The Grants Pass Committee on Public Art learned Monday that the City Council is prioritizing all spending decisions -- especially when it comes to paying for public safety services.
During its workshop session yesterday, the Grants Pass City Council voted to table a motion by the committee to spend $15,000 to activate the Redwood Alley mural.
Economic Development Coordinator Dana Pearce said the alley beautification project was launched in March 2019 and two downtown alleys are now adorned with murals. But her request for money was met with a motion by Councilor Indra Nicholas to table discussion to a later date and her motion was approved 6-1.
A lengthy staff presentation followed on Public Safety Service and Funding. City Manager Aaron Cubic started and ended the presentation that included Public Safety Advisory Committee Chair Alan Hart, Police Chief Warren Hensman, Fire Chief Jimmy Sanchez and Finance Director JC Rowley.
The Grants Pass Police Department currently has 57 sworn officers and Hensman wants to increase his staffing to 62 full-time officers. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue currently has 27 full-time firefighters and Sanchez wants to increase his staffing to 33 firefighters. Hart said the public safety committee believes both agencies are understaffed, but the question is how to pay for more personnel.
Rowley pointed out that 73% of the cost of public safety is personnel and there are "no easy options" to find additional funding. He shared options such as a utility service fee, local option levy, service district, food and beverage tax, sales tax, payroll tax, transactional income tax, franchise fees and service level reductions.
After lengthy deliberation, the majority of the Council was adamant about not raising taxes while incrementally increasing police and fire staffing. They directed staff to present those options at a future workshop session.
