VIDEO: Public Safety Committee Meeting – July 7, 2020

Public Safety Committee Meeting – July 7, 2020
The Public Safety Committee will meet to review and discuss the following:
Discussion:
Safety of Bi-State Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Board Bills
Board Bill Number 87
Introduced by Alderman John Collins-Muhammad

The proposed ordinance would close St. Louis City’s O’Fallon Park to the public and prohibit all uses of O’Fallon park by the public for the period beginning with the effective date of this ordinance and ending January 1, 2021.

Board Bill Number 92
Introduced by President Lewis E Reed, Alderwoman Lisa Middlebrook, Alderman Jack Coatar, Alderwoman Beth Murphy, Alderwoman Carol Howard, Alderman Tom Oldenburg, Alderman John Collins-Muhammad

This Board Bill, in accordance with Article XXV Section 1 of the St. Louis City Charter, and upon being recommended by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, amend the duties of the Division of Corrections and Department of Health & Hospitals. It would direct the Commissioner of Corrections to begin the process of closing the St. Louis City Medium Security Institution (MSI), also known as the Workhouse, as a detainee center. This Board Bill would direct the Board of Public Service and the Commissioner of Corrections to evaluate the City Justice Center to determine if more detainees could safely be held there and to perform a study of the Medium Security Institution to determine the feasibility of repurposing and to evaluate the ongoing costs of any plan to permanently close the facility. It would direct the Commissioner of Corrections to contact surrounding facilities to determine the per day cost of outsourcing the housing detainees in St. Louis City custody; a requirement for the Department of Personnel to interview corrections officers of the workhouse for open positions in city government. It requires the Department of Health to develop criteria for the hiring of social workers to be assigned to detainees with mental health issues and their families, and to be employees of a newly formed Division of Recidivism Reduction. This board Bill would create a fund to be allocated to neighborhoods with high violent crime rates to be appropriated annually through neighborhood participatory budgeting process; upholding the City’s statutory requirement to detain individuals remanded to the City of St. Louis through the court system. It would direct the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to provide data as requested by the Board of Aldermen or any department or division of City Government facilitating the closure of the Medium Security Institution facility. It would also direct the Budget Director to analyze the net cost savings to the general fund if MSI is no longer operated as a detainee facility; and it contains an emergency clause. Collapse

Resolutions
Resolution Number 24
Introduced by Alderman Tom Oldenburg

The Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis urges the Mayor and Director of Public Safety, with the cooperation and input of the City of St. Louis Division of Police Realtime Crime Center, to open discussions with The Dr. Ross McNutt – Community Support Program to explore how the use of persistent surveillance might be employed as a part of the City’s crime reduction strategy in compliance with City’s Surveillance Technology Use Report Policy requirements to ensure the privacy of community member’s is protected. Collapse

This video is the result of a law passed in 2016 by 21st Ward Alderman Antonio French. The historic “Transparency in Government Law” requires all public meetings of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen; the Board of Estimate & Apportionment; the Board of Public Service; and the Preservation Board be recorded and made available on an official City of St. Louis YouTube channel.