Department Description
The Department of Public Safety maintains separate operating divisions for Police and Fire services, and a shared administrative division. The administrative costs are allocated between the Police and Fire budgets. In total, the budget for the Department of Public Safety represents 56% of the entire General Fund expenditure budget.
Core Services
Police Division
The Police Division is responsible for the protection of life and property, the prevention and suppression of crime, the detection, identification and apprehension of criminals, the safe and accident-free flow of pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular traffic, and to nurture public trust and confidence by holding the department to the highest standards of performance. Citizen health, safety and welfare ensure a high quality of life.
The Fiscal Year 2022-2023 budget supports fulfillment of the Police Division’s responsibilities, including the following areas: Administration and Staff, Youth Services, Investigation, Patrol, Volunteer Enforcement, Training, Communications, Records, Drug Law Enforcement, and Building Maintenance. The Police Division budget includes two Police/School Resource Officer positions 50 percent funded by Portage Public Schools, participation in area-wide drug enforcement efforts, continuation of crime prevention activities, and traffic enforcement, education, and accident prevention programs.
Fire Division
The Fire Division provides fire prevention and emergency response services including fire suppression, technical rescues (ice, confined space, high angle, etc.), emergency medical responses, vehicle extrication and hazardous materials incident mitigation. Fire prevention activities include plan reviews, technical inspections and a range of public education activities including fall and spring presentations in the Portage Public Schools. Firefighters perform annual inspections of all commercial and industrial facilities to ensure compliance with the fire code and ordinances, as well as providing infant and child car safety seat installation services. The Emergency Coordination Center is located at Fire Station No. 1, and oversight of emergency management is provided by the Public Safety administrative division. The Fire Division operates with a combination of highly trained career and on-call personnel.
The Fiscal Year 2022-2023 budget provides for Fire Department services to the community, including: a) funding to maintain the firefighting apparatus, support vehicles, three fire stations and the training facility; b) initial training and ongoing education for all members; c) maintenance or replacement of essential equipment needed for fire, rescue, and emergency medical services; and d) operational costs of the department.
Department Goals
Administration
Objective: Maintain Excellent Service Accreditation with the Michigan Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (MLEAC)
Goal: Compliance with all required standards.
Strategies: Annual review by accrediting bodies; Work with accrediting bodies and commissions in demonstrating compliance; Maintain personnel (Professional Standards) and program tracking software (PowerDMS); Submit required reports
Alignment with Strategic Priorities: Municipal Services
Police Division - Operations
Objective: Improve Police Officer availability for proactive policing
Goal: Increase available (non-committed) time to 40%
Strategies: Establish a citizen online system to report crimes; Utilize Geolitica system to assign officers to areas where crime is predicted
Alignment with Strategic Priorities: Neighborhoods and Municipal Services
Fire Division – Operations
Objective: Improve EMS Service deployment and staffing
Goal: Meet 2-minute or lower turnout time 90% of the time
Strategies: Analyze staff and equipment positioning; Increase in critical staffing positions; Utilization of First Arriving Technology to improve communication
Alignment with Strategic Priorities: Municipal Services
Records Section
Objective: Reduce Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request turn-around
Goal: Turn-around time (days) reduced by 20%.
Strategies: New FOIA software (Just FOIA) implemented; Reduce the need for Time Extensions; Staffing schedule adjustments; Training of personnel on process and software
Alignment with Strategic Priorities: Municipal Services