The Public Safety Subcommittee met on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM in the City Council Chamber to discuss an automatic aid agreement update, bicycle safety enforcement, and subcommittee organizational matters. Presentations included detailed statistics on emergency responses and traffic incidents.
D.1 – Automatic Aid Agreement for Fire & Emergency Services Fire Chief Steve Wilson and City Manager Scott presented an update on the two‑year automatic aid agreement with Merced County, set to expire December 31, 2026. In 2025, the city responded to 450 incidents (39 fires, 308 EMS, and others) with 533 unit responses, totaling about 124 hours on scene (average 16.5 minutes per incident, 1.23 calls per day). The chief noted the squad 53 all‑in cost is approximately $1.4 million, estimating a 50/50 benefit split (~$700,000–$750,000 as a reasonable cost share). Councilmembers requested 90th‑percentile time on scene data and discussed the enhanced ALS service provided. The subcommittee expressed support for a short‑term six‑month extension rather than 12 months, to allow time for budget planning, election, and potential staffing changes. Staff were directed to negotiate a six‑month extension and bring it to the council in late October.
D.2 – Bicycle Safety Awareness & Community Concerns Lieutenant Hagood presented on bicycle/e‑bike safety and proposed municipal code changes. Year‑to‑date statistics: 1,236 reported accidents (456 investigated); last year 2,074 accidents (749 investigated). Year‑to‑date citations: 4,255 (full‑year 2025: 5,853). Fatal collisions: two this year vs. eight the previous year. The presentation covered e‑bike classes, unsafe riding behaviors (e.g., street takeovers, wheelies), and a two‑pronged approach: education (online CHP course, utility bill inserts, school partnerships) and enforcement—specifically a towing/impound policy for bicycles and e‑bikes used in violation. The subcommittee unanimously supported directing the city attorney to draft a municipal code amendment providing towing authority for bikes and e‑bikes, similar to models used in Riverbank and Ceres. Staff were also asked to develop parallel public education materials.
D.3 – Roles, Duties & Recurring Meeting Schedule The subcommittee discussed how often to meet and the need for a chair/vice‑chair. Staff provided tentative dates for 2026‑2027 (March 23, June 22, and December 22) that aligned with council chamber availability. Councilmember Boyle suggested meeting three times a year in March, June, and October. The group agreed to recommend three meetings per year to the full council. Regarding minutes, the subcommittee determined that draft minutes should go directly to the council for information rather than first returning to the subcommittee, to reduce staff workload. No chair or vice‑chair were elected; the subcommittee will seek council direction on whether to maintain a formal leadership structure as outlined in policy C‑8.
The meeting is called to order. We will first do the Pledge of Allegiance. Agenda item D, roll call. Uh Councilman Harris. Present. Councilmember Smith. Present. Mayor Pro Tim Boyle. Here. Agenda item C one, public comment. I would like to remind the audience that if they wish to address the subcommittee, they may submit a request to speak in one of the following ways. Complete a green request to speak card available at the back of the council chamber and submit it to the deputy clerk before the item is called, preferably before the meeting begins. Register using the kiosk located at the back of the council chambers, preferably before the items called and or the meeting begins. Scan the QR code corresponding to your preferred language, English, Mongo, or Spanish, located behind the seats in the city council chamber and follow the instructions.gov. Individuals participating virtually by phone must provide a valid phone number so staff can identify the caller during the meeting. Please be patient as this is a new process and there may be some disruptions or issues. Staff will do their best to ensure everyone gets an opportunity to speak. Additionally, citizens can submit public comment to the subcommittee electronically no later than one PM on the day of the meeting. Comments received before the deadline will be sent to the subcommittee and will be part of the record and will be mentioned as part of the written petitions and communications portion of the agenda and will be posted in the city's website. Material may be emailed to public comment at city of Merced.gov. Any correspondence received after one PM will be distributed to the subcommittee and retained for the official record. Also for audience members who wish to have Spanish or Mmong translation services, please let our interpreters know if you are participating virtually by phone. Please include that as you register to speak. Council update was provided in July of 2025. And yes, please. Thank you. So on December 9th, 2024, we approved you, the council approved a two-year agreement that uh ran from January 1st, 2025 through December 31st, 2026. Generally speaking, this uh timing followed the 2023 uh FEMA SAFER grant as the SAFER grant expires in March of 2027. Uh year one of the agreement was for 315,000 with a 4% increase in year two. So the 2026 uh cost is 328,000 to the county for our services. Um so we have a full year of data to look at now. Um this uh data was pretty much on par with what we anticipated based on the data that was provided to us from the county. Um in 2025, we responded to a total of 450 incidents. Um pretty well in alignment with what we normally see in the city of Merced, where about 70% of our calls are EMS related. We responded to a total of 39 fires, 308 EMS incidents, and various other incidents to equal about 450. Unit responses. Uh not all incidents are uh require just a single unit response. For example, vegetation fires and structure fires. We provide more than one unit to respond. Uh, this is done um in a manner of safety for our personnel to make sure we have adequate resources to handle the incidents. Um so in 2025, we responded to a total uh we had 450 incidents, but 533 unit responses. This breakdown just demonstrates what the impact was to our resources uh as they're spread out throughout the city. So um, contrary to belief, um not all incidents in the mutual aid area were out of station 55. We utilize automatic vehicle locating system, so there is a significant amount of incidents as you can see that were handled by ancient 54, but the bulk of them were in Gen 55. Um this is the response data map. Our GIS department uh plotted all the mutual aid incidents that we responded to for 2025. Uh the one on the left is just kind of a general map map, so it's showing uh where that concentration of um calls are in the automatic aid area. Uh the one on the right is just uh enhanced a little bit, and what we're trying to demonstrate there is that there's a significant amount of incidents. Uh I would say the large majority that fall within the county islands or county peninsulas, if you will, uh, directly adjacent to the city. Time on tasks.