Terrace city council has approved funds to go towards the hiring of an interim Community Safety Officer (CSO) while awaiting funding approval for additional positions.
To date, the city has had one CSO in the downtown area which was funded by a one year grant from the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM). With that position ending in July this year, the city reapplied and was approved for another one year grant in September.
However, in a council meeting on Nov. 14, there was discussion about the safety concerns around only having one CSO.
Through funding from the UBCM and the Northern Development Initiative Trust, the city is hoping to bring on three additional CSO positions.
David Block, director of Development Services for the city, explained that even if the funding applications are approved, it won’t be until early next year. Block explained that they felt it was necessary to bridge that gap with an interim CSO and asked the city to allocate $50,000 from the COVID Restart Reserve.
Around $30,000 of the funds will cover wages for the interim CSO position, which Block says will be starting tentatively on Nov. 28 and will last for up to four months. The person hired will then have the chance to transition into one of the longer funded positions if approved. The remaining $20,000 will go towards safety equipment, such as protective vests, and training for things like de-escalation and crisis intervention.
According to Block, to start the CSO position will work with Bylaw Compliance Officers for “on the job” training followed by more in-depth training courses.
Within the next few weeks, the interim position will be joined by a CSO who will be signed on in the one year grant funded position that was re-approved by the UBCM.
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