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<br />Police Chief Katers said he believes they currently have 15 or 16 reserve officers, noting that <br />during COVID their numbers dropped to under eight and now they have added more but a lot of <br />them are in training. He explained these are volunteer hours and their only mandatory event is <br />Happy Days when the City requires all of them to be there. He said that volunteers could fill the <br />role, but ultimately their schedules dictate how much time they can volunteer for. Currently, they <br />are having their reserve officers ride along with their CSOs to get field training from them. He <br />added that they have an explorer program that is different from the reserves, which is through the <br />Boy Scouts of America and it is for youth aged 14-21 years old who are looking at exploring a <br />career in law enforcement. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht said that it seems like the reserve officers would not be 100% dependable. <br /> <br />Police Chief Katers added that the reserves are scheduled for volunteer shifts, which tend to be on <br />the weekend based on work schedules. He said they do handle these types of calls when they are <br />on duty; however, they are not scheduled throughout the week, 24/7/365. <br /> <br />Acting Mayor Riley said the two CSOs are utilized as much as they can be and there is a need for <br />another half position. <br /> <br />Police Chief Katers said yes. <br /> <br />Administrative Services Director Lasher asked if their schedule was 25 hours a week. <br /> <br />Police Chief Katers said yes, that is maximum flexibility so they can attend their classes. <br /> <br />Councilmember Woestehoff asked Police Chief Katers, if given the choice between a patrol officer <br />or a CSO, which he would choose. <br /> <br />Police Chief Katers said that he would rather see the full-time patrol officer approved. He added <br />they are able to promote their CSOs, reserves, and explorers to a full-time police officer position <br />if they are eligible. He explained they have a built in training program for this and have always <br />done this so they have a built in talent pool continually running. <br /> <br />Councilmember Howell asked about the percentage of the service that would go to animal control <br />versus the other items that Police Chief Katers mentioned. <br /> <br />Police Chief Katers explained that a majority of their time goes towards animal containment. He <br />said within the last month there have been five dog bites, each which required follow-up with the <br />vets and the parties involved, the paperwork, the potentially dangerous dog hearing. This is what <br />they are primarily responsible for. He would say that about 60% of their time is spent on animal <br />containment and the rest goes to assisting officers with non-primary calls, traffic directing at <br />accidents, and some medical events, in which they have received training. <br /> <br />Acting Mayor Riley asked if there was a savings since they are no longer contracting out animal <br />control services. <br />City Council Work Session / August 8, 2022 <br />Page 9 of 19 <br /> <br />