The Mayor Speaks! Tom Schwedhelm on Policing, City Budget, Homelessness and More!
Our speaker for the “Greatest Guest Day” on July 23, 2020 was the amazing Mayor Tom Schwedhelm, currently the Mayor of Santa Rosa and former Santa Rosa Police Department Chief of Police (2009-2013). Mayor Tom gave us great insights about the state of the SRPD and the City.
Tom is proud of the Santa Rosa Police Department. He has empathy for policemen in general because there is a feeling that since the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests some people may no longer respect the police as much as they had in the past. Talk of “defunding the police” and “no more jails” is not productive. He is in favor of a policy called “8 Can’t Wait,” which is a list of 8 actions police departments can take to reduce civilian deaths. The SRPD technically complies with one of these actions, but Tom believes the Department is in substantial compliance with most of these actions. They are actively looking into SRPD’s policing policies. SRPD currently has a ban on carotid restraint holds, which although not the same as choke holds, but goes a long way towards alleviating the same problem.
The City Council is in the process of obtaining community feedback regarding SRPD policies and actions. Some people have told them that they do not feel equally treated by the Department, so they are talking with those people to understand their concerns and what can be done to resolve them. Tom is also in favor of having police officers deal less with such problems as homelessness. He would love to have mental health experts assist officers in call-outs for homelessness, but it is not yet financially feasible.
When Tom was the Chief of Police, he interviewed every prospective employee. He asked them such things as “What would you do as an officer which you believe would justify the termination of your employment?” His goal was to weed out those people whose values did not represent those of the SRPD. He was also involved in multiple terminations of officers, although this is not widely known due to privacy concerns.
COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on the City’s budget. Experts are estimating a $74 million loss of revenue through 2026! One mitigating factor is that the City has been approved for significant funding from FEMA. The City is also putting a measure on the ballot seeking a 2 ¼ cent sales tax, which they estimate will raise $18 million in revenue. The measure is necessary because of the massive combined effects of the 2017 fires, the 2019 fire and resultant black outs, and COVID-19!
The City is actively trying to deal with homelessness. The goal is to have a place for people to go if they close down a homeless encampment. Homelessness in these encampments, including Doyle Park and under the freeway, tends to increase if it becomes known that people can stay. The City has established a managed, social distancing camp at the Finley Community Center. The City is also working to restore the Sam Jones Hall with a 60-person structure later this year. Fifty people have also been placed at the Sandman Hotel.
District elections are coming up and the City is working towards having a more diverse City Counsel. City Council people are usually from the east side; no one from South Park or Southwest Santa Rosa (except Tom) has ever served on the Council. Tom is promoting “ride alongs” for people interested in joining the City Council; have people tag along with Council members as they go through their day.
Tom also noted that the City is likely to recover $95 million from the PG&E fire settlement. Figuring out what to do with the money will be a very interesting task! Good luck with that!
Thank you, Tom, for your insights into the City, SRPD, and your career. You packed so much into your 30 minutes (or less)! Well done and thank you for giving us your time!
