The Norman City Council will consider adopting the proposed FYE 2022 budget and council member’s amendments during its 6:30 p.m. meeting.
The Norman Police Department’s budget will be at the forefront of discussion, with planned expenditures from the general fund sitting at $23,559,826, according to the proposed budget summary. The department would also receive $30,505 for police CLEET training — which includes law enforcement and mental health education — and $8,681,343 through the department’s public safety sales tax fund.
Ward 1 Councilmember Brandi Studley moved to decrease NPD allocations by $500,000 and direct it to the City Manager Department allocations for the implementation of an unarmed and non-police mobile crisis response program, according to the FYE 2022 budget amendments document. She also moved to increase general fund allocations to the City Manager Department by $630,321 for the program.
The People’s Budget Coalition — which includes the Red Dirt Collective, Social Injustice League of Norman and Norman Collective for Racial Justice — said in a Monday release that this proposed program would be called Norman Compassionate Response Emergency Workers, or Norman CREW.
In the proposal, the coalition said Norman CREW could be modeled off of programs like the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets program in Eugene, Oregon. CAHOOTS provides 24/7 mobile crisis intervention with immediate stabilization in case of urgent medical need, psychological crisis, assessment, information, referral, advocacy and transportation to next step treatment.
Norman CREW would respond to domestic calls, situations of overdose and in hospital settings when patients refuse medication in a crisis that warrants physical restraint. According to the proposal, the team of crisis intervention workers and a medic would still request NPD support in situations where there is a “clear and imminent threat to a person present at the scene.”
According to the release, the coalition believes Norman needs a diverse set of responses to emergency calls to “make use of its resources” and “bring the right professionals to the scene.”
“The need for unarmed, non-police crisis response teams is among the most urgent and consistent demands from Norman residents for services that would touch many of our community’s most urgent needs: mental health care, treatment for substance use disorders, and services for the unhoused,” the release read. “We hope this proposal will help to advance productive conversations in our community and generate some essential commitments from our city government around this critical issue.”
The coalition will hold a rally at 5:30 p.m. today in Andrews Park to discuss its proposal for Norman CREW.
The Norman Fraternal Order of the Police responded to discussions surrounding the NPD’s budget in a Monday press conference. Norman FOP Lodge No. 122 President Robert Wasoski spoke about the challenges NPD faces and how budget cuts could further affect the department.
“The decisions the city council makes tomorrow could dramatically hurt our officers' ability to keep Norman safe and secure,” Wasoski said. “If more money is stripped away from the public safety budget, it will reduce resources that were already lacking to adequately protect the city.”
NPD Maj. Chad Vincent said he felt the department was punished through “targeted budget reductions” and the elimination of nine salary positions during the FYE 2021 budget meeting when the council voted to decrease the proposed increase to the NPD’s budget by $865,000. He said NPD currently has 75 patrol officers available for duty and, to maintain minimum staffing levels, the department needs 90 officers.
“This causes me great concern,” Vincent said. “More alarming should be that, at times, we only have eight patrol officers on duty, trying their hardest to serve a city of 125,000 citizens in almost 200 square miles. Watching our officers rally around each other and serve in the ways they continue to serve is truly remarkable. The city is blessed to have such a department watching out over us. But make no mistake, this town is less safe than it was a year ago.”
Ward 6 Councilmember Elizabeth Foreman also request an increase of $1 million to the City Council Department budget to pilot participatory budgeting, according to the amendment document.
Participatory budgeting would allow community members to engage in dialogue with elected officials on “what services the municipal budget should prioritize.” Foreman said in a May 26 Facebook post she wants to give power to the public by ensuring their needs are met with more than an acknowledgment.
“Contrary to what some may say, there isn't one thing that is most important to any Norman resident. What is important is our overall quality of life,” Foreman said. “These things are our sidewalks, our roads, our parks, public safety, accessibility for all of our residents, festivals, concerts, public health, and animal welfare, to name a few. We all have our own experiences in life and see different needs in our different areas in our community.”
Other amendments that will be addressed tonight include Ward 4 Councilmember Lee Hall’s move to increase General Fund allocations to the Planning and Community Development Department by $80,000 for services to individuals experiencing homelessness and Ward 3 Councilmember Alison Petrone’s move to decrease Capital Fund allocations by $753,600 for a Vineyard Addition Flood Control Project. Ward 5 Councilmember Michael Nash also moved for an increase of $6,000 in NPD allocations to acquire data analysis software.
A list of the additional amendments is available on tonight’s meeting agenda.
Community members can fill out this request form to speak during the meeting. The form will close at 4 p.m.
