News From The Public Safety Commission Meetings
The City of Austin Public Safety Commission is an advisory body to the city council on budgetary and policy matters concerning public safety related to the Austin Police Department, the Austin Fire Department, and the Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services Department. They make recommendations for long-range comprehensive planning initiatives, access to and expenditure of state and federal grant funds, and other public safety matters.  Proceedings are recorded on Channel 6.  They normally meet on the 1st Monday with future dates scheduled for Nov 1st, and Dec 6th from 4-6pm in the Boards and Commissions room.  Check the city website for agendas and last minute changes. All are welcomed.

August 11th PSC Meeting
  • Commissioner Mike Levy introduced the topic of traffic signal preemption devices and gave a summary of how this has become a concern in considering future technologies.  AFD Union President Bob Nicks, EMS Union President Steve Stewart and Transportation Department Director, Robert Spillar, gave presentations about the state of our current devices which are utilized by EMS and AFD to get through intersections that are backed up during an emergency.  Identifying the hot spot and problem intersections, evaluating procedures and creating new solutions can save many lives, lead to better patient outcomes or better response times for fire emergencies when every second counts.  A task force to discuss and work through these issues will be formed and will include front line drivers as well as Transportation Dept engineers, AFD and EMS management.
  • Joan Bartz of University Hills gave an extended presentation on the efforts of the Task Force for Group Homes for the Disabled.   House Bill 216 has been passed by the legislature last year to address the regulation of these homes.  In a previous CLASP newsletter, there is an article about this issue and an link to an in-depth Statesman story. The HB 216 state model standards should be available towards mid-September.  These will be considered by they city for adoption and whether Austin will be opting in or out of this program.  Joan emphasized that the Task Force's research and advocacy for this complex issue will continue beyond the point after the standards are, hopefully, implemented.  Their diligence and steadfast attention to the detailed research on this issue was acknowledged by several on the Commission.
  • Bill Gibbons of the APD Forensic Crime Lab gave a status report on the audits of his departments.  He noted that the last 3 years, there were 12 audits and all were passed successfully.
  • Yuki Miyamoto, planner for APD, coordinates grant activity.  She gave a presentation outlining  the list of grants by funding category or purpose.  There are 47 listings; several are pending and the list is organized by grantor, whether active or pending, whether new or a continuation.  This list also includes information about whether the grant activity requires matching funds, personnel, and gives a brief description.  Chair Lauderdale requested that this information be made accessible to the public so that the hard work and efforts of APD in bringing these dollars to our city can be viewed by all.

  • APD Commander Manley of the police training academy gave a status report on staffing with APD.  The 116th Cadet Class graduated 76 officers on April 23rd.  .  The 117th class is in session and is referred to as a 'modified' class including 25 men and women who were hired from other law enforcement agencies.  They undergo 17 weeks of class training, 2 months of field training.  Chief Carter remarked that the experienced officers hired from other agencies were evaluated not only for  good skills but also a good fit for this city.

The 118th class is scheduled for Feb 2011.  The actual class size will be based on authorized strength (2 officers per 1000 residents ratio) but the attrition rate is also taken into account.   Commissioner Ramey Ko praised APD's training for diversity awareness in the community.



September 13th PSC Meeting

  • Commander Steve Baker of the APD Highway Enforcement presented traffic light camera data since the cameras were first installed in 2008.  The crash videos show some dramatic footage with red light violators.    He also details how each intersection monitored with red light cameras has mostly resulted in significant reductions in accidents, and the exceptions were taken care of by collaborating with Transportation engineers on traffic light modifications or increased officer enforcement.  Commander Baker will be gathering more comprehensive data that will include the financial impact of the reduced crashes.
  • Commander Troy Gay of APD's Strategic Planning.  APD was awarded a $350,000 federal grant for the E-Citation program.  Currently citations are written by hand and this results in 10-15% of citations being dismissed due to errors.   The new hand held units will scan the drivers license, the vehicle registration sticker on the windsheid, provide geo-verified locations for valid addresses,  GPS info for traffic stop location, and allow for immediate download to municipal court.  This new technology will improve efficiencies in several ways:  Officers will be able to get themselves and the violator out of the roadway faster,   reduce clerical / officer error, decrease time for persons to receive notice of their court date.  Chief Carter mentioned that this is an excellent example of how APD uses grants to increase safety and save money.
  • Harry Evans of AFD gave a summary of the emergency operations during the flood that happened in September.  He also highlighted grant applications for an increase in staffing, equipment and other assets.
  • James Shamard of EMS gave a summary of some of their grant requests.  A grant has been awarded resulting in five cities including Austin to collaborate in buying an "am-bus" for use at larger events or disasters.  Also they received funding for a mobile chempac,  a casualty planning tool for large events or disaster planning,  and a community CPR outreach program to teach life saving techniques to the general public.