2017/11/01 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

November 1, 2017 we continue to plan for the future of our parks system, our staff is taking a closer look at our golf courses, and will provide an update and options to the City Council in early 2018. Next year we will begin construction on the much-needed expansion of the south Everett library branch. The project includes an additional 5,600 square feet of space for meeting, studying, children's activities, and more computers. I look forward to celebrating the grand reopening of the branch next fall. Keeping Everett safe Public safety has been my top priority throughout my service as Mayor, and though the challenges may have changed over the past 14 years, our commitment to keeping our community safe has never wavered. With many of our police officers reaching retirement age, we have intensified our hiring efforts over the past several years. This summer we asked for your support in launching an incentive package for lateral hires, as those experienced officers are able to hit the streets in about half the time of a new officer. Our efforts are paying off. We have hired 63 officers since June 2014, and are at our lowest vacancy rate since March 2013. We hired 17 officers this year alone, including four lateral officers. Applications and interest from laterals is up significantly since we announced the signing bonus in June. We have seen the number of lateral applications nearly double in the second half of 2017, compared to the first half of the year. We continue to respond to the challenges on our streets through our comprehensive Safe Streets plan, which includes compassionate and cost-effective programs to address addiction, mental illness and homelessness. In January we filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharmaceuticals for allowing OxyContin to flood the black market, causing the current opioid crisis in Everett. I am confident that we will be successful in holding Purdue accountable for their actions, and compelling them to help make our community whole. 374