City council members discussed personnel changes for the police department, the upcoming transition of dispatch services to the county on July 1, and potential budget impacts from a police department construction contract that staff said could be over budget.

Personnel and pay: council reviewed Resolution 136.25 (second reading) creating a police support specialist position described as a supplemental, salaried role to assist with front-counter duties and administrative tasks; this position is not intended to replace dispatchers leaving with the county transition. Council also reviewed Ordinance 138.25, an amendment to ordinance 194.24 to set salary ranges for department heads and non-union personnel to accommodate the new position.

Dispatch transition: council members said the county contract for centralized dispatch is expected to begin July 1. One council member stated, "I believe it's July 1," indicating the county will take over dispatch responsibilities on that date. The administration said they have met with current dispatchers and their representatives to explain the transition.

Budget concerns and equipment: staff reported that an initial GMP for the police project is above $9,300,000 and that project managers were "working to reduce the cost." Council members later noted a potential $300,000 in overruns related to the police project; a councilmember said they expected to meet Monday with staff to get clearer figures and bring the information to Monday night's finance meeting. Separately, police sold three older cruisers at auction for $12,005 and requested those funds be obligated toward purchasing an unmarked vehicle.

Job descriptions and committee process: the council also heard that a resolution updating police job descriptions needs to return to the finance committee for clearer highlighting of changes before council action. A separate update to the executive assistant/office manager job description was posted with adjustments for public communications and event support; council members moved to suspend three readings on that item to expedite the hiring process so the position could be filled and trained by July 1.

Next steps: staff will provide more detailed cost estimates for the police project at the finance meeting and will return the police job-description changes to finance with redlined changes. The dispatch transition remains scheduled for July 1 per the meeting discussion.