Public Safety Committee Meeting Summary - December 10, 2025
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Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee Meeting - December 10, 2025
The City-County Council's Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee met on December 10, 2025, at 5:30 PM to address two agenda items: an appointment to the juvenile detention center advisory board and a modification to the county holiday ordinance for the Public Defender Agency. The meeting concluded with the postponement of the appointment due to a non-responsive candidate and the unanimous adoption of the ordinance modification to ensure pay parity with the Prosecutor's Office.
Consent Calendar
- Postponement of Proposal 375 (2025): Appointment of Evan Sheeran to the juvenile detention center advisory board. The Board agreed to continue this item to the next public safety meeting after confirming the candidate did not respond to email inquiries and was not present.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Councilor Bain: Expressed initial opposition to a similar holiday schedule four or five years ago, specifically regarding off-days like "Eve Eve." However, Councilor Bain expressed full support for the current proposal, citing the necessity for pay parity with other city departments and the importance of addressing staffing difficulties. Councilor Bain noted that while they previously introduced proposals to assist with staffing that were not taken up by the Council, they are now happy to vote in favor to support the agency.
- Keith Grays (Councilor, District 9): Joined late to the meeting. No specific testimony was given regarding the agenda items, though he confirmed the absence of the potential appointee for Proposal 375.
Discussion Items
- Proposal 375 (2025) - Appointment: Councilor Perkins and the Chair discussed the missing candidate, Evan Sheeran. It was noted that while outreach was made via email, no response was received, and the candidate was not at the expected location. The consensus was to postpone the appointment rather than proceed without the candidate.
- Proposal 376 (2025) - Holiday Ordinance Modification: Mr. Casanova, representing the Marion County Public Defender Agency, presented the proposal. He explained that the modification is required to satisfy the collective bargaining agreement and the Indiana Council on Court-Appointed Attorneys' requirement for pay parity (40% reimbursement). This parity necessitates a holiday schedule similar to the Prosecutor's Office, specifically including both county and court holidays. The current ordinance only recognized county holidays, creating a discrepancy with the Prosecutor's benefits package.
Key Outcomes
- Proposal 375 (2025): Postponed to the next public safety meeting. No vote was taken due to the need for the appointee's presence or further consultation.
- Proposal 376 (2025): Unanimously adopted in favor of the proposal to modify the holiday ordinance. The motion passed with no opposed votes.
- Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned immediately following the vote on Proposal 376 and the consent to postpone Proposal 375.
Meeting Transcript
It's 5 30 p.m. on Wednesday, December the 10th, 2025. Welcome to the public safety and criminal justice committee of the city county council. We have two items on our agenda this evening. We'll start a meeting this evening with introductions on our first row, Leader Mowry. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Brian Mowra, District 25. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Josh Payne, District 21. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Paul and A, District 22. Thank you, Councillors. Thank you, Mr. Chair Brian Delaney, District 2. Good evening, Mr. Chairman. Chris Lee Wells, District 11, West Side. Thank you both. And top roll, Council Perkins. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Dr. Carlos Perkins, District 6. Thank you. I'm Lee Wy Robinson, Chair of the Committee, representing District 1. The first item is an appointment. Proposal 375 2025 appoints Evan Sheeran to the juvenile detention center advisory board. Not present. Okay. We will push this to the um bottom of the agenda, and we'll move to proposal 376, 2025. Modifies a holiday ordinance for employees of the Marion County Public Defender Agency. Mr. Casanova, public defender is presenting. So you want to come forward. Thank you. Good evening, welcome. Welcome. Um the proposal uh is being made uh due to our collective bargaining agreement and also our relationship with the Indiana uh council on court appointed attorneys. Um their requirements require require pay parity for the 40 percent reimbursement that's made to the uh uh county every quarter and uh part of that pay parity um includes uh similar compensation for the full benefit package between our office and the prosecutor's office and that will include uh holiday schedules and basically we have to have the same holiday schedule as the prosecutor or at least the discretion to choose uh or flexibility to choose uh a holiday schedule as the prosecutor currently does. Um the collective bargaining agreement that we just uh uh executed and sign includes a claw includes a section that requires holidays that include both the county holidays and the court holidays. Uh and that is what the prosecutor currently uh complies with, both county and court holiday schedule. So uh we were proposing to modify the ordinance in a way that recognizes uh both satisfies the requirement of the collective bargaining agreement uh to include both county and court holidays, and that would also satisfy uh the requirements of pay parity with the commission for 40 percent reimbursement uh since we will be on the same schedule or be able to say to choose the same schedule holiday schedule as the prosecutor's office. So that's the basis for our request for the uh revision to the ordinance. Thank you so much, sir. Comments or questions from counselors? Councilor Bain. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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