Public Safety in North Bend, July 2

City of North Bend release – City Staff would like to explain the actions taken to begin the 2020-21 fiscal year in relation to public safety in the City of North Bend. It was clear going into the new fiscal year that the current levels of staffing were not sustainable due to the results of ballot measure 6-177. It was also clear that there were uncertainties in future funding created by: • The Coquille Tribe’s desire to renegotiate its contract with the City for the provision of public safety services due to the COVID-19 restrictions causing loss of revenue at the casino.  • A pending lawsuit filed by Douglas and Debra Bankler and Lois McPherson against the City of North Bend challenging the legality of the public safety fee. • The Expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement with the Police Teamsters Union on June 30, 2020. • The inability of property taxes to fund public safety. The City has been working to resolve these issues going into the start of the new fiscal year. There is still work to be done. The City and the Tribe are in negotiations over the changes that may be made to the existing contract for the provision for public safety services to the Tribe. The lawsuit filed against the City is set for trial in early September. Negotiations have already begun with the Teamsters in relation to the formation of a collective bargaining agreement to cover the next three years. Impacts on revenue and expenses surrounding COVID-19 and PERS are out of the control of the City nonetheless cause the City great concern. In the meantime, the City can fund round the clock coverage for the beginning of this fiscal year with the help of contingency funds. The City had hoped to avoid using contingency funds by appealing to other local law enforcement agencies to provide mutual aid to cover the 11:00 pm to 7:00 am shift until the issues with the Tribe, the lawsuit, and the Union were resolved. The City was unable to reach an agreement amenable to all of those agencies. As a result, the City will rely on contingency funds to continue around the clock service to its citizens while the issues surrounding public safety funding are resolved. At this point, the City has eliminated five positions in the police department, four officer positions and one dispatch position. The City has never wavered in its commitment to provide safety to its citizens. The 24-hour service is currently being provided by the remaining NBPD personnel until a more sustainable plan can be developed. Terence O’Connor, City Administrator.