Mental health, substance abuse intervention proposal among APD initiatives for coming budget year
By Alan Mauldin
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ALBANY — A proposal that could enhance policing in the city through intervention with individuals who are having a mental health or substance-abuse issue comes at a good cost point during budget discussions — no charge.
Albany Police Department Chief Michael Persley outlined the proposal as one of the department’s planned initiatives for the next fiscal year during a budget session with the Albany City Commission on Tuesday.
During the Tuesday session, commissioners heard from police, fire, code enforcement, parks and recreation, and utilities personnel as part of their work on the $290 million 2021-2022 spending plan.
Commissioners will approve a final budget later this month ahead of the start of the fiscal year on July 1.
Persley also identified youth programs and recruitment and retention as initiatives for the coming budget year.
The co-responder effort is dependent on Aspire Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Services receiving a grant for which it has applied. Under the proposal, an officer who has received crisis intervention training will be paired with a certified clinician, Persley said during an interview after he gave his presentation to commissioners.
The team “will be primarily focused on mental health and substance abuse,” Persley said.
The team can respond to calls where one of those issues is involved and interact with people they encounter on calls and while driving around.
“This is addressing a problem through a public health standpoint instead of a public safety standpoint,” the chief said. “I would say the majority of the calls we deal with, it can go back to some mental health or substance abuse somewhere.”
The team members will get to know individuals and their families and can pay visits to make sure they are taking medications or to steer them to services available in the community.
“This is a way of forging relationships in the community,” and becoming familiar with individuals and their families,” Persley said. Pay is part of the equation of bringing new officers onboard and keeping existing employees on the job, he added, as is offering opportunities for advancement and assignments.
The budget proposed by interim City Manager Steven Carter contains a 2.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment for most employees.
Last year, all police officers at the rank of major and below received a 6 percent pay increase.
The budget also will address the “subordinate disparity” issue in the Albany Fire Department.
Carter recently met with fire department administrators to discuss the issue of some newer hires making more in pay than long-time employees and some supervisors earning less than their subordinates.
On the topic of recreation, Mayor Bo Dorough noted that the department, which currently has 31 employees, formerly had 78. Even accounting for 20 of those being involved in maintenance work, the numbers have dropped significantly.
“We need to look at where the needs are and have (a) Parks and Recreation (department) that can meet those needs,” he said.
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