COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Council members discussed their priorities for the proposed 2021 budget, including a change to 911 dispatch service.
“911 call-data shows that much of what officers have to deal with are problems they may not have the exact problems to solve,” said Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin.
In Mayor Ginther's budget, he proposed to cut the Columbus Division of Police's budget by more than $20 million.
He is planning on doing so by moving the 911 dispatch center from under Columbus police to the Department of Public Safety.
“Taking the individuals and putting them under Public Safety is just a way to make certain that the individuals who are able to receive the training and have the adequate staffing necessary for our 911 call center to improve,” said City Council member and Public Safety Chairman Mitch Brown.
Council members want to hire more trained social workers and specially trained crisis-intervention specialists to respond to calls of those who are in a mental health crisis or struggling with addiction and that will free up officers to deal with the city's increase in violence.
“A specialized crisis response center provides opportunity to improve residents safety while freeing up sworn officers to focus on instances that do require the attention of armed law enforcement,” Hardin said.
Council member Emanuel Remy is also proposing to spend $80,000 for an independent audit of the city's civil service testing and recruitment process for police officers.