Lakeport >> Starting in July of 2017, the city police department will staff a business and neighborhood police officer position using $360,000 of newly acquired funding.
The Lakeport City Council accepted a federal grant of $125,000 and approved matching funds of $235,000 that will go toward the new position at its meeting Tuesday night.
In June, Lakeport police applied for the grant from the United States Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Program (COPS) Office, Chief Brad Rasmussen said in a media release. The money will be used for an officer who will work directly with businesses, community groups, neighborhood watch groups and other outside agencies in an effort to reduce related crime within the city.
“We first presented this idea to members of the community during a public safety town hall meeting back in April and received considerable support for the idea,” Rasmussen said. “We believed that by having the ability to assign an officer to work directly with the businesses and neighborhoods, we would have a better ability to build relationships, address issues and find and implement long-term solutions rather than just being reactive to individual calls and problems.”
Though the Lakeport Police Department (LPD) has increased community programs over the past few years, low staffing, caused primarily by the recession and loss of significant state funding, has made it difficult to man those positions, Rasmussen said.
“Even though general fund revenues continue to be insufficient to fully fund and operate all necessary services, we appreciate the council members commitment to this program in the interest of keeping our city a safe place to live, work, visit, or own a business,” the police chief said.
The city of Lakeport is continuing its search to generate more funding for public safety and city services such as attracting and retaining qualified police officers, keeping emergency and police response times low, repairing streets and potholes, maintaining recreational programs and areas, and enhancing business attraction.
Currently, Lakeport has placed Measure Z, a 1-cent sales tax, on the Nov. 8 ballot. If passed, the additional revenue will be used for public safety and other essential city services.
Residents can learn more about the measure by going to the city website at www.cityoflakeport.com and looking for Measure Z under “Hot Topics” at the top left of the homepage or by going to http://www.cityoflakeport.com/hot-details.aspx?id=197.
For more information, call the city clerk’s office at 707-263-5615 extension 30.
