Laserfiche WebLink
City Council Study Session Meeting Minutes <br /> April 10, 2001 <br /> Page 7 <br /> 1 violation by ear and if a vehicle is stopped for loud exhaust, they are forced to look under the car <br /> 2 for a defective exhaust. He stated officers do make stops for loud exhaust but it becomes a <br /> 3 probable cause for a stop. <br /> 4 Mayor Cavanaugh suggested they meet with the City's prosecutor and judges to determine what <br /> 5 it takes to enforce this law. He suggested posting signs indicating the City enforces this <br /> 6 ordinance. He stated his intent to proceed with this matter since he believes this violation is <br /> 7 causing damage to the City. <br /> 8 Mayor Cavanaugh distributed statistics on what is spent on services. He suggested a community <br /> 9 is capable of producing just so much crime based on its demographics and other issues. He noted <br /> 10 the level of crime is pretty constant over time, which is not surprising since St. Anthony is a <br /> 11 mature community. He stated he believes there is a predictable level of crime and the City <br /> 12 should fund to that level. He stated this is very subjective and he believes the issue is how much <br /> 13 resource is needed and to assure that level is provided. Mayor Cavanaugh stated he appreciates <br /> 14 the annual report and information it provides. He stated he feels totally safe in St. Anthony and <br /> 15 wanted to provide the statistics to demonstrate the trends in crime. <br /> 66 Councilmember Thuesen asked Mayor Cavanaugh if he is suggesting that communities only <br /> �j have a certain level of crime. Mayor Cavanaugh reviewed the number of moving violations that <br /> 18 were ticketed, noting it is within a range of expectation. <br /> 19 Councilmember Thuesen agreed there are trends but he believes this is a bit of a "slippery slope" <br /> 20 and he would like to get feedback from the Police Department. <br /> 21 Police Captain Ohl stated he has not had the opportunity to review this report. He stated if it was <br /> 22 a small town up north that may be true but crime in St Anthony is impacted by events from <br /> 23 outside of the community and, as a first ring community, there is a higher propensity for crime <br /> 24 than a small town outside of the metro area. He stated he does not believe it is accurate to <br /> 25 indicate that St. Anthony has the propensity for only a certain level of crime. <br /> 26 Mayor Cavanaugh stated the statistics he provided will answer whether the City is funding the <br /> 27 Police Department adequately. <br /> 28 Councilmember Horst stated the difficulty is in trying to determine how much an incident or <br /> 29 traffic stop is worth. He noted there are many other factors such as the cost for equipment and <br /> 30 training. <br /> 31 <br /> 32 B. 2001 Fire Department Annual Report. <br /> 33 Fire Chief Hewitt introduced Captain Drusch and advised of his involvement with Code <br /> enforcement and software training. He explained they have experienced some problems with the <br /> software and would like feedback from the Council on the annual report. Fire Chief Hewitt <br /> 36 presented on overview of the 2001 Fire Department Annual Report, commenting on the change <br />