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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday, September 24, 2018 <br /> Page 11 <br /> Recess <br /> Mayor Roe recessed the meeting at approximately 7:51 p.m., and reconvened at approximately <br /> 7:58 p.m. <br /> f. Adopt a Preliminary 2019 Tax Levy& Budget <br /> Finance Director Chris Miller briefly highlighted this item as detailed in the RCA <br /> and related attachments dated September 24, 2018. <br /> Councilmember Willmus asked Chief Mathwig about his desire to look to a Men- <br /> tal Health Liaison Officer and how that would fit into the City policing model. <br /> He also asked for a better perspective as to what he sees the City needs regarding <br /> crime trend data. It was noted in the 2020 budget cycle, Chief Mathwig was look- <br /> ing for additional officers. <br /> Chief Mathwig stated the current process for the Police Department is all officers, <br /> including himself, have been trained in the 40-hour course on crisis intervention <br /> team training. Officers are being as fully trained as possible going out to a person <br /> who is experiencing a mental health crisis in their house, street, and neighborhood <br /> so they can deal with them as best possible. He indicated having a better trained <br /> officer is the best way to have a successful outcome for everyone. Every new of- <br /> ficer, once hired and trained, will also go through that course. The course was <br /> started in 2016 and finished in 2018. What the course training does not do is to <br /> help the person achieve full success in society. It also does not help the person or <br /> family to come up with a safety plan or way to be an advocate for that family <br /> member or how to take advantage of social and mental health services available to <br /> them through Ramsey County and various non-profit organizations. <br /> Chief Mathwig stated the idea of the Mental Health Liaison Officer is to go back <br /> to the home and help that person to avoid being another case number. This also <br /> helps to avoid officers going back to the house multiple times a year. If the City <br /> can help that person and family be a success and regain their mental health, it <br /> keeps them out of the legal system. The Mental Health Liaison Officer would al- <br /> low that person to not be another case number and allow the family to achieve <br /> success. This also helps the general public in Roseville because the officer is not <br /> going out to the person's house multiple times a year, the officer can be back out <br /> in the community doing traffic stops, community engagements, solving crime <br /> trends, etc. <br /> Chief Mathwig stated the secondary need in 2020 is for additional officers in pa- <br /> trol and investigations and to help with the crime trends occurring in Roseville. <br /> He stated Roseville is a very complex city with the retail shopping, motels, and <br /> highways and freeways running through it. He thought City staffing needed to re- <br /> flect that complexity starting in 2020 by adding four to seven officers. <br />