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Record of Proceedings

Winston-Salem Public Safety Committee Meeting - October 14, 2024

Meeting Portal — Monday, October 14, 2024
BodyWinston Salem, North Carolina
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, October 14, 2024
StatusFILED
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0:01

Public sector committee to order.

0:03

As always, our first unofficial item of business, but it's extremely official.

0:08

I think the members of this uh circle will agree that we'd like to thank our police, our fire, and our emergency management departments for the work that you do every single day to keep our community safe.

0:18

There's so many moving parts.

0:19

I'm looking at attorneys and management staff.

0:21

Thank you all for the work that you do to keep our community safe.

0:27

The public safety committee typically consists of two items or two parts the consent agenda and the general agenda.

0:35

Items on the consent agenda are typically approved with the sweeping motion unless a member of this committee acts that an item be pulled for discussion or consideration.

0:42

With that being said, members of the committee, are there any items on the consent that should be pulled for consideration?

0:46

If not, I didn't say the motion.

0:48

Councilmember Scipio.

0:53

Okay, Councilmember Larson.

0:54

I imagine I think I know what you're gonna say, but I think that's right.

1:00

All right, so that is the uh complete consent agenda.

1:03

So what we'll do is we'll take item C one.

1:07

Uh Madam Clerk, if you can please call the light.

1:10

Item C one resolution authorizing acceptance of the 2024 prosecuting code cases using DNA grant award from the U.S.

1:17

Department of Justice.

1:19

Councilmember Larson's recognized Chief Penn, thank you for being with us today.

1:25

Uh Councilmember Larson, is your question towards the chief, or did you just want to make a comment in general?

1:29

First of all, I think the public audience knows that we have Senate agenda three items that are generating money for this.

1:35

And I think worthy of those afternoon, Chair Taylor, members of the committee and council.

1:55

So we're always looking for ways to improve the agency, and we found an opportunity to use our employees to learn a little bit about genealogy, go back to our code cases and be able to determine if we can identify the suspects involved in those cases.

2:15

So we're working on staffing.

2:18

We're we're gonna find a way to make that work so that those unsolved homicides uh we let our community know that we have not forgotten about them and that we're still striving to bring them to justice.

2:32

$300,000.

2:33

Yes.

2:37

It is appreciated.

2:38

Yes.

2:41

They have a motion on the floor.

2:42

Is there a second?

2:44

Discussion.

2:46

Chief, thank you for being here.

2:47

I think this is a great grant to solve some of those cold cases that are out there.

2:51

Um I know the answer to this, but I'm gonna uh mess with our uh city manager for a second.

2:56

Mr.

2:57

City Manager, I think that some citizens may be concerned about the impact uh for grants like these to our budget.

3:02

Tell me a little bit about uh this particular grant.

3:05

Are matching funds necessary?

3:07

Uh in this case there are no matching funds required for this grant, so this is uh totally uh program totally funded by the federal government.

3:14

Thank you, sir.

3:15

Thank you, Chief.

3:16

We have a motion and a second on the floor.

3:18

All in favor of item C1, please vote yes.

3:21

Opposers no.

3:24

Item C one passes unanimously.

3:27

Thank you.

3:27

Uh Madam Clerk, item C2, please.

3:29

Item C2 resolution authorizing acceptance of the 2024 community oriented policing services, law enforcement mental health and wellness act grant award.

3:40

Chief, I'm glad you decided to stay put.

3:42

Um before you say anything, I want to recognize Councilmember Scipio.

3:46

Thank you so much, uh Mr.

3:48

Chair.

3:49

I just wanted to make a comment about this particular grant.

3:53

Uh I think it is an extraordinary grant.

3:57

I don't think people understand the kind of pressure our law enforcement officers are under.

4:05

I had the opportunity some years ago of doing a ride along, and from the time we got in the vehicle until the time we exited, it was like a constant adrenaline and the stress of that job.

4:27

Um I just don't I couldn't understand how officer can hold their calm and and and their sanity work in that shift for eight hours when you never know what's coming next.

4:43

Um I I was very pleased to see this grant come through because most of us need some counseling at some point in our lives.

5:04

Um so that was the reason I pulled it.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████37%
Human Trafficking██████████████████████████26%
Emergency Management████████████████16%
Public Engagement████4%
Personnel Matters████4%
Mental Health Awareness███3%
Zoning███3%
Procedural██2%
Transportation Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Winston-Salem Public Safety Committee Meeting - October 14, 2024

The Winston-Salem Public Safety Committee met on October 14, 2024, at 2:00 PM. The committee approved three consent agenda items related to grant awards, received updates on Hurricane Helene response and the Police Department's Drone as a First Responder (DFR) program, approved an amendment to Civil Service Board regulations, and held a proposed ordinance on massage businesses for further review.

Consent Calendar

  • C-1: Resolution authorizing acceptance of the 2024 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Grant ($300,000, no match) – Unanimously approved, referred to City Council on 11/4/2024. Chief Penn reported the grant will fund genealogy work on cold cases, demonstrating that the department has not forgotten unsolved homicides.
  • C-2: Resolution authorizing acceptance of the 2024 COPS Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Grant (no match) – Unanimously approved. Councilmember Scipio highlighted the stress officers face; Chief Penn noted the grant funds wellness programs, with City Manager adding that employee health is emphasized from orientation.
  • C-3: Resolution authorizing interlocal agreement with Forsyth County for 2024 Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program Award (50-50 split) – Unanimously approved. Funds used for gym equipment and license plate readers (LPRs). Councilmember Mundy requested data on LPR results to counter naysayers.

Discussion Items

  • G-1: Update on City Assistance Related to Hurricane Helene – August Vernon, Director of Emergency Management, presented. Details: The city activated its situation room; over 28 fire personnel, 38 police personnel, multiple county/city departments (utilities, EMS, health) deployed to western NC. Responders operated in areas with no fuel, power, or water. Vernon warned against self-deployment, urged donations through established groups, and noted misinformation impacting response. Over 40 military aircraft and 1,000 responders were operating in the region. The mutual aid system is in effect, but reimbursement may take 3-5 years.
  • G-2: Update on Winston-Salem Police Department "Drone as a First Responder" (DFR) Program – Assistant Chief Jose Gomez presented. As of October 2024, the program has flown 175 missions since January 5, 2024. In 143 missions, the drone arrived first on scene before officers. Average response time is 90 seconds (vs. 4.5 minutes for priority one calls). The program currently operates from one site (North Carolina School of the Arts) with a two-mile beyond-visual-line-of-sight waiver; three additional sites are under MOU negotiation. The program has 27 pilots and 19 in training, including professional staff. A partnership with the Career Center creates a pipeline for licensed drone operators to join the police department. Councilmember Mundy raised privacy concerns; Gomez stated policies restrict camera use during transit. The tactical drone program provides citywide coverage with officer-deployed drones.
  • G-3: Ordinance Amending City Code Chapter 2, Article III: Civil Service Board Regulations – City Attorney Angela Carmon proposed changing the absentee ballot notification period from 60 to 30 days to align with the election timeline, following adoption of the civilian public safety pay plan. Unanimously approved, referred to City Council on 11/4/2024. The goal is to hold board elections by February 2025.
  • G-4: Ordinance Amending City Code Chapter 34: Establishing Regulations for Massage and Bodywork Therapy Businesses – Detective Susan Warner and Assistant City Attorney Pridgen Green presented. Warner described illicit massage businesses (IMBs) that offer commercial sex under the guise of legitimate massage, often involving human trafficking. A three-year multi-jurisdictional investigation led to federal and state charges. The proposed ordinance requires businesses to show state licensure and imposes penalties (notice of violation, then revocation of permit for second offense within 12 months). Councilmembers Larson and Mundy raised concerns about the inclusion of "moral reasons" as a basis for the ordinance, potential harm to legitimate businesses, and enforcement burdens. Councilmember Scipio questioned whether the ordinance discriminates and how enforcement would work. The item was held in committee and referred to the Committee of the Whole on 11/18/2024 for further discussion. Staff will address questions before the next meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent items C-1, C-2, C-3 approved unanimously (4-0) and referred to City Council on 11/4/2024.
  • Item G-3 approved unanimously (4-0) and referred to City Council on 11/4/2024.
  • Item G-4 held in committee; referred to Committee of the Whole on 11/18/2024. Councilmembers were asked to submit additional questions to Assistant City Attorney Pridgen Green.
  • Presentations on Hurricane Helene response (G-1) and DFR program (G-2) were informational; no votes taken.
  • Meeting adjourned at 3:19 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Public sector committee to order. As always, our first unofficial item of business, but it's extremely official. I think the members of this uh circle will agree that we'd like to thank our police, our fire, and our emergency management departments for the work that you do every single day to keep our community safe. There's so many moving parts. I'm looking at attorneys and management staff. Thank you all for the work that you do to keep our community safe. The public safety committee typically consists of two items or two parts the consent agenda and the general agenda. Items on the consent agenda are typically approved with the sweeping motion unless a member of this committee acts that an item be pulled for discussion or consideration. With that being said, members of the committee, are there any items on the consent that should be pulled for consideration? If not, I didn't say the motion. Councilmember Scipio. Okay, Councilmember Larson. I imagine I think I know what you're gonna say, but I think that's right. All right, so that is the uh complete consent agenda. So what we'll do is we'll take item C one. Uh Madam Clerk, if you can please call the light. Item C one resolution authorizing acceptance of the 2024 prosecuting code cases using DNA grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice. Councilmember Larson's recognized Chief Penn, thank you for being with us today. Uh Councilmember Larson, is your question towards the chief, or did you just want to make a comment in general? First of all, I think the public audience knows that we have Senate agenda three items that are generating money for this. And I think worthy of those afternoon, Chair Taylor, members of the committee and council. So we're always looking for ways to improve the agency, and we found an opportunity to use our employees to learn a little bit about genealogy, go back to our code cases and be able to determine if we can identify the suspects involved in those cases. So we're working on staffing. We're we're gonna find a way to make that work so that those unsolved homicides uh we let our community know that we have not forgotten about them and that we're still striving to bring them to justice. $300,000. Yes. It is appreciated. Yes. They have a motion on the floor. Is there a second? Discussion. Chief, thank you for being here. I think this is a great grant to solve some of those cold cases that are out there. Um I know the answer to this, but I'm gonna uh mess with our uh city manager for a second. Mr. City Manager, I think that some citizens may be concerned about the impact uh for grants like these to our budget. Tell me a little bit about uh this particular grant. Are matching funds necessary? Uh in this case there are no matching funds required for this grant, so this is uh totally uh program totally funded by the federal government. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Chief. We have a motion and a second on the floor. All in favor of item C1, please vote yes. Opposers no. Item C one passes unanimously. Thank you. Uh Madam Clerk, item C2, please. Item C2 resolution authorizing acceptance of the 2024 community oriented policing services, law enforcement mental health and wellness act grant award. Chief, I'm glad you decided to stay put.

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