The Douglas County Board of Commissioners received a monthly update from Corrections Director Mike Myers, who reported improvements in the department’s staffing, which increased from 80.5% of authorized levels to 86.5% in the month of January.
Only five officers left employment in January, while eight graduated from training on Feb. 3. He said another 37 began training Monday, the largest class of officers he can remember. Myers said the new contract with Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 8 has contributed to the increased applicant pool, as well as a new marketing campaign.
Last year, the department started using an accelerated, four-week training program last year to address the staffing shortage. Thanks to the increase in new applicants, Myers said they were able to return to a six-week program.
The county’s pretrial release program continues to divert people from the jail. Myers said he hoped that the program would help reduce the jail’s racial disparities, but currently the population on pretrial release is disproportionately white compared to the jail’s population, which is 65% people of color.
“Historically…many interventions to place people outside of correctional facilities statistically favor people who are a little older, whiter, and more female,” Myers said. “That’s a phenomenon that’s been borne out nationally.”
Mental health continues to be an issue for inmates. Myers said 48.2% of people detained at DCC in January were diagnosed with a mental illness, the highest number on record.
The Omaha City Council also met Tuesday, approving two road maintenance districts (RMD).
Richard Phillips, a neighbor who lives within the RMD along Quail Ridge Circle in west Omaha, said he supports improving the road but he doesn’t believe he should pay the same amount as his neighbors for it. Only 24 feet of Phillips’ backyard is adjacent to the street.
Heather Pierce from the public works department said the City Council doesn’t have the authority to change how the cost is divided. The city pays for 75% of the cost, and the residents of the RMD can vote on how to divide up the rest. Pierce said they typically divide it evenly, but they can also divide the cost by square footage.
The RMD was approved 4-3. Councilmember Vinny Palermo, who voted no, said that Phillips should talk to his neighbors about dividing it by square footage instead of evenly.
The City Council also unanimously approved an RMD for South 67th Avenue from Farnam to Dodge Streets. The residents in that RMD petitioned to divide the cost by square footage, with the University of Nebraska Board of Regents paying half of the cost.