Stanford Public Safety and Health Committee Meeting - Dec 22, 2025
Stanford Public Safety and Health Committee Meeting - Dec 22, 2025
The 32nd Stanford Board of Representatives Public Health and Safety Committee convened on December 22, 2025, for its inaugural meeting of the term. The primary objective was the introduction of the newly appointed Director of Public Safety, Health, and Welfare, Lou DeRubis. Director DeRubis presented an overview of his 26 years of law enforcement experience, the organizational structure of the Office of Public Safety, and key performance highlights across the Police, Fire, 911 Communications, and Health departments. The meeting concluded with a Q&A session focusing on community engagement, emergency dispatch protocols, and strategies for addressing electric bike safety.
Consent Calendar
- No routine consent calendar items were discussed or voted on during this meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Representative David Blank (District 12): Expressed concern regarding the visibility and safety of delivery workers operating electric bikes, noting that many do not comply with state mandate requirements for reflective vests and equipment. Stated a position favoring strict enforcement of existing laws and proposed a partnership approach involving the police department and the Board of Education to educate delivery drivers on visibility and safety, rather than creating new ordinances. Expressed that current enforcement is lax and that the lack of reflective gear on delivery personnel creates a serious hazard.
Discussion Items
- Introduction of Director Lou DeRubis: Director DeRubis detailed his background, including 16 years with the FBI and Homeland Security JTTF task force and 14 years as a bomb squad commander. He emphasized his role in restructuring the Public Safety department to include civilianization of 911 supervision.
- Organizational Restructuring: Director DeRubis explained that five supervisor positions in the 911 communication center were civilianized to address gaps in technical certification. He noted the addition of two dispatcher levels (Dispatcher 1 and 2) and the hiring of a new dispatcher coordinator to improve quality control and training.
- 911 Center Performance: Director DeRubis highlighted that the department consistently exceeds the state standard of 90% of calls answered in 10 seconds, currently hovering between 96% and 97%. He also reported a total of 168,000 calls entering the center in 2025, with 47,031 being emergency calls.
- Police Department Highlights: Discussion covered the completion of the new Stanford Police Academy, which allows for local recruitment without the need to relocate to Meriden. The department noted it is currently ranked number one in the state for lowest crime and number two in New England by city size. The Director also mentioned a proposal to add 13 officers to the force to increase street presence.
- Fire Department Reorganization: Director DeRubis outlined a reorganization that added two deputy chiefs to split city coverage, aiming to reduce response times and allow for simultaneous major incident management. He also noted the addition of a fifth ambulance for peak hours.
- Health and Human Services: Director DeRubis praised the Health Department's progress toward accreditation and the Citation Enforcement Program's focus on community education regarding illegal dumping and leaf violations.
- Electric Bike Safety Initiatives: In response to Representative Blank, Director DeRubis agreed to pursue a vision zero initiative focused on pedestrian and cyclist safety. He stated that the department is collaborating with the Board of Education to create an education campaign targeting both parents and youth regarding e-bike hazards and laws.
- Technology and Infrastructure: Discussion included future plans for a public safety complex, EOC upgrades, drone deployment for reconnaissance, and the expansion of citywide sensitive location cameras.
- Community Engagement: Director DeRubis encouraged committee members to engage with constituents and join CERT or MRC classes. He committed to scheduling one-on-one meetings with all representatives to better understand district-specific public safety issues.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Adjourn: A motion was moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting; the motion was accepted by the committee.
- Commitment to Outreach: The Director committed to scheduling individual meetings with all board members to foster direct communication.
- Action Item: The Public Safety department will collaborate with the Board of Education to initiate an educational campaign regarding electric bike safety and visibility.
- Informational Outcome: The committee was informed that a proposal to add 13 police officers will be presented to the Board of Finance for consideration.
Meeting Transcript
I'm the chair of the uh public safety and health committee. Um so I would now call the meeting. Uh this is the first meeting of the 32nd Stanford Board of Representatives, Public Health and Safety Committee. Um it is now 6:32, and I'll start the meeting. Uh like to quickly take attendance. I'll start with committee members, uh, then other board members who have joined the call, uh, and then our invited guest. So uh first representative Terry Adams, Vice Chair, District Three. Uh not present. If you are present, just sound off with present. Representative David Blank from District 12. Present. Thank you. Uh Representative Matthew Delott from District 16. Present. Yes, thanks, Matt. Uh Representative Michael Field from District 18. Present. Thank you. Um Representative Kara Gildenbride, District 11. Absent. Representative Santa Graham, District 3. Not present. Representative Eric Morrison, District 13 I'm here. And Representative Kendra Walston from District 9. Oh. Um, I did see Karen Camparelli there. Um are there any other members of the board of representatives who are on the call that are not committee members. All right. Um, and then of course, we've got uh Christina and uh Sammy on uh as support, so thank you very much. Uh at this time I'd um like to introduce our guest speaker for this evening, Mr. Lou De Rebus. It is he is the director of the public safety and health and welfare um for the city of Stanford. Uh Mr. De Ribis is a member of the mayor's staff and is a veteran of the Stanford uh fire or assume police department in his role as the director of public safety, health and welfare of the city of Stanford. Uh he is the head of the Office of Public Safety Health Welfare and is responsible for the administration, supervision, performance of all municipal functions related to police, fire, health, social service, rescue, medical emergency service, uh, and emergency management, and unless otherwise provided by the state or federal law is responsible for oversight of all municipal functions related to the abatement and management of environmental contamination. In doing so, the director of public safety health and welfare is responsible for supervision of the activities of the chief of police, the fire chief, and unless otherwise prohibited by state law is responsible for the functions of the fire department and the office of emergency management. As the director of public safety, health and welfare, he is to the extent permitted by state law also responsible for the supervision of the activities of the health director. So all members of the uh public safety and health committee should have received a copy of Mr. De Rubis's um presentation earlier today from Sheila Hughes uh to their Stanford email address. Uh if you have not received that, please uh raise your hand and I will forward it to you. Um the uh intent of the meeting today is to introduce Mr. Rivas to all of us, uh allow him to explain his roles and responsibilities and the functions of his office uh to all the members of the of the um public safety and health committee. Uh and for timeliness, let's hold off on questions until he has finished his presentation, uh, and then I will open the meeting uh to discussion. Uh so at this time I'd like to entertain a motion for Mr. De Rebus to proceed with his presentation. Second. Thank you. It is second, so moved, seconded. Uh now turn the presentation uh over to Mr. De Rebus.
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