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Special City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,June 1,2015 <br /> Page 9 <br /> At the request of Councilmember Laliberte, Chief Mathwig responded that recent <br /> changes in State Task Force legislation and mandates would not require additional <br /> follow-up for the department, as it involved the front-end of reporting. Chief <br /> Mathwig advised that they could possibly see more cases as people became aware <br /> of the legislation, but he didn't see any significant impacts. <br /> Councilmember Etten questioned how the proposed new officer position differed <br /> than the work being done by Ramsey County Social Services. <br /> Chief Mathwig assured all that the Roseville Police Department had wonderful in- <br /> teraction with Ramsey County; however, he also noted that the County was re- <br /> sponsible for the City of St. Paul, and most of their available resources were taken <br /> up there. Chief Mathwig advised that this position was intended to fill the obvi- <br /> ous gap and bridge coordinating families with appropriate assistance, based on the <br /> limited availability of the County's resources. <br /> Councilmember Etten questioned if this work could be performed by a lower- <br /> grade employee versus a sworn officer. <br /> Chief Mathwig responded that this would not be feasible, as an example in fraud <br /> cases, an important piece of the legislation involved emergency transport holds to <br /> get a person to the hospital to make sure they're okay to be out in society. If a <br /> sworn officer is available at the scene, Chief Mathwig advised they could perform <br /> that transport, required by Minnesota State Statutes to be a Peace or Health Of- <br /> ficer only. <br /> At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Chief Mathwig explained that a <br /> Health Officer did not apply to or involve Roseville staffing, but referred to <br /> someone such as a Ramsey County Mental Health Officer. With the suggestion <br /> by Councilmember McGehee that if a Social Worker was available within the Po- <br /> lice Department, some of that work could be done in-house, Chief Mathwig re- <br /> minded her and Councilmembers of the stretched rope comparison for staff. <br /> Councilmember McGehee expressed appreciation for the department's up-tick in <br /> community policing, which she'd observed; and suggested expanding that even <br /> further to allow officers within the community to know their residents and where <br /> they live. <br /> While supporting the majority of the important work of the department, Coun- <br /> cilmember McGehee opined that she saw no need for SWAT; and suggested that <br /> funds used for that could be transferred to community functions. <br /> Mayor Roe sought an update on the grant received for the Family Violence Inves- <br /> tigator, and how the department had absorbed funding after grant funds were ex- <br /> pended, and how that impacted current budgets. <br />