AN
ORDINANCE
NO. ____
An Ordinance amending Chapter 2 of the Columbus Code by creating the Office of
Crime Prevention Board and Office of Crime Prevention; providing for
appointment of Board members; providing terms of office; providing duties for
said Board; and for other purposes.
_____________________________________
THE COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 2 of the Columbus Code is hereby amended by adding a new Article XIX to
read as follows:
?(a) Mission and Goal of the Office of Crime Prevention
The mission of Office of Crime Prevention is to provide leadership on effective
and cost-efficient ways to prevent and to reduce crime by identifying truly
outstanding crime prevention programs that meet a high scientific standard of
effectiveness and that are innovative initiatives that help stop crime before
it starts.
The goal of the Office of Crime Prevention is to enhance and improve the
services offered by various departments and agencies with an aim toward
reducing crime and to directly impact the mission of preventing crime. The
Office of Crime Prevention will work to streamline and coordinate crime
prevention efforts in our city, and to ensure a high level of accountability to
the citizens of Columbus, Georgia who passed the Local Option Sales Tax in the
summer of 2008.
(b) Office of Crime Prevention Board
Composition of the Board
There shall be an Office of Crime Prevention Board that shall be made up of
seven (7) members, including the chairperson. Each member, including the
chair, shall be appointed by the Mayor and shall be confirmed by the Columbus
Council. Terms of office for a member of the Board shall be three years except
in the initial configuration of the Board as provided below.
Of the seven seats on the Board, one shall be held by a representative selected
from the law enforcement agencies, including the Muscogee County Sheriff?s
Office, the Muscogee County Marshal?s Office, and the Columbus Police
Department. The representative shall serve a one-year term and may be
reappointed for one additional consecutive one-year term.
Of the seven seats on the Board, one shall be held by a representative of the
educational community in Muscogee County to include but not be limited to the
Muscogee County School District, Columbus Technical College, and Columbus State
University. The representative shall serve a three-year term and may be
reappointed for one additional consecutive three-year term.
Of the seven seats on the Board, one shall be held by the current chairperson
of the Public Safety Advisory Commission. The representative will serve on the
Board of the Office of Crime Prevention for the duration of his/her term as
chairperson of the Public Safety Advisory Commission.
One of the remaining four seats shall be designated by the Mayor as the
chairperson of the Office of Crime Prevention Board. The member designated as
Chairperson shall serve a three-year term and may be reappointed for one
additional consecutive three-year term, but such reappointment does not
automatically confer the status of Chairperson to the Board member filling the
seat.
Of the remaining three seats, the Board members shall be named at large. In
the initial year of operation, one member shall serve a three-year term, one
member shall serve a two-year term, and one member shall serve a one-year
term. The order of terms shall be established by lot. Each of these three
members shall be eligible to serve one additional consecutive three-year term.
The Board shall establish a regular meeting schedule, and generally shall meet
at least once per month at a time and place designated by the Board. One
member selected by the Board shall serve as Secretary, and shall keep the
regular minutes of meetings and transmit the same to the Clerk of Council.
(c) Duties of the Office of Crime Prevention Board
The Office of Crime Prevention Board shall recommend to the Columbus Council
the process and method for awarding service agreements to various agencies for
the delivery of crime prevention programs.
Once the process and method for awarding service agreements is established, the
Board shall review and select for recommendation to the City Council those
service agreements that meet the standards and criteria for funding.
(d) Criteria for Selection of Vendors
The Board shall establish the criteria for selection of vendors eligible for
funding from the Columbus Consolidated Government. The criteria shall include,
but not be limited to, those elements that will help fulfill the mission of the
Office. The criteria may be revised from time to time. It is anticipated
that, for the first several years of operation, funding will be confined to
those agencies within the City of Columbus or other governmental agencies.
Criteria shall include specific components which identify truly outstanding
crime prevention programs that meet a high scientific standard of effectiveness
and that are innovative initiatives that help stop crime before it starts.
Programs selected for inclusion may fall anywhere along the services continuum
from early prevention to aftercare programs for offenders. Some programs may
target more than one issue, age group and population. The duration of programs
selected may be multi-year programs, but shall not receive funding for more
than two years without reapplication. The programs selected for inclusion
should address one of the five areas of emphasis noted by the Mayor?s
Commission on Crime Prevention, namely, recreation, education, employment, drug
prevention and intervention, and community policing.
(e) Service Agreements
In order to obtain funds from the Local Option Sales Tax for crime prevention
programs, an agency must enter into a written service agreement with the
Columbus Consolidated Government.
Each service agreement will contain, at minimum, the following elements:
(1) A completed application form (approved by the Board and the Columbus
Council) to be executed by the chief executive officer or chairperson of the
agency.
(2) A full description of the proposed program that will utilize the funds from
the City.
(3) A budget showing the proposed use of the funds from the City.
(4) The agency?s current fiscal year budget showing all other funding received
by the agency requesting funds, to include all grants, endowments, and all
other funding from all sources.
(5) The goals of the program proposed by the agency and a timeline for meeting
those goals.
(6) The method by which the agency and the City will measure the attainment of
the goals of the program.
(7) An agreement to allow authorized representatives of the City access to the
agency?s financial records as they pertain to the service agreement program.
(8) Any other element as authorized by the Board or the Columbus Council.
(f) Director of the Office of Crime Prevention
The Office of Crime Prevention shall be established as an entity in the Mayor?s
office. The operating budget for the office shall be a part of the budget for
the Mayor?s Office, and shall be shown as a separate section in the Columbus
Consolidated Government?s Fiscal Year Budget to be approved by the Columbus
Council during regular annual budget deliberations.
A position of Director of the Office of Crime Prevention shall be created by
separate ordinance of the Columbus Council. This position will have oversight
of City controlled funds used to support crime prevention activities within the
community. The director will effectively build relationships with community
organizations, businesses, and law enforcement to aggressively promote the
Office of Crime Prevention and its mission.
The Director of the Office of Crime Prevention will have no jurisdiction over
any of the law enforcement agencies in the City of Columbus. This office is
for crime prevention, not law enforcement. The office will work with the
various agencies as appropriate.
Major Duties
The major duties of the Director of the Office of Crime Prevention shall be as
outlined in the official job description for the position.
At a minimum, the Director shall develop and design the procedure to be used by
groups seeking service agreements between agencies and the City of Columbus for
crime prevention programs, to include methods that will be used to measure
program success and provide accountability of the programs that use City
controlled funds.
The Director will plan and coordinate crime prevention programs and activities
in association with law enforcement agencies, other governmental agencies,
community businesses and non-profit organizations. The Director will actively
seek and evaluate crime prevention programs from other jurisdictions, and seek
to implement programs as appropriate. The Director will also identify, apply
for and administer federal, state, foundation and other grant programs relating
to crime prevention to further the goal of the Columbus Crime Prevention
Program.
The Director will develop and oversee the operating budget of the Office of
Crime Prevention, and will serve as liaison to the Board of the Office of Crime
Prevention.?
SECTION 2.
All Ordinances and parts of Ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
_____________________
Introduced at a regular meeting of the Council of Columbus, Georgia,
held on the 13th day of October, 2009; introduced a second time at a regular
meeting of said Council held on the ____ day of ____________, 2009, and adopted
at said meeting by the affirmative vote of ______ members of said council.
Councilor Allen voting_________________.
Councilor Anthony voting_______________.
Councilor Baker voting_________________.
Councilor Barnes voting________________.
Councilor Davis voting_________________.
Councilor Henderson voting_____________.
Councilor Hunter voting________________.
Councilor McDaniel voting______________.
Councilor Pugh voting__________________.
Councilor Woodson voting_______________.
____________________ __________________
Tiny B. Washington Jim Wetherington
Clerk of Council Mayor
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