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URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — The City of Urbana is in the process of evaluating its public safety service delivery and city officials are inviting the community to meet with the people conducting the review.
The city is working with national consulting firm BerryDunn for the review, which involves considering which services are to be provided by the police and fire departments. The review is also determining which services are more appropriate for an alternative response model.
Mayor Diane Marlin said this solution is something that could benefit everyone in the community.
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“We have over the years made calling the police department the default response. And that’s not fair to the police officers and it doesn’t necessarily meet the needs of the community,” Marlin said. “We have to recognize they’re trained to handle certain types of calls and other people, mental health professionals, even civilian folk can respond to certain types of calls.”
As part of the project, the city is giving the community a chance to voice their thoughts on public safety and explore the proposed alternative response models. BerryDunn will be hosting a town hall on Tuesday, May 9 to facilitate this community engagement. The town hall will take place at The Stone Creek, 2502 South Race Street, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Anyone wishing to get involved with the project or track its progress can visit the City of Urbana’s website.
