, so

1:40:35you can come in, look at all the

1:40:39trees, um, and enjoy. addition,

1:40:40our portion of many of our

1:40:43crisis nursery, holiday store

1:40:43returns for their 2nd year.

1:40:45Um, families can also ride the

1:40:47AL express train to participate

1:40:48in their Polar Express pajama

1:40:50party.

1:40:50And of course, the highlight of

1:40:52it all is Santa Claus.

1:40:54The White Oaks Mall, Cherry Hill

1:40:56Santa is a nationally acclaimed

1:40:58Santa.

1:40:59And he's a local resident.

1:41:01Sanitary Belle is one of only 12

1:41:03Santas out of over 1200 in the

1:41:06country to be recognized

1:41:07nationwide.

1:41:08Our Santa and Mrs. Claus travel

1:41:10the country teaching others the

1:41:11Santa way.

1:41:12Also, Mrs. Claus is our board

1:41:15president, so your support can

1:41:16get you on Santa's nice list

1:41:18list for sure.

1:41:20White Oaks Mall is offering uh

1:41:22their extremely popular pet

1:41:23night and a very special evening

1:41:26, uh, carrying Santa event for

1:41:28children with all needs.

1:41:29Uh, we need your support and the

1:41:31community support to keep this

1:41:32event going and growing year

1:41:35after year, sponsorships range

1:41:36up to $5000 if you want to give

1:41:38more, we will create a special

1:41:40level for you, um, sponsorships

1:41:42of 1500 or more includes a visit

1:41:44from Santa himself to pick up

1:41:46your sponsorship check and pose

1:41:47for a photo of you and your

1:41:49staff.

1:41:49But we will take.

1:41:51Donations of any kind.

1:41:53Uh, you can also be involved by

1:41:54decorating your own tree. If you

1:41:56have a tree laying around, throw

1:41:56some lights on it, get some

1:41:58ornaments from your local thrift

1:42:00shop, and we will showcase it.

1:42:01When the event is over, you take

1:42:03the tree with you or you can

1:42:04donate it to us and we will

1:42:06reuse it year after year.

1:42:08Uh, there's no restrictions on

1:42:10your creativity. Last year we

1:42:12had skinny, uh, black, red.

1:42:15Uh, blue trees. We had a Toy

1:42:17Story tree, a Grinch tree,

1:42:19Charlie Brown tree, Bob Ross

1:42:21Happy Little trees, trees that

1:42:22were made as memorials to loved

1:42:24ones, wooden trees, so really

1:42:26there's no limit to your

1:42:27creativity.

1:42:28Please know that your

1:42:29sponsorship will go to the

1:42:31promotion of this amazing free

1:42:33event. We offered opportunities

1:42:34for community feedback last year

1:42:36, and the two sisters to sue the

1:42:39two suggestions we heard

1:42:40frequently as promote the event

1:42:42more and bring back gingerbread

1:42:44cookies, so we are hoping, we're

1:42:46hoping to make those suggestions

1:42:47a reality, but the promotional

1:42:50part is where we really, you

1:42:51know, need for the event.

1:42:53So, to get the word out about

1:42:54this amazing event, we need

1:42:56funds to promote the event. We

1:42:57look forward to all of you here

1:42:58being a part of this amazing

1:43:00holiday tradition in our

1:43:02community, and we will be right

1:43:03around the corner from the new

1:43:04Toys R Us.

1:43:06And, uh, right around the corner

1:43:08also from one of the the great

1:43:11local stores, Dumber Records,

1:43:13who have already committed to an

1:43:14amazing one of a kind tree again

1:43:16this year, um, and the packets

1:43:18you receive are contact

1:43:19information is in there if

1:43:21anybody wants to be involved at

1:43:23any, uh, in any way, it's

1:43:25Wintree, W I N T R E E dot

1:43:30 [email protected] and thank

1:43:33you for your time.

1:43:34Thank you. Thank you, Mr.

1:43:35Dickerson.

1:43:35Tote Massey.

1:43:58Understate.

1:43:58Good evening, City Council. Good

1:43:59evening.

1:44:01Is everyone OKok this evening?

1:44:06I think we should, I think I

1:44:08asked that because we should be

1:44:10asking them with more frequency

1:44:12and sincerity.

1:44:14Um,

1:44:18About 20.6 to 23.1.

1:44:21percent of US adults, roughly 1

1:44:23out of 5 people experience any

1:44:25mental illness according to AMI.

1:44:28In a given year, according to

1:44:31recent federal data from

1:44:32substance abuse and mental

1:44:34health services Administration

1:44:36Samsa.

1:44:37And the National Institute of

1:44:38Mental Health.

1:44:40I'm here tonight.

1:44:43To speak about Kyla Matthews

1:44:45who's on that picture.

1:44:46With her mother.

1:44:48She was a beautiful 28 year old

1:44:52with an infectious spirit, smile

1:44:54and imagination.

1:44:55Her mother Regina and I.

1:44:58Have been the best of friends

1:45:01since early since early to the

1:45:03mid-nineties, but more like

1:45:04brother and sister since then.

1:45:06So I've known Kyler her whole

1:45:09life.

1:45:10Steals a very special place and

1:45:11not only my heart.

1:45:13But my family's hurt.

1:45:16Kyla was struggling with mental

1:45:19health issues and I said was.

1:45:21But she hid them very well from

1:45:24those of us that cared and like

1:45:26most people her age.

1:45:29She was public about her she was

1:45:30public about the issues that

1:45:32touched her heart with the

1:45:33glaring exception.

1:45:37Of her own well-being.

1:45:40On September 30th, she posted an

1:45:44ominous post alluding to ending

1:45:45her life. The signs were there.

1:45:48She had been prescribed a

1:45:51popular antipsychotic earlier

1:45:52that month. She was trying to

1:45:54take the necessary steps to get

1:45:56better.

1:45:56She lived with her mother Regina

1:45:57in Chicago and would often

1:45:59travel to exotic places.

1:46:03So it wasn't a shock to her

1:46:04mother when she boarded a plane

1:46:06on October 2nd. Gina came here

1:46:09to Springfield, her second home,

1:46:11that weekend, as she often did.

1:46:14Kyla had flown to Lima, Peru.

1:46:18By Sunday, October 4th, Kyla

1:46:21Matthews was gone.

1:46:24She had taken her life in a

1:46:27foreign country on the floor of

1:46:29an Airbnb.

1:46:33At around 5 a.m. she had taken

1:46:35her last breath on the phone

1:46:36with the person she trusted the

1:46:38most.

1:46:39Her mother.

1:46:41I spent most of that day in a

1:46:43shade, in a state of shock

1:46:45trying to comfort comfort

1:46:47someone who could not be

1:46:49comforted and rightfully so.

1:46:50Be comfort

1:46:53The authorities found Kyla later

1:46:55that evening.

1:46:56The reason I am addressing you

1:46:57all today is that this is

1:47:00happening with more frequency

1:47:02now.

1:47:02More than ever.

1:47:06We are all experiencing

1:47:08something like this to varying

1:47:10degrees, of course.

1:47:11This is the 4th person that my

1:47:13son was raised with and around

1:47:15that has done this in the past 6

1:47:18years, including my bonus son.

1:47:20Robbie Fields the 3rd.

1:47:24And why?

1:47:27We must treat this as what it is

1:47:29, an epidemic.

1:47:31We are a caring we as a caring

1:47:34society are not doing enough

1:47:36data centers, political

1:47:38posturing, war, gas prices, the

1:47:39number one priority should be

1:47:41the health of our citizens and

1:47:43the resources that we allocate

1:47:45to them.

1:47:47We have a mental health board

1:47:50now in the city and county, and

1:47:51while it's a wonderful start,

1:47:53people are dying every day and

1:47:54we are complacent.

1:47:56We have to get started now.

1:47:58Lastly, she left a note that was

1:48:00found and I want to share it

1:48:01with you.

1:48:03It was the last thing that she

1:48:04ever wrote in life.

1:48:07And I'm honored and grateful to

1:48:08be privy to this.

1:48:10I want to thank my friend and

1:48:13sister Regina Matthews and the

1:48:14rest of her family for allowing

1:48:16me to share this with you.

1:48:18It's the letter on the backside.

1:48:22Hi, my name, uh, hi, I'm using

1:48:25Google Translate, so please

1:48:27forgive my poor Spanish.

1:48:28My name is Kyla.

1:48:31I'm so sorry for doing this.

1:48:35I am suffering so much, please

1:48:36don't hate me.

1:48:38I know this is traumatic.

1:48:40I've seen this happen before too

1:48:42.

1:48:43I really needed a way out.

1:48:45I prayed for you before doing

1:48:47this.

1:48:48I prayed that.

1:48:50You would be OK after seeing

1:48:52this.

1:48:54And that you would not hold

1:48:56hatred in your heart, though I I

1:48:58would understand if you did.

1:49:00My name is Kyla.

1:49:02I love horses, the color pink.

1:49:05God, beaches, palm trees.

1:49:07Swimming and trapping, I used to

1:49:09be so funny.

1:49:12Mr. Massey.

1:49:14Clerk.

1:49:24Vanessa Knox

1:49:24Jenna Bloom.

1:49:25Room.

1:49:35Bye.

1:49:36Good evening, uh, my, my name is

1:49:38Jenna Broom and I'm here on

1:49:39behalf of the Faith Coalition

1:49:40for the Common Good, as well as

1:49:43Springfield Safe Homes Campaign.

1:49:44Uh, recently, there's been quite

1:49:45a bit of fear mongering and

1:49:48fiction being spread about the

1:49:50landlord licensing and registry

1:49:52advisory question on the ballot,

1:49:53and the best way to fight that

1:49:54is with facts.

1:49:55Uh, it has been said that voting

1:49:57yes for safe homes will raise

1:49:59taxes. I don't know where this

1:50:01idea is coming from or how that

1:50:04even makes any sense, uh, as

1:50:05this registry would be

1:50:07self-funded by the fees

1:50:08collected from property owners.

1:50:09This is similar to existing

1:50:11programs in Kansas City and

1:50:13other central Illinois

1:50:14communities.

1:50:16I do know that the current

1:50:18system of no system at all has

1:50:20led to thousands and thousands

1:50:23of our tax dollars spent on

1:50:26litigation with negligent

1:50:27property owners and demolition

1:50:29of unsafe homes. How much has

1:50:31been spent on the issues with

1:50:34Old Town apartments or the

1:50:36crumbling complex over by Sacred

1:50:37Heart Griffin.

1:50:39How many at attorneys have been

1:50:41paid with Springfield resident

1:50:42tax dollars to go after

1:50:45slumlords. How many active suits

1:50:48are being paid for, right now.

1:50:52Some landlord, um, OK, I've also

1:50:54heard, um, current city

1:50:55officials say that there is

1:50:56already a system that works. If

1:50:58that is the case, why did 5000

1:51:01Springfield residents signed a

1:51:03petition saying that it doesn't

1:51:05work.

1:51:06The system in place is reactive

1:51:08and does nothing to protect

1:51:11renters from future problems. It

1:51:13also relies on reporting to the

1:51:14city, which many, many renters

1:51:16don't feel safe doing for fear

1:51:19of retribution from their

1:51:19property owners. Um, requiring

1:51:22regularly and regular

1:51:24inspections of rental properties

1:51:25will hold both landlords and

1:51:28renters accountable, and can

1:51:29help identify potential problems

1:51:31ahead of time.

1:51:32Some landlords have already said

1:51:33they will be raising rents if

1:51:35the registry is established,

1:51:37some by hundreds of dollars. The

1:51:40fee proposed has been $25. I'm

1:51:41gonna do some math. I've got a

1:51:43calculator, so it won't be that

1:51:44bad.

1:51:46Um, OK, so we're going to do 25.

1:51:50Divided by 12, which is the

1:51:52number of months in a year.

1:51:57Equals $2.08 technically

1:52:00$$2.080.3 repeating.

1:52:02Um, so I don't think those

1:52:03threatened rent increases are

1:52:05based on anything but bad math

1:52:07and worse morals. Uh, Kansas

1:52:09City's aforementioned program

1:52:10does not allow this cost to be

1:52:11passed on to renters. If a

1:52:13landlord can't afford an

1:52:15additional $25 per unit a year,

1:52:18what other maintenance and

1:52:19repairs are being abandoned.

1:52:21Speaking of repairs, other

1:52:22cities have used their landlord

1:52:25registry programs to create

1:52:26trusts and funds to assist

1:52:28property owners with large

1:52:30repairs as a homeowner myself, I

1:52:32understand how expensive it can

1:52:33be to own a property. Uh, the

1:52:36development of our own program

1:52:38will provide opportunities for

1:52:40all of the stakeholders to

1:52:41benefit and thrive.

1:52:43So, why should you vote yes?

1:52:45Because Springfield is falling

1:52:47far behind other cities in

1:52:49central Illinois, Peoria and

1:52:51Bloomington have registries,

1:52:52which help protect renters and

1:52:54landlords alike, and champagne

1:52:56is also currently working on a

1:52:58registry.

1:52:58Uh, you can Google all this, by

1:52:59the way. That's how I found it.

1:53:02Um, Springfield has an

1:53:03opportunity to come together as

1:53:04a community to create a program

1:53:05that suits the needs of our city

1:53:08, taking ideas from other cities

1:53:10with successful registry

1:53:11programs throughout the country

1:53:13as well as creating ideas of our

1:53:14own.

1:53:15Um, if you are a landlord or a

1:53:17renter or a homeowner, and you

1:53:18have a lot to say about safe

1:53:20housing in Springfield, please

1:53:21vote yes. um, and join us to be

1:53:23part of a new chapter for all

1:53:27residents, everyone deserves

1:53:28safe homes, and that starts with

1:53:30us, uh, starts with us. So make

1:53:32sure to flip your ballot to the

1:53:33backside, because that's where

1:53:35the question is, um, and vote

1:53:37yes I advisory questions on the

1:53:39very bottom underneath all of

1:53:40the judges, um, and if you need

1:53:41to ride to the polls on November

1:53:433rd, please reach out.

1:53:45To the Faith Coalition for the

1:53:47Common Good, we will make sure

1:53:47that you get where you need to

1:53:49go. Um, every vote is essential

1:53:51for this.

1:53:52Vote yes for safe homes. Thank

1:53:55you so much. Sorry, Mr. Clerk,

1:53:59Cynthia Lou Curtis Whittenberg.

1:54:02That's all, Mr. Chairman.

1:54:05Is there a need for executive

1:54:06session this evening. There is

1:54:07no need. Motion to adjourn

1:54:11motion in the 2nd. All those in

1:54:12favor of 65% aye. What's opposed

1:54:148. We are adjourned. Good

1:54:15evening, everyone. Safe travels.