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- . " -, very important crime prevention program because it deals with youth, who are a big part of every City's crime problem. - In response to Council comments on the status of staffing over the past few years, Police Chief Bolanos said, he still believed the Department was doing "fine", in responding to calls for service. He said, however, they do not have enough Officers to reach the goal of 35% availability which translates into higher level, effective, proactive Community Policing. He said the Department reaches its goal of responding to emergencies within five minutes 95% of the time. Police Chief Bolanos said it was very rare for him to receive a call from a citizen stating that the Department had not provided superior service. Couneil Member Leipzig said he agreed with the Chiefs comments, but the Department used too much overtime, and his point was, he wanted the City and the Department to be prepared. Couneil Member Hartnett expressed support for using a sworn Officer for P.A.L. as an effective use of Police personnel. He said as Mayor he had received all citizen's complaints, and he "never got one complaint about emergency response times regarding the Police Department. Not one in the two years that I was Mayor." He said the complaints he did receive were about traffic issues or specific problems in specific areas, and the Police Department was able to allocate resources to deal with those problems in a very effective way. He said he didn't believe there was a crisis situation, and if the new Hiring Plan was adopted it would make the Police Department even better than it is now. - He said it was good public policy to do what was recommended in the Staffing Study, and it will provide "an extraordinary level of Police service to our citizens... Our citizens deserve it, ... and they will have to pay for it. It is a very expensive proposition. I am confident that we will find the resources to implement it in full as recommended." Mayor Howard suggested that the Police include some of the graduates of the Citizens Police Academy, D.A.R.E, and P.A.L. in their multi-media presentation to say how much Redwood City Police Officers have meant to them. She said they would be great advocates for the Department and the community. In response to her suggestion regarding a Youth Police Academy, Police Chief Bolanos said the Department has recently completed plans for a Youth Academy and the first class will begin in March, 1998. In response to Couneil Member Ira's question regarding a signing bonus, Poliee Chief Bolanos said all avenues are being explored, but he also wanted to maintain good relationships with other agencies. Mayor Howard asked if anyone in the audience would like to speak to this issue. No one came forward. Council Member Buehan said she would support the motion and resolution, but said she believed the City needed another Traffic Officer and hoped the Council would address that - REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 56 DECEMBER 8.1997 MINUTES Page No. 095 PAGE 10