Bronwyn's Council Review

As usual for the review, my comments are red and italicized in the context of the latest Council Preview by David Martin. 
 

The Ames City Council meets on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. on Zoom. The agenda for this special meeting includes:

• 3. Presentation of Staff Report - Policing in Ames: “A Path Forward”. After the grotesque and infuriating killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, the Mayor and Council began receiving calls for police and justice reform. City Manager Steve Schainker offered to collect these communications, analyze them for common themes, and present a report summarizing his findings to Council. During this time, the City Manager also worked closely with staff, including the Ames Police Department, to formulate a series of recommendations in response to the community's requests. Tonight's meeting will present this important report and its recommendations.
  
  The report covers themes including organizational culture, police officer recruitment and selection, police officer training, department policies, City ordinances and State law, transparency of records, accountability in complaint handling and discipline, communication, and funding. The report makes 21 different recommendations across these nine themes. 
  
  I'd like to highlight Recommendation #16, calling for creation of an Ames Citizen Police Advisory Committee (ACPAC). The proposed ACPAC (described on pp. 35-37) would be a new seven-member commission appointed by the Mayor, confirmed by Council, and designed to be representative of the diversity of Ames. ACPAC members would be individually empowered to receive complaints from community members about police conduct, adding to the mechanisms already available for complaint intake. Importantly, the Chief of Police would convene the ACPAC for review and advice before making a decision about a personnel action related to a police conduct complaint. Evaluation by the ACPAC would provide valuable perspectives representing viewpoints from across the community. In addition, the ACPAC would weigh in on police commendation requests, review police policies, perform community outreach, and present annual reports to Council.
  
  Additional recommendations in this report include hiring a diversity, equity, and inclusion coordinator (#2), creation of local ordinances prohibiting bias in delivery of city services or filing false reports due to race or other protected characteristics  (#9, #10), and regularly publishing police action information by race and other demographics when known (#11, #12, #14). And there are 14 further recommendations as well.
  
  After presentation of the report, the public will be invited to comment on its contents. According to the meeting's description, "Public input will be limited to three minutes per participant and only regarding topics addressed in the report. There will be no action taken by the City Council except possibly voting to place some or all of the report recommendations on a future agenda." The purpose of this meeting is to hear the City's presentation of its report and recommendations and the community's reactions to it. The decisions come later.
  
  (video)
  
  Below are the nine categories and 21 staff suggestions outlined at the workshop.

1. Organizational Culture
   #1 : Add "diversity, equity, and inclusion" to Excellence Through People model
   #2 : Add a full-time Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion staff person
2. Officer Recruitment & Selection
   #3 : Explore an option for a validated evaluation tool for measuring bias
3. Officer Training & Education
   #4 : Formalize training curriculum through HR
   #5 : Fill a vacant admin position in the PD to assist with training needs
4. Department Policies
   #6 : Better publish and revise policies so they can accurately be found online
   #7 : Allow for a periodic review of department policies by ACPAC (see suggestion #16)
   #8 : Continue to use Lexipol to review department policies
5. City & State Law
   #9 : Prohibit any City staff from acting out of bias when providing City services
   #10 : Consider a local ordinance prohibiting false reports based on race or other protected status
6. Transparency
   #11 : Publish quarterly statistics for citations and arrests with demographics if known
   #12 : Publish quarterly statistics for use of force with demographics if known
   #13 : Create a new system for reporting complaints of bias incidents and publish on website or with Human Relations Commission
   #14 : Periodically review traffic stop data and demographics
7. Accountability
   #15 : Make complaint forms more visible online
   #16 : Create ACPAC, the Ames Citizen Police Advisory Committee, to help review complaints and policies related to the Police Department
8. Communication
   #17 : Work to improve communication techniques city-wide and especially for under-represented populations
   #18 : Have the Police Chief give periodic updates about  policies, events, and other aspects of the Police Department on social media and through other communication outlets
   #19 : Update the website to be more concise and engaging
9. Funding
   #20 : Policy prohibiting the acquisition of surplus military vehicles
   #21 : Re-evaluate ASSET funding priorities, if Council feels they do not adequatly address our human service goals

• ​After the presentation of these suggestions and themes, Council heard input from 14 individuals and then voted 6-0 to put these recommendations on a future agenda for discussion.

Non-Agenda Packet: The following items are requests and communications to the council that are not on the agenda for full discussion.  This includes staff reports and communications or requests from constituents and developers. Typically the council will ask city staff for more information (a memo), put the item on a future agenda for deliberation and possible action, or just accept the communication, taking no further action. Council generally processes these requests and communications during the agenda portion called "Disposition of Communications to Council."

(video)
 

• Prairie View Industrial Area Rezoning. This letter from the Ames Economic Development Commission asks the City to initiate rezoning of the Prairie View Industrial Area to an industrial-type zone.

COUNCIL COMMENTS (video)

Thanks for reading,
Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen
Ames City Council, Ward 3

P.S. The continued uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic makes mail-in voting in the November general election a compelling option. If you live in Story County and would like to vote by mail, you can fill out and mail in a postage paid mail in ballot request form.  If you live outside of Story County, look for the correct information via the Iowa Secretary of State's absentee ballot site.
 

And if you're not registered to vote -- the November election will be here before you know it! You can register to vote or update your voter registration online using your Iowa a driver’s license or ID number at Iowa Secretary of State website.  Those without a drivers's license or ID number can get forms and information here https://www.storycountyiowa.gov/638/Voter-Information-Forms.