C i t y o f Ce d a r Fa l l s • O u r c i t i ze n s a re o u r b u s i n e s s
SPECIAL EDITION • PUBLIC SAFETY
CURRENTS CURRENTS MAYOR’S MESSAGE
It is a privilege to be sending this special edition of Currents. The details in this mailing provide the facts surrounding the decisions that have resulted in a Public Safety Division and a safer Cedar Falls. Your elected officials take seriously the responsibility to assure your safety despite the pushback from the firefighters union.
On behalf of the City administration, our Public Safety staff and especially the visionary Council Members who have guided this initiative through the last several decades, I thank all the residents of Cedar Falls for your confidence and support.
THE PUBLIC SAFETY MODEL MAKES US SAFER There has been some confusion regarding the continued evolution of Public Safety. There are a few people who seem to think that the continued growth of Public Safety Officer (PSO) ranks and the reduction of full time Firefighter numbers is making Cedar Falls unsafe. NOT TRUE! Cedar Falls has been on the front edge of modernizing municipal operations since the early 1980s. In 1983, this city reorganized and reduced its departmental operations down to five. Over the years the mayors and councils have been determined to hold the line on taxes and spending. By 1987, 30 years ago, police and fire were combined into one Public Safety department. It was the start of what has evolved into a model of modern public safety delivery. PSOs came onboard in 2005. PSOs are not new. Fire union representatives who condemn this PSO model do themselves and every cross-trained PSO and volunteer firefighter in America a grave disservice. Their elitist attitude is insulting. Today the PSOs have assumed their rightful positions as fully cross-trained firefighter police officers. This year, Cedar Falls has 45 trained firefighters of whom 21 are PSOs who have been successfully operating in dual roles for years. Our current 45 fire responders will be joined by 18 more PSOs coming on board in early 2019 to a total of 63 strong. Cedar Falls could not responsibly allow separate Police and Fire Departments to operate without costs escalating beyond control. Such models are unsustainable. The evolving changes to public safety have delivered greater safety, far more efficiency and needed economy. This Public Safety Model puts more personnel on the street to address crime or fire incidents than ever before. Our goal is to have 50% more staff available at all times while controlling costs.