 Council a request from Basically from Dost Durham open spaces and trails and eab environmental fairs boards. They are working with Equa L.r.d. Creek Water Association around a proposal to create a nature preserve with City land and so they would like the opportunity for to present their proposal at our January 6th 2021 excuse me 2022 Work session and so I am bringing that item forward both councilmember Freeman and I have been working with those respective commissions on this item Basically for our our new folks. It's just we when there's Proposals like this. There's just got to be a majority to say yes We're we're open and welcome to hear that at a work session in the future So I'm asking for Perfect so for staff That would would be on our January 6th work session agenda and I have instructed those folks to send those materials to staff so that can Be added to our agenda packet. Thank you. That's all Thank you so much and thank you for that. Are there any other comments? Just briefly and first of all, it's great to be here. I have our first work session together. These mics are sensitive, right? I I For the sake of December graduates high school graduates, there is an initiative that's available right now Through the North Carolina Community Colleges There is a program on your higher education calm where students many of them can possibly be eligible for $2,800 intuition coverage for two years and so I just wanted to put that out there as public information and For our students here in DPS and others other schools education entities for them to be aware of that and the Amazing learning experiences that Durham Tech has to offer Your higher education calm Thank you Thank you so much anyone else Thank you madam mayor. Good afternoon, ma'am. Good afternoon honorable colleagues to all in attendance and those who are watching at home Let me add my word of welcome to our two new colleagues on their first work session her honor Mayor O'Neill and to my brother and friend councilmember Williams welcome to our first work session I had opportunity to give words as the Ward 3 Pardon me Ward 2. Sorry Ward 2 council person from being sworn in on Monday evening But after being sworn in as mayor pro tem. I didn't have an opportunity to say a few words So this is my first work session as mayor pro tem of our city I firstly want to acknowledge the immediate past mayor pro tem who is set the bar more extremely high To our friend and sister a councilmember Johnson who I told I already put on notice will be an oracle And a ruse that I'll be calling From time to time to get advice on the job known to thank her for a service your honor I want to thank you also for your your trust and confidence and asking me to do this And I'm going to thank my colleagues for their vote allow me to assume this dismantle of service One of the reasons why mayor I accepted is because I listened to you while you were campaigning talk about unity and the importance of bringing Our city together and I want to pledge to you publicly that that that's a mantle In a spirit that I plan on partnering with you to maintain in this chamber and in this body in the city at all times I think we're in a unique position to model For the city for the nation that we can have spirited disagreements, but we will not devolve into toxicity We will not devolve into rinker. We will not devolve into disrespect And that is something I pledge publicly to always a safeguard and be in the vanguard of protecting So I want to thank you for setting that tone and for agreeing to continue to build on the wonderful spirit of collegiality That's been established in this body And I'm going to thank you again for allowing me to play this role Real quickly, we know that we are a concern and we're watching numbers with regard to Omicron In the city. We're watching very closely. We know that that's going to be an issue for us as we move forward We're a city that has not come out of a pandemic yet So I want to just Say to folk once again if you're not vaccinated, please get vaccinated and if you're eligible to get boosted Please get boosted It's important as the holidays are upon us and we're coming more indoors We know that the possibility of Infection because we're all closer together during this holiday season goes up But our best line of defense is to be vaccinated and to continue with masking finally I just want to say happy holidays to everyone had a wonderful celebration in our ccb Plaza With a wonderful Hanukkah celebration last week with a candle lighting. I want to thank all who showed up there Happy Kwanzaa Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah to all of our residents and citizens as we get ready to go and to this season of light and may the light Always defeat the darkness. Thank you, Madam Mayor Thank you Anyone else I just want to Give a few updates on the journey over the last two days I've been calling it drinking water from a fire hose But I'm at peace about it, but I'm very deliberate in how in how I'm trying to approach this very new and very Important position and I do have to give thanks first to our city clerk. I've been in her school She is a great teacher All of the things that I'm doing today In running this meeting she has gone over those things with me Even giving me the wording and the script so I just want to publicly Acknowledge that I think I may have passed her class And so that's been great We had a brief tour this morning Councilman Williams, and I had a brief tour this morning of City Hall I saw some places that I'd never seen before and you know this building has been here a long time So we were able to meet a lot of the great new employees who went by Attorney the attorney city attorney's office met some of her very capable staff I also had a meeting on yesterday with our city manager and her Assistant and her chief of staff and that was a great meeting as well So we are learning a lot and glad about it the one thing that you know I've known what this function looks like in an organization and I can assure the people of Durham that you have an a Organization we just need to add the plus and I would like for us to start off at least by thanking all of our city employees for a job Well done well done, so we will go back in training tomorrow for a full recording in progress and And then we will continue our training I think we have we'll be trained at the Institute of government in the next coming week So we are enjoying ourselves, but you will see us sort of defer some things until we get our Minds and and and spirits around what we're called to do. I will not make decisions in a vacuum I try to be as knowledgeable as I can so you may see that happening until Councilman Wiens and I can at least go to school and at least have an opportunity to visit some of the other Spaces where our city employees are we're planning to have some tours in upcoming weeks So we are primed and ready to go I just ask that you give us grace and patience and not only that for all new employees who are coming into this arena We all know there's a learning curve I give kudos to our new police chief who is moved she has the additional task of moving into Durham So we just asked for her to be given the space and opportunity to learn what she's doing It's a very difficult job and we want to be as supportive as to as she makes the transition in as well So with that being said, I'm gonna go back to what my teacher taught me on yesterday And we'll look at the first order of business Which is our priority items and I would now recognize our very able and capable city manager for any priority items Thank you, madam mayor Mr. Mayor pro tem and members of the Durham City Council, I do have a few priority items for you today I have agenda item number 15, which is the professional engineering services contract with Brown and Caldwell Inc For the Western intake partnership environmental permitting project The administration is asking that this item be referred back to to the administration to for further Further work agenda item number 16 Professional engineering services contract with CDM Smith Inc for the Western intake partnership regional water treatment facility preliminary Engineering project. We also requesting that this item be referred back to the administration Agenda item number 26 Rebecca Pots Delion Attachment number two was added to include the department's response and agenda item number 27 a zoning map change 518 Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway a Supplemental public hearing item was added as a continuation from the December 6th 2021 City Council meeting That is all of the priority items I have for you today Thank you City manager page at this time I would like to entertain a motion to accept the city manager's priority items So moved second It has been moved by councilwoman I'm going to get all our names right in a minute Freeman and seconded by councilwoman johnson's Can I now have? move to approve those priority items all in favor if you would say a All right, and all those opposed would now have the saying right The a's have it and the motion passes unanimously. Thank you all and now we'll turn to our city attorney and See if she has any priority items for our consideration today. Good afternoon madam mayor Mayor prayer Tim Middleton members of the city council. It's very good to see you. I Actually do have a priority item, which is unusual for me And it's not a closed session request. I actually received an amicus curiae request The seasoned members of council have sometimes gotten this from me through email that I think for the benefit of our newer members It would be good to have a discussion about it really quickly So I received an email from attorneys for Los Angeles County in the city of Los Angeles and They are intending to file an amicus or friend of the court brief Don't have to explain that to the judge on behalf of cities and counties in the case of the state of Texas at Al versus the United States of America at Al So this is a case that deals once again with the federal DACA program The states of Texas, Nebraska, Arkansas, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and West Virginia have sued the federal government challenging the very legality of DACA the Biden administration is defending the lawsuit on behalf of the United States in an effort to preserve the program and This appeal is a little different than the one that we filed an amicus brief on a year ago in a year ago in that It's of critical importance to any jurisdiction that has ever supported DACA So you all may already be aware that in July of this year a federal judge in the southern district of Texas Issued an order and permanent injunction in the district court finding that DACA as a program as a whole is unlawful So as a result the Napolitano memo creating DACA that originally created the program was vacated It was remanded back to Department of Homeland Security for further action And the only portion of the order and permanent injunction that has been stayed is the vacatur as to the as to existing DACA recipients So given the substance of the court's order LA and LA County planned to join the case as Friends of the court Amici to highlight how DACA recipients have made Amici's communities more prosperous and safe They will also show that DACA does not convert confer work authorization and is thus not subject To the administrative procedural acts notice and comment requirements, which is what the district court looked to to vacate the program At the district court level an amicus brief was filed that included a group of 50 local governments from across the country And locally the town of Carborough in the town of Chapel Hill participated in that brief The United States Conference of mayors the National League of Cities the International City County Management Association and the International Municipal Lawyers Association Of which our office as a member all also participated in that amicus brief They are trying to expand that coalition For the appeal that's now going up to the Fifth Circuit And they have asked that the city of Durham join the coalition for the amicus brief So I am asking for instruction from the council on whether to sign off on Join the amicus brief adding the city of Durham to these efforts Looks like I have unanimous instruction. Thank you madam mayor that is all Thank you so much All right at this time. I'd also ask now to Interim entertain a motion to accept our priority items So move second that has been moved by councilwoman Freeman And seconded by mayor pro tem Middleton Now we will call for the vote all those in favor of saying All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed The eyes have it and the motion passes unanimously And now I believe now return to Our clerk Good afternoon madam mayor. Thank you mayor pro tem Middleton and council members I would like to request a priority item. I would like Items one through eight the board committee and commission and task force appointments to be returned to the administration and Deferred to the January 6 2022 work session You have now heard our able city clerk's priority items may I have a call for motion for approval on move? second It has been moved by councilwoman Freeman and seconded by councilman wins at this time I hear Neil Could I just be heard real briefly on those items? I'm sorry. I just be heard real briefly on those items real quick I just want to let my especially my new colleagues know that item number for the human relations commission appointment has one applicant Generally speaking it's been my practice To request re-advertisement where only one applicant is has applied for one position However earlier this year we had a resident who was in that situation who was upset that they weren't approved even though They were well qualified and so they brought it back and we revoted and we went ahead and put the person on because One of my colleagues at that time was council member Freeman. I'm sorry Freelon Asked that the person that we go ahead and vote on the person All of that I just mentioned that because it may be new to our couple of the couple of new members That it's been my practice to vote to read to re-advertisement situation like this But if any of my colleagues says I appreciate that but this person seems especially well qualified Will you go ahead and support them now? I'm happy to do that When this comes back back in the first week in January, I just wanted to let my colleagues know about that. Thank you madam It's all ahead. Thank you. And one of the reasons that we have Asked that these items throughout clerk be deferred is to allow the opportunity for counsel Williams and I to Actually understand all of the committees. We have a lot of committees and we'll be making those appointments Hopefully in January, but that will allow us to get some context For the committees and also take a take a look and review the processes that you all have Set in place for how that's done and also be able to look at the information that's been given to us thus far So I appreciate your patience and I appreciate you taking the time to explain that to us. Thank you Thank you. No, so I think at this point. We were at the point of calling for the vote corrects. All right. All right. So now I would ask if you would What am I doing you have heard that you have heard the clerk's priority items now allow like to cover for the vote All those in favor saying by saying a or I All those opposed Hearing none eyes have it and the motion passes unanimously. We have made it through the priority items at our first Session work session. Thank you all our next second order of business Would be to read the administrative consent orders Which is the consent agenda? All right So on our administrative consent orders item number one Durham affordable housing Implementation committee that appointment has been referred back item number two Item number two Durham City Council Appearance Commission of appointment that has been also referred back Item number three Durham Homeless Services Advisory Committee Appointment that has also been referred back item number four the Human Relations Commission Appointment that item is also referred back Item number five the mayor's council for women Appointment that item would also be referred back Item number six the participatory budgeting steering committee Appointment that item is also being referred back Number seven the racial equity Commission appointment that item is also being referred back and Item number eight the Recreation Advisory Commission appointment that item is also being referred back And that will conclude Those items under the administrative consent agenda We now will turn to our departmental items And we have item number nine the annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30 of 2021 and and that will be a presentation At this particular time At later on okay. Thank you, and then we will have The city manager's office on item number 10. Is that correct? Bob Barker company foundation grant award to support Durham's guaranteed income pilot Madam mayor, I don't I don't want to pull that item, but I do just want to go on record again to thank former mayor Shul and and our staff for working so hard particularly on the fundraising aspect I want to as always shout out Amber Wade and the staff who did just an incredible job in Martialing our resources and goodwill to put our guaranteed income pilot over the over the line And one of our biggest hurdles was our fundraising efforts I just want to stick a celebratory note here with this item and look forward to voting on it. Thank you Thank you so much mayor from 10 And we will now turn our attention to item number 11 the roadway safety improvements on Holloway Street Erin L could we pull that item please item number 12 The award of construction contract the classic protective coatings Inc for the 2021 water tank maintenance project madam. May I would you pull that please? Yes, sir item number 13 The award of a service contract to EMA resources Inc for handling and disposal of water and wastewater treatment Plant biosolids item 14 the award of a service contract to hydro max USA LLC for the valves auditing program project item 15 Professional engineering services contract with brown and Caldwell Inc for the western intake partnership Environmental permitting project That has been referred back. Thank you so much for that item 16 The professional engineering services contract with cdm smith Inc for the western intake partnership regional water treatment Facility preliminary and engineering project that also has been referred back Thank you item number 17 the tar river land Conserve it conserve it Conserve a see Conserve a see Conserve a see Okay, you all know I have braces under here. All right, so there are some things that are not going to come out quite right bomb brick now farm watershed protection project authorization to fund The triangle number 18 the triangle land Conserve a see that I pronounce it right at time. Thank you. Yeah, I'm learning about that Terry road farm watershed protection project authorization to fund Mayor anneal, I don't want to pull item 17 and 18 but I just what it did want to thank our staff For continuing to come forward with these watershed protection projects Number 17 is a really important project to improve to protect water quality and like mickey out of 18 in the little river reservoir Both critical for city's future growth and development. So thanks to staff appreciate it Thank you councillor number 19 The appointment of finance officer deputy finance officer and tax collector collector of revenue Madam mayor, I don't want to pull this item But I do want to just send out a congratulatory Word to the focal will assume these positions. These are interesting positions that they're statutorily Mandated positions for the city. We don't still get the hire willy-nilly Legislature actually weighs in on these positions, but I do want to send regards and well wishes out to mr. Hickman david hickman christine collum and mendee taylor Who will he assume these positions and thank them for their service. Thank you, ma'am Thank you item number 20 the group purchase contract 29 mark police advance item number 21 contract renewal with eggs on Enterprise ink for police police body worn cameras and in car cameras Item number 22 the contract with mars and mcdaniel ink to conduct promotional testing and assessment services Item number 25 I'm sorry 23 revisions to the northeast creek residential septic to sewer cost share project Madam, may I believe it or not? I'd like to pull that item And that concludes All right, we are now turning our attention to our presentations and item number 24 We'll be a presentation of the 2021 Third quarter crime report And then we will turn now turn our attention to our citizens matters Our citizens matters are as follows number 25 mr. Brandon rich Number 26 mr. Rebecca ponce de la llon de la llon I hope i'm pronouncing your name correctly ma'am We will also have supplemental items Which is our city county planning department Which is number 27 zoning map change 518 martin luther king jr. Parkway And that will conclude our agenda for today You're from the citizens All right, and we will now return to our citizens who are here to speak with us today Mr. Brandon rich Good afternoon And mr. Rich you will have three minutes to address the council. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you Four weeks ago on november 10th. I was throwing a large bathroom mirror into a dumpster To my horror the mirror shattered as I placed it inside the dumpster a large piece of glass Ripped through about five inches of skin and muscle on the crease of my arm I immediately took off my shirt and wrapped it with pressure and I called 911 While the phone rang I raced inside my house to get a clean shirt to wrap my wound I waited 47.8 seconds for 911 to answer Bleeding profusely in a panic. I decided to hang up and call my neighbor for a ride for the hospital to the hospital and locally Luckily, he was available Luckily, I hadn't hit an artery or I would have bled out during those 48 seconds waiting for 911 to answer Even more shocking than seeing the inside of my arm and puddles of blood in my house was the fact that 911 did not answer My call in almost a minute I thought 911 was for life or death emergencies yet our current system has people waiting almost an entire minute in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon I felt like my city and elective leaders have failed me and I think about the thousands of others who have put in this situation With even more life-threatening situations to me just because of Durham's complete failure to fill a significant portion of 911 operator positions for over a year now In this past november alone 4,052 calls to 911 were not answered within 10 seconds. This is a disgrace Durham's 911 operator turnover rate in the last 12 months was 36.6 Meaning about one in three operators quit their jobs in the last year According to cbs 17 in may 2021 about 43 of Durham's call taking positions were unfilled as of november That number has only dropped to 39 percent We pay 911 operators in Durham just about 38 000 per year or about $18 per hour Many cashier jobs at grocery stores and big box stores will pay $18 an hour The same rate that Durham pays the people we rely on to save us in life or death situations 911 operators need to be paid a professional salary now $38 000 per year is not a professional salary of people that we rely on for life or death situations city council in middleton Told cbs as far as compensation goes Durham is doing pretty well We have to stop with this complacency. This is a serious emergency service infrastructure issue How dare we give up on paying these people hardworking 911 operators what they're worth We can and must do better the bar must be set higher than two to three thousand dollars more than neighboring cities and counties Council middleton goes on to say that when we spoke to nine woman call takers money is not the thing It's emotional support and doing things to increase morale According to cbs the Durham emergency communication center sent an email to employees Encouraging them to quote open up about the challenges of their job so they can make improvements where needed It seems this is the only thing they've done to address the issue of environment Last week I spoke with randy beamon director of emergency communications of Durham He did not mention any efforts to address emotional support morale or turnover. However, I did learn 911 call takers are required to work at least 10 hours of overtime each month Clearly Durham's efforts to address the issue of 911 poor 911 response has been a complete failure One out of three operators quit in the last 12 months. We've only closed job at vacancies four percent in the last eight months We must increase funding and we must improve working conditions Let's stop the political rhetoric like Durham is doing pretty well and money is not a thing People's lives are at stake. We need mr. Rich radical change We thank you so much for your time today, sir. Thank you. Thank you so much. Mr. Rebecca Ponce de Leon You would also have three minutes as well. Thank you for being here this afternoon Thank you and good afternoon to you all My name is Rebecca Ponce de Leon and i'm here today to talk about Durham firefighters And request that they're paid a livable hourly wage Even though the city of Durham has created an ordinance requiring that all city employees be paid a livable hourly wage of at least 1692 Almost half of Durham firefighters make less than this These 182 firefighters are not just new recruits Many of them are veterans to the department and some of whom have served as city firefighters for over 14 years As a result of lopay many firefighters work second jobs to support themselves and their loved ones This is in addition to the 56 hours per week. They spend working 24 hour shifts away from their families To put this in perspective a fire recruit puts in over 800 more hours per year than non-sworn city employees Because we demand round the clock coverage from the fire department So how are we able to justify paying firefighters less than the city-wide living wage? This goes back to that 56 hour work week. I just mentioned City council has argued that firefighters are exempt from the livable hourly wage Due to the unique nature of firefighters work schedules You've said it's acceptable to pay firefighters at a lower hourly rate because they work more hours But ask yourself Would you support paying an employee less than 8 50 an hour as long as that employee was working 80 hours a week? Where do you draw the line? This logic clearly exploits and devalues firefighters time Time spent away from loved ones and time putting themselves in grave danger to keep our community safe And this pay scheme frankly communicates that firefighters time is worth less than other city employees Worth less than the time of city council members who in october voted to increase their own pay By $10,000 a year in order to make the same livable hourly wage being denied to firefighters Firefighters show up for our community daily to save lives and to keep our community safe They work 24 hour shifts year round so that they can respond to emergencies And protect Durham's residents at a moment's notice and they've been on the front lines throughout every phase of the COVID-19 pandemic Firefighters put their lives on the line for the residents of our beautiful city every day And they deserve to be properly compensated for every single hour they work Thank you Thank you for being here today Let us now review the pulled items just to make sure that I have the same I have number 11 pulled by councilman reese item number 12 Pulled by councilman Middleton and item number 23 Okay And we will now return to item 11 if that is we all agree with those food items That's what I have meant Thank you. We will return to item 11 at this point. It's the roadway safety improvements on halloween street I'll wait 90. Yes, this This is bill judge assistant transportation director. I'm here to answer any questions that council may have about this item Wow, you're speaking to us from from somewhere else. I guess mr. Judge. Is that right? Awesome Okay, so great. Thank you for being here to talk about this item Mr. Judge, how did this particular project come about? I will admit That this seems kind of unusual to me. Does it seem unusual to you that that this kind of project would come up in this way? so Yes, this typically this process would normally go through our normal capital improvement process and Through the annual budget adoption There was an opportunity here where ncdot is pursuing Some spot safety funding for this improvement and in order to to meet that deadline they they requested that We go ahead and bring an item forward so that they can be assured that the city would be willing to participate In order to to get that funding on their end that they'll they'll need the the city to contribute About one third of the project cost or five hundred thousand dollars So ncdot just had an idea and came to talk to us about it So well the city and ncdot jointly had identified this this safety issue at this location based on crash history and they we jointly developed the solution for Providing the left-term lane. They did a cost estimate. They have separate funding outside the For for safety improvements that goes through a separate process The next deadline for applying is essentially the end of december So they need it basically in order to qualify for that funding. They Estimated that the city would need to contribute about a third of it in order for it to score high enough in order to receive the rest of the funding Well, that's good to know, but I guess i'm still stuck on work Was the city looking at crash data and realized this intersection was a problem and went to the state and said Hey, we got to do something Did the state look at crash date and then come to the city and I guess the reason i'm getting at this is I could think of lots of places in Durham that are state roads or the intersection of state and city roads as I think this is That can use safety improvements. And if this is a thing that can happen It's a thing that ought to be happening more often. That's why i'm trying to i'm not just being a jerk I'm trying to understand like how did this happen? Yeah We have a monthly meeting with our counterparts at ncdot where we review safety locations I don't remember who first identified it whether it was the state or the city as a potential problem, but um, we completed the an accident or crash analysis Of the crashes and determined. Yeah that there was a crash pattern and developed the solution jointly Well, that's fantastic. I I did not know that that happened. This is great to hear If I have other ideas of other Places like this that need safety improvements. I'll be sure to let you know as you can Maybe bring this up in future meetings. Can you talk to me about the rationale for the cost sharing amount here? Why why did we settle on a third for the city? That was with some assistance from ncdot where they did a cost benefit analysis knowing historically what Um, sort of what that threshold is for projects being funded with the spot safety funding Based on that they sort of back calculated that if the city were to contribute about a third it would likely be funded So are you saying that the spot safety program is a competitive funding System and that the more that a local government contributes to a particular project The likelier that the outcome of the process will be funding for that state funding for that project Unfortunately, yes, it is a competitive process. Um, The the local contribution just helps to reduce the state cost So the state so obviously that then increased the benefit cost Um, obviously if there were unfortunately an even greater crash Pattern or history where the benefits would be even greater than than likely they would not be looking for for city contribution But they could fund it independently Oh, well, that's kind of interesting Uh, the staff memo mentioned that there was an affordable housing project on the north side of this intersection at lynn road Um Is that the do you know if that's the trails at twin lakes project or you might not know what that is? It is. Okay. Yeah It's that project. Great. Okay. Um, madam mayor, that's all I had on this item Thank you so much councilman reese That was helpful to me as well. Thank you We'll now move to item pulled item number 12. Thank you madam mayor. I pulled this item Is mr. Maron that's jerry maron is Good afternoon mayor city councilman members this is the west brook Assistant director and department of water management and mr. Maron is available as well Good afternoon. Vicki. Thank you so much. I appreciate you being here. Is there a representative from classic protective coatings with us No, sir, we did not ask them to be present today Um, okay, why why didn't we ask them to be present? I believe Yeah, go ahead jerry Okay in in the somewhat recent past with the advent of Doing these virtually We were asked to um just Bring the questions from council to any contractors or consultants that might be awarded a project But that they did not necessarily need to attend and that we would pass on any questions or concerns to them and And I know now that y'all are not virtual I didn't know that there would be a change in that procedure But if there is uh, we can Recontinue what we had going before we went almost all virtual I would imagine that being virtual will actually make attendance easier Uh for folk but with that being said, um, I do have some questions about the um Diversity of their workforce Um So I I don't know that that you'd be prepared to answer on their behalf, but you can convey uh to them Uh that that I I'm I'm uh, mayor pertin Middleton had some some questions and um I'll call them questions I won't characterize them as concerns from other questions But I want I want to give them an opportunity to respond and then it might turn into a concern based upon the responses But at this point just questions about some of their employee Um statistics, but if they're not here I matter mayor, I'll uh Defer and and and just wait and uh, perhaps I'll shoot you an email Uh, so we're on them as westbrook So so, uh, mr. Middleton, would you like for us to get some the information directly To you before with within the next couple of days so you can evaluate that we do have The information on the other company Um, whose statistics were they had a much smaller company and did not have um Even that broad of a diversity as the company that was selected All right. Well, I don't want to give you tasks that are I don't want to give you this busy word because some of these questions are rather pointed they'd probably Being a better position to answer questions about their manager managerial culture and their corporate culture I don't you know, I can see the numbers. I just need to know the story behind the number So that probably would fall to them, but I'll follow up with you with an email and perhaps we can uh Contact them and get some some responses directly from classic protective coatings Yes, sir. Thank you and be advised moving forward. We are doing hybrid virtual and uh in person Going forward. So thank you. Thank you. Madam mayor. Thank you. Thank you, mayor pro tem We will now turn our attention to item number 23. I'm sorry, madam mayor Can I make one comment about that last item? Sure for our staff? Um I didn't completely understand either the rationale behind folks not appearing When we were virtual. I think um, it would be good to in general have The folks who are being considered for contracts available either virtually or in person um, and I'm a little bit worried About these contracts usually go through even when we're not thrilled with the um diversity statistics or We have concerns about their um About their use of a minority or woman owned firms But we generally have the opportunity to ask them questions learn about their Hiring practices their recruiting practices Encourage them to participate in city programs like the youth internship program And that um that conversation with us is not always I imagine that the representatives might sometimes find that uncomfortable But I think that it's important. And so I don't want them to I don't want our I don't want our policies to encourage them to not Participate in that process. So just for our staff Um We I would you know just generally I think we should be encouraging them to to come Thank you Thank you for that Appreciate that So, um, thank thank you Madam mayor um and council members We um, you know have had a mixed practice of inviting our Uh contractors who we are about to propose Sometimes we evaluate whether or not questions may come up and whether or not they might not come up Sometimes we have had them there sometimes We have not but I do understand that in this virtual environment is very is much easier If there is a question of whether or not this body might might want to inquire because of what they see In the agenda that we We ask them to be available For those questions and I will make sure that Um, we incorporate that into our operations on our side Thank you so much Can we encourage them to be available via zoom so that we're not encouraging folks to show up in person? Especially with climbing covet numbers Thank you all that was a lively discussion. I've learned a lot Thank you. All right. We're now moving to uh food item number 23 That's me again. Okay. Thank you While we get staff on the line, I just wanted to say as I did when we first saw this item back in june Um, that this is a fantastic program that encourages folks who live in the northeast creek area to convert from Um From septic systems to connection to city water as a way to improve water quality Uh in that part of the city. I think it's a fantastic idea But I did have a question about the program is someone online to talk to me about Good afternoon, um, madam mayor o'neill and um Mayor pro tem middleton and members of council And council member reese. This is uh, jonathan baker with the public works department. I Can't seem to turn my video on so It's just my voice Well, we'll just have to make do with your voice mr. Baker. Thank you for being with us It's my understanding from the memo that we have to take action today Or this is on our agenda today because the fee structure changed. I guess with the county And part of the program is So that the city can bear some of the cost of These fees on behalf of homeowners in the northeast northeast creek area. Is that even close to correct? That is that is very correct. Yes We found out About the change after this has been approved in june 2021 There was a change with The way that the fees were going to be requested from the county and the city and the amount and so this Revision is to account for The county fee structure the city fee structure and any annual changes to that Great. Thank you. I guess my five year period Awesome. So, um I'm getting a lot of feedback. I apologize. Um, mr. Baker If the if the county changes their fee structure again this year Are we going to have to come back and see this again? Or is there's some way to incorporate approval for future changes into the into the item? I just I don't I hate having to redo this every year if we're if if this is a thing we want to do Yeah, that is very good point and I worked with the city attorney's office to draft the motion so that we would not have to come back a year after year so essentially We the way we tried to write it is so that the fees The car share amounts would adjust with any annual increases to the fees Wow, well, you're totally awesome. Mr. Baker. Thank you. That's all I have madam mayor Thank you. Thank you I appreciate the questions because that that really kind of frames things for us So thank you for those. Thank you for those. I am going to turn to our city manager at this point in time Thank you, um, madam mayor and members of the council. I ask for a point of privilege to Say thank you to a Year employee who is going to be leaving our organization to take a promotional opportunity on the west coast Her name is Regina young blood and she is here with us virtually. She's on vacation But she's joined us according to miss wireless And I would like to publicly thank regina for the great service that she has provided to this organization As well as to the community that we serve I wish her extreme success In her new position as an assistant city manager In a in another community And I hope that she is on the line so she can come on and say a few words At this time She's not there. She's on vacation Good afternoon, madam mayor mayor pro tem middleton Um, i'm on the phone with technology solutions to get karmisha walla city manager's office to get Video for our speakers today Regina actually was in the meeting. I think she had to leave to take a departmental photo But hopefully we will be able to recognize her before the meeting concludes We certainly will thank you. Thank you. Now we turn to our presentations All right, okay, and um, we're gonna start We start at number nine The annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year in dean june 30 of 2021 And we recognized This brunette dr. Brunette Who we met on yesterday The day before yesterday. Thank you so much. I'm fascinated by your job Good afternoon, madam mayor o'neill mr. Mayor pro tem middleton and council members I am germaine bruneton director of the artist services department. Again, I apologize that you can't see me We've been told that our video Has been deactivated. So Bear with us But I would like to introduce to you miss april adams a partner with cherry becker llp our external auditors Miss adams will give you right now a brief discussion instead of a presentation on the summary of the city's annual comprehensive um financial report I do believe one of the attachments for this agenda item was a copy of their presentation So Okay, right now it says start my video Okay, um awesome So um, so now I think miss adams you should be able to uh give your presentation So what I would like to do is turn the the presentation over to miss adams. Thank you Thank you. Okay, and I believe I'm going to share my screen as well. So it should Hop up here in a second Can you guys see the presentation? Yes well Sorry, I was trying to get it to where I could see it as well Okay, so good afternoon. Yeah, it's my pleasure to be here to deliver the results of the june 30th 2020 audit What I'd like to cover with you today is just to uh remind you or let you know what the role of the external auditor is versus germane's role Um, give you the key highlights and results of the audit. I'd also like to inform you what we do when it comes to internal controls Identify for you what the significant audit areas are Then I've got a couple of financial results that I pulled from the financial statements and then I've got a summary a quick summary of what you should take away and then I'll be glad to take any questions Okay, so the role of the external auditor we perform your audit in accordance with The generally accepted auditing standards as well as the government auditing standards Those standards require that we plan and perform your proceed your audit Or procedures to obtain reasonable assurance that your financial statements are free from material misstatement And basically what that means is that we perform what we call a risk-based audit And that means that we're focusing our procedures on where we deem as your auditors The financial statements to be most at risk are most susceptible to being materially misstated That also means that we don't test every single transaction that happens throughout the year Uh once we've finished all of our procedures We are required to express an opinion on the financial statements And in fact, we issue four separate opinions Or as relates to the city's Financial statement audit and so the first one is for the generally accepted auditing standards We also issue what's called a yellow book opinion That's the the opinion on using the governmental auditing standards And then the last two opinions Are related to all the state and federal dollars that the uh the city administers throughout the year And then finally the audit standards require us to communicate certain things to you as a board That may have come about during the audit or that we need to make you aware of Related to the audit and so we do that in two ways. One is this presentation today As well as a letter that accompanies your financial statements So uh the types of things that we are communicating to you are if there were significant changes in accounting policies We identify the significant estimates that exist in your financial statements. And then lastly we uh would we identify Well, it's not last there's lots of things in the letter But the thing i'm pointing out is significant to you would be any journal entries that were identified as a result of the audit Okay, so for the highlights the results of the audit I'm happy to report that all four of those opinions that we issued are what we call unmodified opinions Those are also known as clean opinions. Those are the highest level of assurance that we can give you Um as a firm that your financial statements are free from material misstatement as well As in compliance and the compliance is over those federal and state dollars that uh your ministry So those are that's the best results that you can get when it comes to audit opinions We did issue one significant deficiency related to um some cutoff issues related to accounts payable at your end and accounts receivable as well as The preparation of the cifa, which is the schedule of expenditures of federal and state awards There was a correction noted By us during the audit and so that resulted in a deficiency management is working on A solution looking at the controls to see how they can strengthen them To prevent those types of errors in the future Um For single audit as I mentioned the single audit covers the federal and state dollars that are administered in the testing We do related to that. I'm happy to report that we did not have any findings related to all of that testing And then sass 114 this is that require communications to to use the government um that we're required to uh inform you about There were no significant changes in accounting policies the estimates within your financial statements are Your allowance for doubtful accounts your depreciation, which is based on an estimate of the How long the asset will be put in service or or their life we call it the life of the asset and then the other big estimates in your financial statements are your Pension for your employees and your health and health and benefits that are that are available to them once they retire called OPEB and then Um The other thing I wanted to point out a letter is that we did have two corrected statements And so those are journal entries that we propose as a result of the audit that ties in with the significant deficiency and so because we found those it indicated to us that there was um a control issuer deficiency related to cut off and so those those two go hand in hand Um, there were no past adjustments and what that means is that um, there's a there's a level of materiality that we consider and so there were no adjustments that were completely immaterial but not so material that um, we would need to post them that we would still want to make you aware of and so there weren't any of those uh types of past adjustments and then the last matter is just to um Just let you know that as a part of our contract and and our proposal when we proposed to perform the audit procedures We did commit to using a minority firm Um as a part of our contract and so we did use claud bows for a percent Of the work and uh, we did we did do that as a part of the audit So we just wanted to confirm and report back to you that that we did that Okay, so for internal controls So we don't opine on internal controls But we do uh and are required to do quite a bit of work for internal controls And so I just wanted to like give you an idea of what what we do and how we review Internal controls and then and ultimately what we report and so what we do is we identify what we deem to be the significant audit areas Or significant cycles. I'm sorry And uh, those are the types of things of of how does the city take in cash? How does the city Pay vendors or make payments on things. How does cash get dispersed? Payroll is also a significant cycle As well as the Grants, how does the grant income come in and and be and get expensed? And recorded and then lastly the financial closing reporting So what that means is how does all the data that gets captured in your financial system? Ultimately get created and put into the get into the system and then get into the financial statements themselves Correctly. And so we look at the the controls around that as well What we do is get all the policies and procedures and take a walkthrough of one transaction from its initiation and walk it all the way through How it gets recorded in the system as well as reported in those financial statements for each one of those cycles Um Sometimes during an audit we can decide whether to test and control is and actually rely upon the operating effectiveness of those controls Um as part of our assurance and part of our procedures over different audit areas And so we do do that related to the OPEB again. That's your health insurance for your retirees the estimate of what what that costs In the future your uh, leosa, which is your separation allowance or pension benefits for your law enforcement officers and then the elders which is your Pension for your for all the local government employees of the of the city And then on a rotational basis we test the controls over cash disbursements and payroll The journal entries is an area where the audit seniors require us to take a data dump of all journal entries That happen throughout the year and mine it looking for unusual transactions And so we'll we do that and we pull a sample looking for And asking for the supporting documentation looking at the accounts used looking at the The uh approval process and and whether the entry itself makes sense to have been made And then last for internal controls We do take a look at the information technology and how is what are the controls around the financial statement financial system itself, um, you know, is it protected by use of passwords? Is it physically protected? And all the things that go with that and so we we ask some questions to ensure that The system has got some general computer controls Okay, so significant audit areas as I mentioned we do that risk-based audit And so we are focusing our procedures in on where we think the financial statements are most likely to be materially Mistated and most of the time that's going to be areas that are Larger in dollar amount because you got to get to where they're their material And so these first two buckets the green and the blue are what we deem to be the significant audit area And what we're doing for these is that we are testing them sustainably. So we are Confirming them with the third party. That's the best assurance we can get Or we're looking at them analytically looking at the relationships of the numbers making sure that they're Moving in the direction that we that we expect them to based on what we know That's occurred throughout the year Or with you know in relation to each other And then lastly if we have to we'll pull it test the details Which means that we're pulling a sample and asking for all the supporting documentation for that That group of active or group of transactions And I didn't want you to think that we didn't do anything for long-term debt or some of these others listed in the orange bucket I think we just don't deem those to be as high of a risk to be materially stated So we are doing procedures just just not as intense as we are on the first two buckets Okay, so significant audit areas related to single audit We are required to follow a Determination plan to figure out which of all the grant dollars that are received That we need to test as major programs, which then from there we're testing of the 14 compliance requirements, which We figure out which ones are directed material and we test those related to each of the programs So you'll see here We had quite a few federal major programs to test during the year And then the one state program for Powell and so we've tested these and again I mentioned there was no findings related to any of the administrations. It's just really great All right, so now we're going to move into some financial results What I've done is just pulled some some information from the financial statements. It's very high level And this this first slide is just looking at the general fund. So you as a board set a budget for The city to follow when it comes to the general fund and said this is just reporting out How did the city perform to the budget that the board set? So revenues came in 19 million dollars higher than what was expected and basically That's made up of 5 million more in an admiral arm, which is also property tax Collections than than expected and then there was I believe about 14 million of that was sales tax came in much higher than expected And if we did see that across the board For most places cities counties in in north carolina Um and expenditures they came in under budget by 16.5 million There's a couple of things going on here that that caused that to be the case The community building function Didn't spend uh was under budget by four million related to some economic development incentives that just didn't occur In the current year and so those came in under budget Public safety came in under budget by six million due to mainly some vacant positions Uh and then public services came in under 10 million and that was due to some maintenance projects being delayed Mainly related to public works the facility management and parks and rec areas and so that that is just a high high level of Part of the major things that caused that to be under budget The other thing I wanted to point out was that the city appropriated the use of fund balance of 9.1 million dollars in the final budget Which means basically they expected revenues to be less than expenditures by 9.1 million And instead what really happened because of these overs under budget and beating budget for revenues You were able to add back 19.6 million dollars to fund balance at the end of june 30 for june 30 of 2021 Another point of interest Usually is is the unassigned fund balance of the general fund You guys have a policy to maintain six point seven percent, which basically makes up two percent of the general fund expenditures For the year and so i'm happy to report that you're you're meeting your policy by having 29.8 percent. I will make a note that the lgc looks for Cities to usually be around 25 percent as a minimum So it's good that you're above your policy because they're looking for for you to be at 25 percent Even if your policies at 16.7 another place to another Metric that gets looked at by the lgc is looking for your fund balance available as a percent And so i'm happy to report here that you're at 40.19 percent The average for Cities is of your size is 46. So you're you're right in there with with your peers All right, and this is looking at similar information, but just for the watering sewer operating fund Your operating revenues did not meet budget by 2.7 million dollars. However, there was a significant amount of investment income That was allowed it allowed it to pretty much come in even in about 126,000 Under budget And then your expenditures were under budget by three million And again the same thing with the appropriation of fund balance nine hundred thousand Was projected to be used, but you actually ended up adding back A hundred thousand This is just a snapshot of your capital assets in general. So you've got two point billion two point one billion dollars worth of assets In the current year you added infrastructure of 61.1 million land of 5.1 million furniture of their equipment for of 20.6 million And then you've got quite a bit of capital project activity going on. So you've had 110.8 million dollars worth of CA And then this is just looking at a snapshot of the long-term debt of the city You've got 926.7 million dollars worth of debt including your retirement benefits So you've got geo bonds with your general obligation bonds of 80.5 million Limited obligation bonds of 190.5 billion million Revenue bonds of 312.8 installment financing, which are just your typical kind of bank loans of 22.5 Million and then your total of your OPEB and pension and all the retiree kind of benefits Is 2279.4 million There was some transactions that happened in debt in the current year. There's new debt of 90 194.8 million that happened throughout 2021 But you're also reduced to refunded it was either refunding or principal payments made of 234.6 million Okay, so in summary, here's what you should take away from the presentation The city received clean opinions all four were clean There were three corrected misstatements One significant deficiency There are however, there are there are really good internal controls in place that are capturing all the financial activity Of of the city and this is just my chance to thank Management for providing everything that we needed as a part of the audit It is kind of a relentless ask for about five months Of information that we're asking to get the audit accomplished So we just really appreciate being made a priority and getting the information to us to get you a report on time And now i'll be glad to take any questions or comments Any questions? No questions. Just a comment. I just want to appreciate, you know, uh coming into a city Infrastructure that's just so well put together so well ran it makes it It makes it easier to learn all of this information Um, this is impressive This is a sizable city a sizable infrastructure this and i've seen many audits and many Uh, get many audits and budgets. This is quite impressive and I just want to thank Uh What we're walking into staff for doing such an amazing job Madam Mayor, thank you First of all, let me fully associate myself over the comments of my colleague A council member williams miss adams. You made a comment about Our management Responding to relentless ask they get a lot of practice with this council So so they they are well positioned to deal with relentless ask when the audit comes along I want to again echo Just appreciation dr. Burrington and for your whole shopping to the staff. I'm so accustomed, you know, whenever I'm in other contexts Particularly outside of derm to hear folks just going and on about derm How well run the city is we're certified one of the best run cities In the country and and that moniker still is just as applicable So let me congratulate you madam manager and to the entire staff all of our Employees that that run this city so well that keep us in the black So we can make the hard decisions and have the arguments It's a very different argument when you're arguing from a position of financial strength as opposed to deficits So I want to congratulate the staff. I did I have one question about the The significant deficiency I I was looking at the listing of federal programs the american rescue plan at coronavirus relief funds federal transit cluster Could you give us a sense as are is this what we're talking about reporting related to these programs these are Areas listed here with respect to the the deficiency It really had I'm sorry. It really had to do the cutoff of Of year end so we do We look for are all the expenses for 2021 recorded in 2021 And and we ran into one expense that happened after a year in that that didn't get added back to 2021 when it should have Should have been so there was that issue. There was an issue with On the other side of receivables. We were missing A revenue that should have been accrued I'm sorry. It was a receive a revenue that was recorded that should have been a Liability meaning you hadn't quite completed the earnings process for it yet Those those were the misstatements The and I say that that was related to a grant, but it wasn't Um Really the administration of the grant. It was just the rev the recording of the revenue at the right time Got you So everything I said at the beginning. Let me just underscore you guys are great. Uh, thank you for a great job. Thank you madam mayor Any other comments I too want to echo this is you know, if you could see my smile under under this mask It's literally from here to here um To have an organ a city this large With the kind of funds that come in and out And to come away with an audit like this is absolutely amazing You know, I I congratulate You all on this is where the rubber meets the road. This is what you call a wheel Run oil machine And so I thank you to the audit department and to all of the Folks that are in the department to make it happen and to our city manager and all of you all who have done this work Well, uh, thank you for allowing us to come into such a nice situation And now um, we're gonna turn back to miss young blood. She's here now. Oh Recording in progress They are back madam mayor are you guys Able to hear me Okay, you got me disappeared for a minute. Um, I just wanted to say I hope the comments from council Are complete But I just wanted to to acknowledge the finance department because Dave Hickman pristine column and that team We're just instrumental. We're the project managers of the audit, but Dave Hickman and his team Actually did the work and so I just wanted I couldn't leave this meeting without acknowledging They are working this process Thank you so much. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you and I think For your presentation and for your hard work along with your staff I think that would conclude this presentation, but I do believe we're returning back to miss young blood Who is who is leaving us so we'll give him a second to try to get her on I think she they said she was driving So I am here looking for a place to pull over Good afternoon Not hearing anything Regina, can you hear us now? I can hear you now Great. We are here See you so madam manager Regina's team Hosted an event for her. So we are integrating this in part of her schedule She did not hear the remarks that you made to her and about her Publicly, so she's anticipating an introduction. So that's what that's the cue she's waiting for Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for Helping us in that space miss young blood Prior to your arrival I made some comments about your service here I wanted to Thank you for the eight years Of excellent service that you provided this government and this community We work together that whole time and I appreciate the innovation That you brought to the organization and I am extremely excited for this new opportunity That you have in front of you on the west coast We hope that you will stay in touch with us and you will Keep us in your roller decks. We might have some questions here there But we want to give the community as well as you and An opportunity to say goodbye and farewell. You will be here For a few more days To the end to the end of the month But this would this is the last time that we are going to have An opportunity to have you speak so glad you could join us and Take it away Thank you. Thank you and good afternoon Madam manager madam mayor Mr. Mayor pro tem and the reigning council members. Good afternoon Thank you so much for the opportunity to have served this wonderful community for the last eight years I am so proud of the work that my team and I have done I've learned quite a lot under Wanda's leadership And the foundational learning that I got here is going to definitely serve me well in my next endeavor I met miss young blood on on yesterday day before yesterday when we had our presentation So I would thank you for your service, but I would defer to either our mayor pro tem and and Mr. Julian Johnson as well to give some remarks on our behalf. Thank you Thank you madam mayor With all due respect to the the manager Regina may have been one of the most important people in this organization because she told us about our money And our benefits are early on so all due respect of madam manager with all seriousness. Regina Thank you so much on behalf of a grateful city For your serve as much of what you do is is unheralded It's not kind of the stuff that gets the bells and whistles out in the public But it is absolutely necessary Because you have played such a key role in taking care of those that take care of us You've been a caretaker to the caretakers of our city and for that. Thank you She's very soft-spoken and I used to think that she was soft-spoken, but that's actually a tactic Because uh, I learned that when you're that way folk are drawn and they are still and they are intent on listening to you And that's a tactic and and and a skill. I hope to develop As I get older, but I just want to thank you for always Just showing such professionalism Great temperament and incredible subject matter excellence and knowledge You know your stuff And and we are jealous of that west coast town that you're heading to but know that you go with a grateful city Behind you with our love with our appreciation. We know you're going to Really well and really hard for Durham and may your next chapter be your greatest chapter Thank you so much for everything you've done for us and we're just a call away. God bless you. Thank you, madam mayor Thank you, madam mayor. Um, and thank you so much for Gina. I I'm so sorry to see you go though This is an incredible opportunity for you. I'm sure To to move up You've done such an incredible job here at the city I remember you walking through walking us through a number of really detailed presentations around pay plan changes and step plans and really complicated material Doing that huge analysis of the entire city's pay scale and all of the Levels that folks were at and then explaining it all to to council members who had no idea Coming into it. Um, and you were really I I found your Ability to explain those things and and help us all to understand and and help us through that really complicated process To be really exemplary and wanted to appreciate you for all the work That you've done here at the city. You've been here the whole time. I've been here So I'm a little bit nervous about about you leaving But uh, yeah, just really want to appreciate your service and wish you the best of luck On the west coast in your in your next endeavor I'm not surprised that those folks over there wanted to get wanted to get their hands on you Thank you so much I'd also open it up to anyone else who wants to wish you well I just I just want to echo those comments from mayor pro 10 middle 10 and councilman rejohnson acknowledging I think that the The pay study End of itself was when I came in and it was it was daunting and I really appreciate the opportunity to learn um Exactly how awesomeness organization is And and seeing how meticulously our our staff Staff specifically and human resources Poured over exactly who sat where and restructuring all of that Job descriptions and and so I mean so many layers I think that I I took I had a great respect for the work And I and I appreciate the work that regina has done And leading that effort. I also appreciate the the kind of opportunity she's created around The mayor's 5k race and and other you know opportunities to kind of get health and wellness and included into What we do during the day And I'm gonna miss I'm hoping that someone's gonna take the mantle on that Just acknowledging it's a great opportunity for us to get together in a very social health focused way And so thank you. Thank you regina anyone else Durham city wishes you well We wish you well miss yonder. Thank you so much for your service here. Thank you so much We will turn our attention to matter number 24 We will have the 2021 third quarter crime report presentation from our chief Good afternoon. Good afternoon madam mayor and mr. Mayor pro tim middleton Durham city council Our wonderful city manager page and the rest of city staff Uh, good afternoon so I come to you today to provide a presentation for our 2021 third quarter report which covers the periods of july through september 2021 So I am going to endeavor to share my screen And so just be patient if we have some glitches Okay Can you see my screen? Yes, ma'am Okay, wonderful. Thank you So as I said before This report covers the dorm police department's five performance measures And those are as follows part one violent crime Part one property crime our clearance rates response times two priority one calls and staffing levels And so there's some additional highlights and those were noted in the uh, the written report the full written report accompanying This slideshow All right, so overall um our reported part one violent crime And again that's homicide rate robbery and aggravated assault was down by 11 During the first nine months of 2021 and that's compared to the same period of time in 2020 there were increases in homicides and sexual assaults There were 38 homicides during this period in the first nine months of 2021 compared to 24 in the same period of 2020 And that equates to about a 58 percent increase. There were also three justifiable homicide cases And two negligent manslaughter cases both of which were cleared by arrest And so currently just so that you know, there are currently 43 homicides and 29 of those Of of the 2021 homicides are still open Five cases from prior years were actually cleared During this quarter so four in 2020 and one in 2019 The number of reported sexual assaults did increase by 18 percent During the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020 So we didn't have an evidence of a serial event or a serial rapist More than one quarter of our cases reported during 2021 occurred in prior years I will say that while we did see an increase in our reported sexual assaults What we can say is that we are starting to see more victims of sexual assault coming forward and reporting their victimization and And oftentimes those are those are belated cases But we are very fortunate in that they are feeling much more comfortable with our staff to be able to Come forward and trust us with with their with their victimization So our robberies did drop significantly by 15 percent during the first nine months of 2021 75 of those were from people were from persons and 25 percent were from commercial or were commercial robberies 44 of the commercial robberies were convenience stores within our city The percentage of robberies that we did have were committed with firearms dropped from 59 percent in 2020 to 52 percent in 2021 38 percent of our robberies from persons involved Hispanic victims the department has Saw that increase and actually continued to provide outreach To our Hispanic community through our Hispanic liaison officer We did increase our social media outreach as well as Some other community events with our community resource officers and so in september 10th We held the the coffee with a cop event at la superior October the 9th. We held an event a la gran fiesta event at the crossroads at 501 And we continue to hold those throughout and we've got more planned investigators did arrest two men in november in connection with 23 armed robberies and many of which did occur in the third quarter That was a lot of combined effort Between different units and that was a significant arrest So we do compare our department's clearance rates to those Of other departments that are similar in size As you know, we are in the fbi's Um population category of category of 250 000 to Roughly 500 000 And that's how our our um our crime and crime rates are categorized The 29 20 2019 fbi statistics statistics are our most recent ones as you know, generally fbi Is about a year or so behind In posting those statistics so um when we compare clearance rates what what we've seen is that our clearance rates were better than average For cities our size and robberies Overall part one violent crimes and all part one property crimes So those being your burglaries larcenies motor vehicle thefts and overall part one property crimes However, we were worse Than average so we were we were a little worse in homicide sexual assault and our aggravated assault clearances That can be attributed somewhat to our staffing And and just the incidents of crimes that are being reported and and are occurring Our first our clearance rates for the first nine months are better than our overall 2020 clearance rates in all categories with the exception of sexual assaults our target um Our 23 property crime clearance and 50 violent crime clearance rates In april the sake cold case backlog project was delayed by the state lab and if you recall um, we received sake grant in 2019. I believe uh, it's a one million dollar grant that was awarded and um, and we have recently been re awarded or or issued another 500 000 dollars to continue this critical work And we will not be receiving our lab results until winter of 2022 that is due to the sake cold case backlog that's occurring in the state lab Okay, so i'm going to um Show you a video that um was Was a product of an effort um in relation to our anti gun Violence video and our Durham police department officers sergeant brigante and corporal green Share some personal insights about their work To keep Durham safe and why the community's help is key to reducing gun crimes And we also are fortunate to have been able to have some of our victims also Making an appearance and really providing their perspective as well and how Gun violence has impacted their lives Our anti gun violence campaign did start The first part of september and actually ran through the end of september. We received Nearly 10 000 views on youtube By the end of september and so we continue to run the campaign It's available on youtube, but also uh on facebook as well My younger sister was someone that never got involved with bad people She was a selfless person And her life was taken away by her boyfriend Due to gun violence in front of her three younger kids I was in my car. I heard Loud gunfire didn't know where I got shot was dramatic and Experienced I couldn't you know Want anybody to live to gun violence can happen any different time Anywhere i'm truly blessed to be Alive today The person that did this to my sister is still in the loose and we were just as for my sister and for my Nephews, we don't want for this to happen to another woman out there. Don't stay Why it don't be afraid to talk Only being there for people I like When my investigators and I go out there that we're out there with a specific purpose and that's to try to Bring somebody to justice on behalf of a citizen to get a violent criminal off the streets I'm born and raised Still have family members here Classmates friends it's personal for me We see on the news constantly the numbers of shootings is in the hundreds Last year it's pushing a thousand. So you would think that around every corner. There's somebody With a gun Ready to shoot both through our investigations We've learned that the percentage of the population that's committing all these shootings is very low Compared to the number of shootings we're actually having Members of the community can help make it safer if they've seen something in their neighborhood. Please call us. Let us know There are creative ways to be able to to solve crimes and That's through anonymous information through avenues such as crime standards Getting that information in the hands of police investigators It's it's critical because a lot of stuff we can have ideas of what happened But if we can't prove it in court Justice isn't going to be served. Just give us the information to help point us in the right direction Fantastic work on that video Overall reported part one property crime Uh burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft was down by 10 percent During the first nine months of 2021 So our burglaries were also down by 21.5 percent This included a 24 percent decrease in residential burglaries and a four percent decrease in commercial burglaries The top three locations for commercial burglaries were specifically specialty stores restaurants and convenience stores Our larcenies were comprised more than half or 63 of our all of our reported part one crime Overall larcenies were down by four percent 45 of all of our reported larcenies were from motor vehicles or involved auto parts and accessories and so What we see here is this trend that we've had break-ins or larcenies from motor vehicles typically many of them Most of them are left unlocked And so we've seen that increase not just here in Durham, but nationwide More than a quarter of our larcenies or 28 percent Involved shoplifting So more than half of our guns that were stolen this year about 53 percent or so were taken during Break-ins to motor vehicles. So and most of those vehicles were left unlocked Many of them Again, as we said unlocked You know, those individuals saw it saw the opportunity to steal that gun and the gun was removed Hondo courts as we've heard time and time again were by far the most stolen motor vehicle Model during the first nine months of 2021 and then that's that's kind of been a trend that has continued We don't really know why exactly But it has been a continuing trend Almost half or 49 of the vehicle stolen this year had keys left in the car and or had the engine running You know this time of year Folks like to leave their vehicles running As they warm up, especially this this morning was particularly cold And so we've been trying to remind everyone, you know, do not leave your cars unattended while you're warming them up You know, stay with your cars if you're going to to warm them up And 84 percent of our vehicle stolen during the third quarter have been recovered So again, we we we compare our department's clearance rates to those of other departments our size and so Wanted to just give you and show you our clearance rates compared FBI 2019 clearance rates and then 2021 third quarter as compared to 2020 Priority one calls for service. There were about 6000 Priority one calls for service in the first nine months of 2021 Which was a one percent decrease from the same period time period in 2020 Our average response time was 6.2 minutes It did not meet our target of 5.8 minutes So we can attribute that to staff and we also can attribute that to an increase in call volume From this time last year. So we're starting to really reawaken and come out of covet there's more traffic on the roadways and We are starting to see a little bit of an increase in in our response time We did however answer 51.39 percent of the party one calls in less than five minutes in the first nine months of 2021 However, that did not meet our target of 57 percent staffing so At the end of the third quarter September 30th our sworn staffing was at 87 percent It was 93 percent same time last year 2020 At that point our staffing was was much higher And again, we are starting to see just a decrease in our staffing rate between january 1st 2021 and november 30th 2021 36 officers have have resigned Or have or and then 24 of those officers have retired of those that have resigned 24 have left for employment with other law enforcement agencies Five of those were a result of retirement and the remainder resigned for different reasons So, you know, they were moving away or leaving for another job opportunity with a higher salary or leaving the profession entirely 12 of our non sworn staff members left the department between january 1st 2021 and january 1st 2022 Our non sworn staffing was at 88 percent at the end of september 2021 And then it was at 90 91 percent at the end of 2020 so currently Our current non sworn staffing is 89 with 14 vacancies We do have we did have four new recruits that graduated successfully from basic law enforcement training Class number 53 on september the 8th We do currently have 10 recruits in basic law enforcement training. It did start middle of september september 16th So we continue to actively recruit during the pandemic throughout this year. We've continued to actively recruit We did a lot of our recruiting virtually We're changing the way that we recruit so Really relying on a lot of data that will strategically point us to where we need to go And and that is and that is really Helps us tremendously in being able to maximize our leverage As well as as being able to bring more officers in The recruiting unit has held Monthly pop-up recruiting events. So we did One at we've done some at starbucks. We've been out to south point We are going to be tapping into our resources with our local colleges and universities As well as looking at recruiting from current basic law enforcement training classes at technical colleges The Durham police department received 37 u visa requests during the third quarter of 2021 20, uh, I'm sorry 76 of those u visa requests Were approved nine requests were denied And so, you know, we we do want to Really make our u visas available We want to make sure that we are informing our entire community about the u visa process And also, what are the requirements for u visa? So Because of our continued commitment to this program You know, we are going to be hosting several forums in which we will be going out into the community to really discuss The purpose of u visa as well as how to Complete a u visa Application we we see some that are submitted that are not incomplete Rather than reject those our staff will all will reach out And assist the applicant in completing and then we will also then process a lot of those applications that come in incomplete Here within the pd We do not allow an incomplete application to stop the process National night out occurred this quarter. We had a great time. Durham always does national night out big And Durham did not disappoint this year Uh, so our Durham police department employees are sworn and non-smore and staff participated In the event that was held on august 3rd more than 40 neighborhoods, which was tremendous compared to the fact that we were still You know, you still have covet anxiety, right? So this event has always been a fantastic way for us to really get out and meet the community where they are And engage in a non-law enforcement manner and really just enjoy being around Our entire community The Durham police departments police athletic league pals as you you all know it Continues to be an active part of our organization as well as community outreach outreach during the third quarter We have not let covet stop us Community outreach the pow program is tremendously important to our overall vision here and what we're trying to do at the Durham police department The pow soccer camp was held The first week of august 9th at ta gradie record reation center the kids enjoyed it and you can see some pictures there The first photo and then 13 of our youth attended the camp, which was led by three high school Youth who coached participant in basic soccer skills and strategy. You know that footwork is important As part of our pow venturing program about 20 of our youth from four Durham housing authority communities met regularly to experience different parts of Durham In september several of those youngsters from the program attended A duke men's soccer game against Howard university Historically black college university in september They got to meet players and one of the coaches and enjoyed the game And so the second photo shows you that there And then finally in september pow's participants and pow officers attended the Durham bulls game We love our partnership with the Durham bulls and and really got to take selfies with woolly bull I have not experienced that yet, but hopefully if i'm fortunate, I will During the third quarter pow also held basketball camps sessions golf classes baseball camps Girls camp, which is a collaborative effort With neighborhood improvement services That also started during third quarter We continue our outreach With participating in several outreach programs during the third quarter On september the 18th officers from the community services division And employees from the Durham parks and recreation held a bicycle rodeo At walltown recreation center You got to know how to ride a bike and how to ride it right and one of the best ways to do that is to have a little fun While learning those lessons with our officers Stations were set up and Durham police department officers taught our kiddos about basic Bike maintenance how to properly break overall bike safety while riding your helmet And and fitting your helmet and bike Use so each participant did receive a free helmet from ncdot Bicycle and pedestrians divisions helmet initiative program Tremendous tremendous program that keeps everyone safe Then on september 17th seven of our officers from the community engagement unit or ceu Partnered with sleep and heavenly peace and strata solar to build 20 beds for children in need So this has been an ongoing effort a partnership between our ceu officers And sleep and heavenly peace to build these beds for our children since the fall of 2018 and They have helped build over 250 beds And that is tremendous and so officers will also see Through and see the initiative through and deliver those beds as well Then september 2nd recruiting unit and selective enforcement team officers went to Meals on wheels answered an urgent call for assistance and they helped deliver meals to more than 150 people in Durham And certainly we don't do it for the alcohol accolades. We simply do it because it's the right thing to do and we love our community And so that concludes Our third quarter report. You can find us on all of our dpd social media facebook instagram and twitter And at this point in time, I will entertain any questions from from council. Thank you chief Before we answer any questions. Yes, ma'am. I just want to welcome you back to Welcome back home We are so glad that you are here I was a I think a district court Judge when I I first met you I'm back in the day of steve charmers and chief Lopez and So i'm just so grateful to see you back in Durham And in charge so welcome welcome welcome I know that you'll be sworn in tomorrow night if you could give us some details about that And I'd also ask our Our citizens and residents of Durham here to give you some grace As you learn or relearn this city again and you relearn All of your colleagues and I know that you're making a physical move back into the city And so we're going to we look forward to great things from you But there is a human under that uniform That has a life who is also a police chief And so we want to know that you are Safe mentally physically And psychologically and I just thank you For accepting this new assignment. So welcome to Durham Welcome back Thank you, madam mayor. I am so proud. Thank you so much For that for those wonderful warm words It is I I did watch your your press briefing and I want to tell you thank you Just thank you for for your words and just for being so very real I connect with you on so many levels So by swearing in I I did forget to mention that it's it's a little hard for me to talk about those things But my swearing in will be tomorrow. You know, I'm an eagle In ccu. I am an eagle. So we will be At 6 p.m. Tomorrow evening at the the student union. So the new student union And I am so so very thankful for North Carolina central university staff For really helping my staff as we work through this and plan this this this event So it will be tomorrow at 6 p.m. And we also plan to I just got handed a note that we plan to be live streaming also on youtube For anyone that wishes to view it in the in the comfort and warmth of your home I'll see you in person tomorrow night chief. I wouldn't miss it. I wouldn't miss it. So I will open it up to my colleagues And for any other comments to welcome her here today back to them Mayor protein Thank you so much madam mayor Chief Andrews, let me add my word of welcome and appreciation to you on behalf of a grateful city To you I am I was really Well, let me again also congratulate Our city manager our manager page on what I think was a master stroke of a hire Chief Andrews, you and I have been conversation partners for some years now about police reform and And aligning policing With the values of the community and would say police you were captain Andrews back then And your your shoulder is a lot more decorated now and your your call is a lot more decorated now So congratulations on the way your career path has evolved. I also want to thank you very early In your tenure here very very early our city was faced with a very dark Challenge on good friday at south point mall and and I watched your command presence Very early in your tenure and watched how you Provided leadership and your command staff and all of the men and women under your command So I want to commend you and ask that you would just pass on an entire city's appreciation For the way they served us under some really really impossible circumstances On that day and the busiest shopping day of the year So thank you for your leadership then and for the work you've done. I also want to I know and i'm going to ask a little bit about the staffing issue I was struck by given what we're hearing about staffing issues at our police department How robust your engagement still is with community engagement I mean these are folks that are sometimes working double shifts Who are still finding time to go ride bicycles with kids and play in neighborhoods? I think that speaks to The culture of our department And the values that our department holds dear. We're very spoiled here in Durham chief because we're not We're not just used to having police chiefs That are experts in law enforcement matters, but we expect our police chiefs also to be thought leaders To be beacons for the country To not only patrol our streets, but to engage with our community and have robust conversations on what policing in the 21st century and what policing a city like Durham Would look like and I think that you are well positioned To not only be an excellent police chief but also a thought leader Here in Durham and around the country. So i'm just really excited about your tenure And I know I speak for an entire city and the council when we we say we have your back and we're here to support you I do want to ask there have been some reports about the possibility of reassigning investigators and other officers that have specialized job descriptions to Put them in patrol put them out on patrol in order to Deal with the staffing issues that we're experiencing and you've already alluded to some of that with the response time Targets that we have for the department And since the reports are out there I thought I if you want to take an opportunity to speak to that or Confirm or whatever give us some sense of what are we looking at in terms of bolstering our patrol capabilities Yes, thank you, uh mayor pro tem middleton. Thank you so much for your words of support and encouragement and your your your Just the graceful way in which you you know you you you hype you hype us up. So thank you for that And i'm actually Very glad you asked that question so When when I when I got here One of the first things that I started doing was meeting Every weekend with patrol officers Um On saturday saturdays and sundays during their training shifts. I would actually come in and we have just kind of just Just very hard to heart conversations with our patrol officers and I found out a lot They are not afraid to speak up and speak out and I found out a lot and so that was one of the Ways for me to be able to gauge the temperature Of the ones that are out there Serving uh and protecting um in these times and so one of the things that they said to me was listen We just need some relief. We need some help, right? And so along with my executive staff, we we sat down And I and I issued them a challenge of let's come up with a a plan in which we could help relieve Some of the pressure that they were feeling Um on the on the street, right? And also in turn that would help us retain some of our officers that were on that cusp of leaving the department and so Our executive staff went forward utilized Our our our internal staff here We looked at looked at power bi and and and really weighed what was what are our peak hours, right? When are the violent crimes happening? What are the peak hours for call volume? And then we we sat down and said okay, so how do we put more officers on the street? And we came up with a very temporary program um in which um The ranks from uh and so investigators and above so that would be your folks and specialized services and All the way up to the chief's office. So all the way up to the chief of police We uh ended up putting together a plan in which between january and march staff would sign up to work four days And we formulated a um a structure around that in which we were actually putting more officers On the street and not compromising their workload Um the the the task that they have to do Um in their day-to-day work, but we were able to put them on the street for four shifts four days out of in the three month period as a whole And um, so we were able to do that and that will be on that'll be beginning in january january first is when it begins We've all appeared signed up. I will be riding um for four days as well And so we're just we're looking forward to that but most We're really looking forward to being able to relieve some of that pressure While we start to really get the momentum going to to retain our officers and recruit officers as well Thank you for that. So the chief of police might be In a patrol car pulling up beside us at a red light Yes, sir. I I will be I told them I said, you know, I I no longer I don't type as well as I used to but I can check in on a call from time to time. So yes So you'll see me out and about Well, we appreciate your your willingness to do that. I um And thank you so much for for for those dates and for giving kind of giving us a Primer on what that that initiative is going to look like Um So so we're going to have a report come before us. I think in early january about compensation For our officers for for our first responders is Besides money, uh, is there anything else that you need or that you think we can do or should be doing to to Bolster our recruiting position Here in Durham Not just to get bodies but to get excellent people people that Will will police according to our values who are top of the class? That's what we're used to here in Durham But but besides money and pay increases. Is there anything else that you think the council should be aware of in these coming months? So, um, I would say support, you know, just saying the words that you have said today Um, you you you will never be able to fully understand How much that means to the rank and file How much that means also to our non sworn staff? Just those words that you've said today Uh, it means it means so much And I wish I wish I could fully put that in words and describe that But I will also be working closely with deputy city manager Ferguson As well as manager page on a long term Initiative to maybe help identify some more You know kind of internal things that we can put in place and also maybe some external needs That would help us retain and recruit. So so that will be more to come on that one But I will tell you it's just been the support Means a lot Well, thank you for that chief and we know that you know the honeymoon period is very short You come in at a very challenging time not just for Durham but for our country As we're coming out of cove it and we noticed us trending Numbers trending upward violent crime nationwide My final question is and this is this comes, you know, I Folk talked to us all the time residents and citizens as they should as their elected leaders and and Anecdotally and I'm wondering if you can speak on it. Anecdotally. I'm hearing that And even from some patrol officers actually I'm hearing that we're finding that the caliber of weapons that are being Employed on our streets are are getting they're getting bigger The type of weapons that that you're facing and that you're recovering Are you are you finding that? I know you've been here for a minute. You're still unpacking But are you finding the lethality of these weapons and the caliber of the weapons to be more impressive than they've been in the past So what I can say is that the sheer number of weapons that are out there is staggering The number of weapons that we are seizing on routine traffic stops I do know that there are high powered weapons out there. That is a fact But I think now it's just the the the magnitude That are out there that are available and people are carrying them And they're they're using them to commit these crimes without a second thought So that's that's really what I would have what I would say to you on that I don't have the exact the caliber and what types but I know that we are just There's a lot of weapons out there And just to be able to seize the number that we've seen seized on mostly traffic stops is is is Is significant Well chief that I'll I'll in here and allow my other colleagues to to get in but again Thank you so much for your report today. Congratulations again on your assumption of command Please pass on our regards to all of the men and women on your command and we're here if we need you if you need us We know we'll be talking many more times again. Thank you chief. Thank you madam mayor. I yield back sir Very anyone else councilman rees Thank you, mayor anneal. Chief Andrews welcome. You did a great job on your first crime report as our new police chief I've seen a handful of these over the last six years and I think you did a fantastic job I also wanted to apologize that I won't be able to make your swearing in unfortunately I just found out about this like a couple days ago and there's a thing I can't move so I apologize But I know you'll have the good wishes of our entire city with you At its essential tomorrow night and I wish you all the best with your event I just wanted to say to kind of underscore some things that the mayor pro tem mentioned a couple of minutes ago It seems clear that not just in the police department, but across the city of durham in our local government We have a couple of areas where staffing is a real concern and I want to thank The mayor pro tem for identifying The very real problem in our public safety departments Especially the police department and you in your report you identified The staffing concerns. They're very real. Every member of this council understands that And so we're going to have to do some things to try to Make these positions a little bit more attractive in the marketplace And I think every member of the council understands that something's got to give there It doesn't it doesn't really matter if crime is down 11 percent Which by the way is remarkable. I pulled last year's third quarter report crime was up 20 violent crime was up 23 percent When we heard from uh from the department in the third quarter report last year, so this is a This is a pretty great report from that perspective, but obviously more people are dying in our city And response times are increasing And so the the fact that we are looking next week looking next month We will receive a report from staff with some potential solutions on the pay side. I think it's really important Not just for the police department for other public safety departments, but we're going to need to look at that citywide And kind of prioritize the departments that need help first and obviously Our public safety departments like the police department are going to be near the top of that list. So Thank you Mayor proton milton for highlighting those problems And I know that's something that we're going to be working on in the weeks and months ahead. I also wanted to Just say how grateful I am for the department's continuing support for the uvisa program. This is a program that we've been That we have been advocating for for a number of years now as a council and i'm glad that the That the handoff from our previous chief to the to our new chief has not Changed the mission of our department in terms of being welcome and opening and chief managers. I really appreciated your You're letting us know that when a when a when an application comes in and complete that it That you guys make sure you work with the applicant to get that finished These are just so important for people who have been the victims of crime To be able to come out of the shadows and help the police department as best they can And to make a life for themselves here in uh in durham. So thank you for that The other the last thing I wanted to just mention real quick Is that over the last couple of years? We've seen an alarming increase in crimes of domestic violence. I appreciate The continued updates we get in the quarterly reports about those those crimes Just wanted to say, um, you know durham has made some real investments recently in the kind of broader infrastructure For helping the victims of domestic violence Leave abusive situations and participate in The criminal justice aspect of these cases. I know that those investments Put durham in a really good place in terms of supporting domestic crime victims as they Try to come forward and move on But I just wanted to make sure that that that we highlighted those efforts And know that folks who are in difficult situations that we have support here in the city For folks who are facing those difficult situations And I know that that's something that will continue to get to to receive your attention as we continue to see Through the pandemic and as we I don't know if we're emerging and we're entering a new crisis Or a new period of the pandemic but as as this time goes on we're continuing to see More and more reports of of crimes of domestic violence on the statistics bear that out So I know that's going to that's going to be something that you focus on as well Lastly, I just wanted to say You know with respect to What else we can do to help with recruiting? It please don't hesitate to reach out to us individually You know, we all have different ideas about what keeps community safe We all have different ideas about how we can spend The money that we collect from taxpayers to do that. We have a lot of great kind of ideas In the community safety department to try to relieve some of the call pressure on police officers if we can get that department up and running and well funded But ultimately we will always need some level of law enforcement response To answer to respond to some of the most violent crimes that occur in our community And we just want to make sure we do everything To make sure that you have the tools you need to do that In a way that's consistent with our city's valleys and I know that you want the same thing. That's all I have to say I'm mad mayor. Thank you Thank you councilmember reese and yes, you will be missed But I know you'll be there in spirit and that's what matters the most so thank you for your comments I will tell you I agree with you ditto ditto ditto on everything that you said We're looking forward to Really fostering and growing that relationship with the community safety department I've had some great conversations with director smith So just looking forward to to to what the future holds. So thank you for that Mayor I know there's one other thing I wanted to mention and that is that if you look at the I pulled the last couple of third quarter reports This morning and if you look at the clearance rates Despite the staffing problems Despite the increase in homicide and sexual assault our clearance rates are so much better than they were Two years ago or even last year And that is a credit to our police department investigators and also I think probably A community coming together and saying that that's we're not going to stand for this anymore And I think we're going to need a lot more of that as we Hopefully emerge soon from the pandemic. That's all I'm done. Thank you Thank you councilman reese councilman williams Thank you, mayor I actually some of the comments that I was going to actually make were Mentioned already But I also wanted to Say, uh, welcome back. You're checking off all the boxes. You're just getting it. All right. You're moving back to Durham You come you've already come back to Durham Um And you know, you are an ego Uh, you'll be sworn in and the new union. We have a real union now Um Also, I may be serving tables tomorrow night at work So I I plan to be there, but as of right now we have a huge party coming in. So I may be serving tables Um, but if not if I could sneak out I will do so and I promise I'll be there if I can Um, so I I've been saying often, you know, um You know, police officers are humans too They're people too when they take, you know, before they put the badge on, you know, and I view them as such, um I have a lot of friends who serve right now um And I I understand human behavior um I I think what I'm most concerned about And and councilman reese mentioned this but this pandemic You know, I think for the first time in our lifetime We are seeing the effects of cabin fever And how it could physically and psychologically have an impact on us as people And I'm I'm concerned When and if this moment comes where We declare the pandemic over if that ever comes What's going to happen, you know, um, because folks are tired of being shut up in the house They're going to come out You know, which is great But there are some folks that are held up inside right now And it's psychologically impacting them And I was wondering is that a conversation that's happening The mental health impact on the community In regards of how covet has played a part as well as the mental health Impact on the officers as humans Is still trying to do their job Is that conversation being had and if so, you know How's that going and I know that, you know, you said support You you have that despite how diverse You know, our perspective on community safety can evolve. I know you have the support all around And I'm sure we can provide that But I would love to hear, you know, just your perspective on how the mental health impact is coming along on officers As humans as well as the community Thank you councilmember williams. I I you know, it's We know that that wave um of Post covet right is going to come back And we are correct. We are starting to see an increase in some of our calls for people that are in a mental health crisis Um that need more services and we've started to really have those conversations with our officers just internally Making sure that they are aware You know that they that we have peer support, um for the Durham police department That when when we go on calls that our emergency chaplains are available Not just for in our officers, but for our community, right? Um, We it's very very important that that we make people aware that it's okay to not be okay Um, and it's okay to ask for help. And so we're doing a lot of check-ins with officers We are making sure that our emergency chaplains are on scenes at these critical calls Um for the purpose of just being There right and just being there and being available to to have the conversation And even making sure that the resources that we are offering After the events Are are available are accessible To all that's involved even if that means that we go Where they are right we go to them and so that's going to be an ongoing discussion We're going to be sitting down and and really talking about what does peer support look like now And what are the best practices? For the future and how can we improve on that? So that's going to be a continued conversation because you know, we are going to be post-covid It's going to be a continued conversation on the effects that it has on our first responders As well as our community as a whole Thank you so much for that. I looking forward to having you here and continuing to work with you And I don't know where to look so pardon me for looking all around But uh, I'm talking to you and I look forward to working with you. Thank you Councilwoman Johnson, thank you madam mayor. It is a little awkward. I feel like I'm talking to myself But we will get used to this new new hybrid world Thank you so much she for your report and welcome back to Durham. We're happy to have you back here in the bull city A lot of my questions have already been discussed and we talked about this a little bit earlier, but one of the slides that that showed the number of of homicides and aggravated assaults from 2020 to 2021 I remember back in 2021 looking at that data and thinking looking at the the sharp increase in an aggravated assaults and especially in assaults with a gun and the relatively low number of fatalities that had Resulted from those shootings and thinking this is kind of odd and I don't imagine that this is going to continue and now of course we are In a situation where even though we have had fewer Assault in fewer shootings than in 2020 We've seen double the number of fatalities You talked a little bit about the different kinds of weapons that are on the streets right now higher caliber weapons Um, which might have which might have an impact Unfortunately on on those fatality numbers. I was wondering if you had any other thoughts as to What might be causing the the trends in in more of the shootings that we're seeing this year being fatal Thank you for that. Um, I I really will say that I see you and so don't worry your work I can see and we're having our conversation And I appreciate you. So thank you for your comments Um, you know, it's I really think that it really boils down to accessibility Um, I also believe that many of our shooting incidents that we're having involves multiple rounds being fired um, and so it's it there's there's more Almost a more violent element to to the shootings that we're having And I don't know at this point, you know, really How to curb the the the number of bullets being fired, right? But how do we really keep keep folks from feeling like that? They even have to pick that gun up in the first place And that's really what we are going to be focused on is is how do we do that? But also how do we address the violence once it occurs? In forms of, you know, prosecution and and and other avenues with our community So so really I think it's the it's the it's the guns, but it's the the number of bullets being fired That really has made those shootings, you know shootings are already deadly, right? Have the potential to be deadly, but when you're shooting multiple rounds, I mean, it's just It's hard to survive something like that Thank you chief. That's really helpful context for us and thank you again for coming back to Durham I'm sorry to add to the the trifecta of folks who won't be able to be at your swearing in I'm going to be out of town But I look forward to working with you and I appreciate your service. Thank you Thank you, ma'am Oh, thank you Thank you chief. I appreciate the presentation today Um Welcome back to Durham I agree with many of what my colleagues have already said and just wanted To reiterate, you know, we are taking up the police pay. I think everyone on council is very well aware We'll be taking that up in in in january. We know that is a component of of A potential component of our vacancy rate But I also just want to reiterate as you While not great for for you individually I think you are going to be able to hear a lot More information as is, uh, your chief, you know, your chief executives there In the next several months From a lot of our patrol officers and what it is, uh, that would help Support them in their jobs besides pay And as you think through your recruitment and retention strategy And this is something that I've already shared with manager page Please let us know what support you need around that Sometimes Folks are are shy to ask. Please don't be shy to ask. We're here to support You and that department and we want the best, uh, talented pool of folks we can get in Durham From wherever they may come. Uh, so I just want to tell you that you have my support on on that side of it Um, additionally, I just wanted to say thank you around the uvisa um The the nice component of that is now that we will have an immigrant legal defense fund So when someone is actually a victim of crime In the city and they've been able to get a uvisa They will also be able to seek the legal counsel With public funds to help close that loop which will give them a pathway To having documentation which we know is critically important to so many folks in Durham when we think about access to jobs access to a More full and dignified life in the united states So I just wanted to share that with the community more broadly I unfortunately will also not be there on friday evening. I know it will be a wonderful event and I look forward to working with you Thank you councilmember caballero. Thank you for your words kind words and yes, you will be missed, but again You'll be there in spirit and I know that so looking forward to working with you as well I will tell you the uvisa program Um, when I was here prior, um, I was One of the staff that facilitated that program and found so much benefit Not just for the police department before You know the resident that was inquiring and wanting to obtain a uvisa and I think it's critically important that we continue that program without a doubt So thank you so much and looking forward to working with you Councilwoman freeman Thank you. Madam mayor. I I would also like to Echo my colleagues in their comments and acknowledging Welcome back to Durham and just know that you have my full support and the work that's ahead I would also add that I think it's going to be very helpful in context to The work that you're doing and the work that your staff is doing to try and figure out how to be supportive of folks in the community So that there aren't as many gun Guns being fired. And so I do I do want to just make sure that I note that there's a lot that I hope that we get a chance to talk Talk about In a very thorough way that is actually supportive of what? investigations That are that are occurring and how to make sure that we don't need those types of investigations I want to make sure that I know Note that the cold case backlog I really appreciate you sharing that we did get the grant the additional grant for 500 000 to continue to to kind of work through that that backlog of cases and And just making sure that that to note that if there are opportunities like that other opportunities where grants are grant funding is available Please continue to seek that out I think that the sexual assaults that haven't been processed. I mean can also help to clear that Lower to bring the clearance rate up and so I want to be sure I'm supportive in that and then just addressing a response time and noting that There's a lot of pieces that are a part of that and I'm hopeful that our 911 call center and Um people in the community are really being gracious around or people are being gracious around how our 911 call center is Vacancies and our police vacancies are contributing to that and so we'll continue to try and push and Be supportive in any way shape or form to to support the retention and recruitment necessary to fill the vacancies Additionally, I I would like to say that I am excited that our folks in the community have been Raising their hands and saying that they're interested in being supportive and volunteering To support in any way shape and form and so if you do have ideas that go beyond Just your office, please please be sure to ring that out or at least Share that out with us as counsel. Thank you One additional thing I do want to say that I will be in attendance as an eagle I think it's supportive. I want to be as fully supportive as possible of another eagle And they're swearing in and so I will I look forward to seeing you and actually meeting you in person This tomorrow evening. Thank you Yes, ma'am Thank you councilmember freeman. I I look forward to seeing you fellow eagle and meeting you as well And thank you so much for your words. Um, we certainly will Have some communications going forward. So thank you Just real quick, um, is there a way that I could get demographic information Of the victims or and perpetrators that aligns with this data? Regarding Yeah, the the actual Activity itself do we have that information that we can get out of later time? And I only ask because I I do believe that as I've said before I wholeheartedly believe that several of the solutions we're seeking are embedded in the community itself Um, and I and I know that there are some specialized programs and initiatives and efforts that are happening and That are or will happen that can support Some of this, um You know calming some of this activity Yes, absolutely. Uh, we will prepare, uh, maybe a first blush or first draft And um, and then we can go from there and just let us know if that's what you were specifically looking for on on some of the violent crime that that, um, I reported out on today would be more than happy to Thank you. Thank you Thank you, ma'am Anything else for our chief Chief Thank you so much We have a one person on the telephone, I believe That is waiting if you would just hold for my second chief, I believe we have one person on the line that's been waiting Uh to have an opportunity to speak And they will have three minutes Good afternoon, madam mayor O'Neill mr. Mayor pro 10 middleton members of the city council and madam City manager page. Thank you chief police chief of police andrews for your presentation on the 21 2021 third quarter crime report According to data from Durham police department for the past three years the overwhelming majority Of the city's gun violence victims and perpetrators are boys and young men of color According to academic achievement and disciplinary data from Durham public schools boys of color specifically black boys Have the lowest percentage that met minimum grade level proficiency and college and career readiness While also having the highest short and long-term suspensions since 2005 We have a systemic fit. We have systemic failure boys and young men of color and Durham It's time to act We need a cradle to career ecosystem for boys and young men of color and Durham Guided by a fully funded boys and young men of color plan for Durham to facilitate improved coordination Strength and collaboration and shared responsibility and systemic reforms with clear goals and measurable outcomes to inform Our service delivery. We must dismantle The oppression and barriers to equity and inclusion to ensure boys and young men of color of this community Have equal opportunity to lead successful and meaningful lives with career and economic stability and success through culturally responsive and high quality education that prepares them for success In the global economy Support of mentorship as they define and navigate their path and access to opportunity To leverage their education and skills in the workforce The economic landscape in Durham is changing rapidly and we must ensure we have a vision plan strategy and capacity to provide the needed leadership services and support to position Our boys and young men of color for long term competitive advantage in the classroom And the workforce or we risk them opting for alternatives such as gangs and drugs The Charles Hamilton Houston foundation will continue to work tirelessly to ensure boys and young men of color And our young men of excellence program and career pathway program Gang the skills experiences and support they will that will empower them to reach their potential Through education and training to achieve career success and economic stability and mobility This is not about one person government agency or nonprofit organization This is about the health and well-being of boys and young men of color and Durham Making a transformative difference in their lives will transform us all We have everything we need to make this happen We need action is overdue and I welcome the commitment of our new mayor New mayor pro tem and members of the city council for us to get together Do this work and make the difference that these boys and young men deserve. Thank you Thank you so much for being here. Mr. Langley Chief I just want to say thank you again For your report today Job well done And I'll see you in the nest Tomorrow night at six o'clock Take good care. Stay safe and well out there Yes, ma'am. I'll see you in the nest eagle pride eagle pride Amplified Yes All right before I turn this uh meeting over to settle the agenda to our city manager There's a one point of clarification in terms of our next work session Being held on the 23rd. I believe and I think there may have been discussion With others about possibly moving that to the 21st. It's at your pleasure I'll defer to those who may want to make that move So moved I apologize, I will already be out of town on the 23rd. So it's either an excused absence or uh near anneal if I could just real quick Back in our august 5th work session councilmember cabillero Pulled the the council meeting schedule up from our agenda and Ask staff if they'd be willing to move This the last work session of the year from thursday december 23rd to Tuesday december 21st Staff said that'd be no problem. Everybody thumbs up it Mark anthony. I mean sorry excuse me the mayor pro time actually said why don't you just cancel everything for december? That sounds great, which I wish was on the agenda today, but isn't anyway um when we got to the For the monday night meeting for which that agenda item was set By an inadvertent error the original schedule was attached and so that's what staff has been relying on But obviously the intent of the council was to move to the 21st I think the intended staff as well. So all of which is a long way of saying yes me too all right Well the motion has been made by councilwoman freeman and seconded by councilwoman Our bierro and we will now call for the question All of those in favor signed by saying I All those applause have the same right Here ain't none that motion passes unanimously So now I will turn it over You okay Madam mayor, could I um mentioned one thing as well about the next couple of meetings? Thank you Uh, we had a brief conversation a few weeks ago about thinking about what um whether we could have some kind of specific metrics around whether the council should meet virtually or in person depending on what COVID numbers were doing And as numbers have started um to go back up Uh, I think we should renew that conversation. Um, we Didn't want it to be arbitrary. We wanted to have some sort of Data-based reasoning for why we would meet in person or not But we didn't come up with what that metric would be. Um, and I think there was a little bit of misunderstanding about Who was going to do that? Um, so I'd like to revisit that conversation At some point to figure out what we think is a reasonable metric for going back virtual Our our test positivity rate right now is around 5% and numbers are going up every week And we're expecting to continue that's expected to continue through the holidays So we probably need to think about it pretty soon All right Do we have any suggestions as to when you when we would like to have that conversation? And of course I'm I'm playing catch-up. So I'll be willing to definitely follow um your lead Councilwoman johnson if you want to kind of shepherd that process Sure, I'd be happy to um consult with manager page and with the public health department to get a sense from them of Um of what might be a reasonable metric and and follow up with you. Okay, great I know I've been having conversations with them. So I just like to be in the room to listen so that I can learn as I've Become more familiar with how we look at that data and analyze it And I know that councilman Williams would also probably want to take a part of that conversation just so that we can catch up But I definitely Would like for you to be in there to help shepherd that process so that we can catch up the speed Okay, that's sound. Yeah, that sounds great. I I followed the data, but I'm in no way a public health expert so Would love to have some expertise on figuring out, you know What at what point do we deem it unsafe enough that we don't want the public to physically be here? Because that's really the determination like we're all vaccinated. We're all masked But the more people that come and if we meet in person, we are inviting the public to come And so that's really it's a difference between wanting people to physically be present In that and so what the threshold is for that I think would be a good question for for rod jenkin Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you Madam mayor if I might Thank you, ma'am if with your permission, I'd like to also insert myself into that conversation And make it part of our Larger comprehensive discussion not only for us as a council and its building but the the masking mandate for the city at large And and it's kind of getting a sense of where we're going Related to the the rise and fall of numbers. I fully associate myself with councilmember johnson's Observation, I thank her for bringing it up. I think it's an incredibly time of conversation But so with your permission, ma'am, I'd like to be part of that conversation as well in terms of keeping You abreast and and councilmember williams abreast and all of us and kind of looping that into our full Comprehensive view of where we're going as a city Outside the city hall as well related to masking and and how what kind of metrics we're going to be looking at And how that will inform our decisions moving forward with your permission Yes, sir, so long as we're not having four in the room Well, it could be an official meeting Thank you ma'am, but we'll figure it out We'll figure it out. I think given you know given the interest I might I think maybe it would make sense to send an email to all of the council and Rod Jenkins to ask for some guidance and then we could discuss via email What to do for our next meetings if that works for you madam mayor? That's that's that's fine with me I you'll find that i'm a very collaborative leader as I indicated on yesterday if my intellect is going to be the Silling then that might be problematic for our city. So we have experts in various areas and we need to use all Of the expertise so and we're we're definitely on a learning curve And this is one area that I really want to take the time to be very deliberate about What's been going on? So your help is definitely needed and valued Madam mayor if you don't mind I would also add that it's probably going to be helpful to include the county and that conversation acknowledging the county chair And then also we When we were receiving updates from the county manager It was a little bit more clearer But since we haven't been receiving those updates from the county manager Or the interim county manager I think we need to turn that in that spigot of information back on because it was really helpful to Kind of see who what where on a regular consistent basis. I think that'll be more Going ahead So noted Just not jumping to rye jinkins is what i'm getting at so I think you might want to talk with the county manager and the county chair And I did have one conversation with um mayor shul and and our county health officials. So um, I've been briefed But my information is just that it's been brief So there is a steep learning curve and I I welcome all of your help All of your help from each and every one of you all you've been doing it You've had to go back and forth between this space and the zoom space So the more that we can collaborate together on that to figure out the best solutions I think I think that'd be a great thing. So I look forward to all of us having some input And talking about things as we develop what we're going to do next. Thank you for bringing it up. I appreciate that All right, all right We'll now turn it over to our able city manager to settle our agenda Thank you, madam mayor Before I settle the agenda if if I may I would like to brief the council or bring an update to the council regarding the bull city tenants united A discussion and items that we've had in the past The city attorney and I have worked Um together in this space, uh as well as staff I had mentioned to some members of the council that we Uh the administrative administration may be ready with a report to you on this day And you will see from the agenda that we were not ready So I wanted to during this meeting Let you know that we are still working on that Item and that we will be will be ready on january 6th of 2022 to discuss that item again from the perspective of the administration And we'll be also coordinated with the city attorney's office. So I would like to To make that Make that statement before we set the this agenda coming up all right for The council meeting for the consent agenda. I have items 9 through 14 and item 17 through 23 And we have one Gba public hearing And that is item 27 We're entertained a motion to settle the agenda to move second All right, it has been moved by councilwoman freeman seconded by councilwoman caballero Let us now move to our vote All right And now we are moving to We are asking that you all vote verbally with an a or an a The a's would go first eyes would go first On settlement of our agenda items for our next meeting I will now call for the question all those in favor I I All those opposed would have the same right Hearing none The motion passes unanimously. We have now settled our agenda. I believe that we have made it through our first Work session. Congratulations. There are any other items Thank you, madam clerk. How well did your student do today? Get an a plus All right, everybody, thank you all so much for being so patient Uh, I I'm still getting the the the motions and stuff kind of clicking in my head because I'm not used to those types of motions I'm used to other ones, but they don't require a vote But a granted or a granted or dismissed or overruled So I I have to kind of get that that kind of mind judge mindset out and put in the other kind Of motions that we're dealing with here today. I really appreciate you all and Thank you. We will now adjourn this meeting at the hour of 347 I'm gonna get some better eyeglasses 347 on december 9th. Thank y'all and we will hit the gavel