HISTORY:
Following the Parkland tragedy, the following three items relating to school safety measures were on the agenda for the March 7, 2018 Commission Meeting:
1. C7 AF “A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach, Florida, authorizing the City Manager, City Attorney, and the city’s Chief of Police to meet with and enter into negotiations with representatives of the school board of Miami-Dade County for the purpose of entering into an agreement to authorize the presence of a Miami Beach police officer in every public school throughout the city of Miami Beach, and to authorize Miami Beach police officers to take appropriate law enforcement actions while on public school property, consistent with the terms of such agreement.”
2. R9 L “Discuss School Board Police Radio Frequency” (Rosen Gonzalez)
3. R9 R “Discuss School Safety Efforts” (Samuelian)
C7 AF was approved. R9 L and R9 R were discussed together and resulted in two resolutions: one related to the police radios, one related to several school safety aspects, including a stop-gap measure to place Miami Beach police officers in Miami Beach schools as soon as logistically possible and until the end of the school year, thus leaving time for City and Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) leaders to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) addressing all concerns.
Chief Oates and City Manager Morales explained that hiring and training new officers is a lengthy process and that the only way to place police officers in schools rapidly is through overtime. The Mayor and City Commission referred this discussion to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee (FCWPC), asking for a budget to be developed and ready for consideration at the March 21 City Commission Meeting.
If the overtime plan is approved, it will require an amendment of the FY 2017/18 Operating Budget.