Columbus, Georgia

Minutes for the Meeting of the

Public Safety Task Force Committee

May 26, 2004





Present members of Task Force: Councilor Wayne Anthony, Glen Bahde, Eddie Hall,

Charles Shafer, Randy Robertson, Craig Haggas and Jackie Lee.



Absent members: Councilors Julius Hunter, Mimi Woodson, Nathan Suber and Berry

Henderson. Bobby Southerland, Brad Nelms, Bruce Whitehead, Byron Hickey, Carl

Kinzalow, J.D. Hawk and Thomas Faulkner.



Visitors: None.



Clerk of Council: Ms. Triena Sharpe Administrative Specialist (8:00 a.m.).



Location: Ground floor Conference room of the Government Center.



Meeting began at 8:00 a.m.



COUNCILOR WAYNE ANTHONY RECAPS ON INFORMATION THAT WAS SHARED AT THE PREVIOUS

MEETING:



Meeting opened with Councilor Wayne Anthony recapping on the March 31, 2004

information. He highlights issues such as the Budget Review Meeting, which

educated everyone on the financial state of the Columbus Consolidated

Government.





INDIVIDUAL STATEMENTS AND COLLECTIVE DISCUSSSIONS OCCUR IN REFERENCE TO THE

PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE OBJECTIVE:



Mr. Glen Bahde shares about the concerns that were not addressed at the Budget

Review Meeting (which outlined the city?s financial status) in reference to the

impact of services if there was a reduction in certain specific areas and he

continued to share his frustration and the limitations he felt, concluding that

the jobs are not worth the pay over the course of time. He also stated that

there is not an open opportunity for resolving the problems.



Mr. Randy Robertson then sternly announces, ?The committee is a joke!? ?The

response of the people who have showed up is a joke!? He continues to share

that his trust is and has been eroded and that there is a lack of council

support; issues are not being addressed in meetings: with exception to

combining Human Resources efforts, which he stated was vaguely mentioned. Mr.

Randy Robertson passionately expresses for several minutes his concerns then

directs the conversation to Councilor Anthony for a response. In response to

Mr. Robertson, Councilor Anthony recaps some of the issues addressed.



Mr. Glen Bahde then shares about the exact amount of paramedics they have

available to meet the needs of the city. He continues by saying that the

standard was lowered in order to appear that we are meeting standards. Several

members begin to piggy-back on the issues referring to standards and the Public

Safety crisis, including the lack of overtime budget.





THE GROUP DISCUSSES THE SPECIFICS OF THEIR LOSS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS:



Several members share about the individuals who have resigned, field shortages,

vehicle issues, pay plan problems and Columbus spending habits. They continued

the discussion with suggestions on positions they felt are necessary, their

suggestions for the Budget Review Meeting, raising the entry level for pay and

the management view differences.



This discussion continued for several minutes with each member sharing specific

suggestions and concerns.



Several members of the group individually and then collectively agreed that

they would not vote on the LOST, if the objective for directing the funds was

not made clear; which they stated would include Public Safety?s need.



Mr. Glen Bahde reiterates his concerns about the Budget Review sessions, the

pay study and recapped over Human Resource issues.



At 9:00 a.m. many of the members began to leave the meeting and the final

discussion ended with Councilor Anthony and Mr. Glen Bahde recapping over

possible suggestions for solutions.







Meeting ended at 9:15 a.m.













______________________________________

Triena B. Sharpe

Administrative Specialist

Recording Secretary