Urbana releases public safety personnel study
URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — Urbana Police and Fire Department are well-run departments despite recommendations to increase staffing levels, a new study on its staff released by an independent firm found.
Consulting firm BerryDunn audited the city’s public safety services using interviews, data from the community and staff surveys, as well as internal data. The city released the report Wednesday morning.
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The report concluded both departments are well organized and are serving the city of Urbana with committed leaders.
“BerryDunn’s analysis determined that several areas within UPD and UFD require some level of
adjustment to assist the UPD and UFD in meeting service demands, maximizing operational
efficiency, and sustaining positive relationships and trust with the community,” part of the report’s overall summary reads.
While BerryDunn did not find any critical problems, the firm made seven high priority recommendations that “should be prioritized for implementation”. These include adding more than a dozen police officers Community Service Responders position and the fire department establishing a Rescue/Utility Unit for minor calls and evaluating its use of Automatic Vehicle Locating software.
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“BerryDunn’s analysis determined that several areas within UPD and UFD require some level of
adjustment to assist the UPD and UFD in meeting service demands, maximizing operational
efficiency, and sustaining positive relationships and trust with the community,” part of the report’s overview reads.
The full report can be found on the city’s website.
The project lead for the report will be at the next city council meeting on March 25 to present a summary of the report and answer the city’s questions.
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