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CITY COUNCIL <br />AGENDA ITEM 4A <br /> <br /> <br />STAFF ORIGINATOR: John Swenson, Public Safety Director <br /> <br />MEETING DATE: November 28, 2022 <br /> <br />TOPIC: Resolution No. 22-141 Supporting the MN Statute 383E.21 <br />Establishing a County Public Safety Levy. <br /> <br />VOTE REQUIRED: 3/5 <br /> <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />The Anoka County Public Safety Levy is set to expire on December 31, 2023 and the Joint Law <br />Enforcement Council (JLEC) is requesting members support legislation that would extend the <br />levy authority to December 31, 2033 and a proposed amendment that would not include this <br />levy within the certified levy of Anoka County. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />The JLEC was formed in 1970 as a joint powers board to benefit public safety efforts for all <br />residents of Anoka County. JLEC is comprised of 26 voting members consisting of the Anoka <br />County Attorney, 11 chief law enforcement officers (10 municipal chiefs and 1 county sheriff), <br />and 14 elected officials (12 representing municipalities in Anoka County and 2 representing <br />Anoka County). The elected officials are appointed to JLEC by their respective City Council <br />or County Board. <br /> <br />The levy authority granted by MN statute 383E.21 authorized the Anoka County Board to levy <br />property taxes to fund public safety projects and equipment projects approved by the JLEC. <br />The amount levied at any time allowed under this statute cannot exceed $8,000,000. <br /> <br />This authority was most recently used to fund the county wide Public Safety Data System <br />which included computer aided dispatching (CAD), law enforcement record management <br />system (RMS), fire RMS, and jail management RMS. This project resulted in an increase in <br />data sharing not only within Anoka County but on state-wide and national levels amongst <br />public safety agencies, leveraged the economy of scale of all Anoka County agencies to <br />achieve favorable pricing, created redundancies and support for the systems for the betterment <br />of public safety throughout Anoka County. This project was completed under budget. <br /> <br />Prior to the Public Safety Data System project, the JLEC leveraged the collective resources of <br />all of Anoka County public safety agencies to upgrade radio communication systems to the 800 <br />MHz radio system. This ensured that all agencies and the Anoka County Dispatch Center <br />could systematically upgrade all public safety agencies to the enhanced 800 MHz system in <br />manner that ensured inoperability and first responder safety. <br /> <br />Through discussion with JLEC members and members of the Anoka County Board there are <br />two proposed changes to MN Statute 383E.21 which are: