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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Date: 4/7/2025 Item No.: 10.e. Department Approval City Manager Approval Item Description: Approval of a Professional Services Agreement with The Axtell Group to Provide Police Accreditation Manager Services 1 2 Background 3 The Roseville Police Department (RPD) requests City Council approval to enter into a Professional 4 Services Agreement with The Axtell Group to provide services for a Police Accreditation Manager. 5 On October 21, 2024, the Roseville City Council approved RPD to accept grant funding from the U.S. 6 Department of Justice (DOJ) to pursue accreditation. Through this grant, RPD was awarded $250,000 to 7 fund a temporary Accreditation Manager position, as well as training, overtime, and supplies. At that 8 time, the City Council approved the creation of a temporary, grant-funded Accreditation Manager 9 position for a two-year period. 10 The Accreditation Manager will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating the accreditation process 11 through the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association (MCPA), serving as the primary liaison with MCPA, 12 and ensuring RPD policies and procedures align with accreditation standards. 13 Since receiving the grant, RPD has determined that contracting with an external professional, rather 14 than hiring a temporary city employee, is the most effective approach to funding and managing the 15 accreditation process. After careful consideration, RPD identified The Axtell Group as the best fit for this 16 role due to their extensive experience in law enforcement operations and their ongoing work with RPD 17 on evaluating police resources and operational efficiency. Todd Axtell, co-founder, president, and CEO 18 of The Axtell Group, has been leading RPD’s resource and efficiency review. With more than three 19 decades of public service in the St. Paul Police Department, including six years as Chief of Police, Mr. 20 Axtell and his team have built a strong reputation for championing trust, transparency, community 21 engagement, and accountability. Their expertise in conducting comprehensive evaluations of police 22 policies and procedures makes them uniquely suited for this project. 23 Under the proposed Professional Services Agreement, The Axtell Group would assign Robert 24 Thomasser as the Accreditation Manager for RPD. Mr. Thomasser brings extensive knowledge of RPD, 25 having already conducted staff interviews, policy reviews, employee surveys, and community 26 engagement efforts as part of the department’s ongoing resource and operations evaluation. His deep 27 understanding of RPD’s operations will allow him to lead the accreditation process efficiently and 28 effectively. 29 Mr. Thomasser is a highly respected figure in the law enforcement community, with a distinguished 32- 30 year career, including serving as Assistant Chief of the St. Paul Police Department under two chiefs. A 31 native of the area, he specializes in operational effectiveness, efficiency, policy development, and 32 evolving strategies to address emerging trends, threats, and opportunities for improvement. 33 Additionally, Todd Axtell will contribute to the consulting work, particularly in areas related to community 34 expectations and needs. As part of the current resource and allocation study, Mr. Axtell has facilitated Page 1 of 3 Qbhf!88!pg!231