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New London — The City Council on Monday approved a $96.29 million budget for fiscal year 2022 that will slightly drop the city’s tax rate for the third year in a row and boost funding for the city’s human services department. Community members continued an unsuccessful appeal to the council for deep reductions in police department funding and reallocation to areas such as mental health services, recreation and education. The council’s latest response, however, was not to cut the police budget but rather to move $120,000 into a special account intended to bolster the $627,475 budget fo...

New London — The City Council has scheduled an Aug. 10 referendum to allow voters to determine the fate of a controversial police staffing ordinance. The council repealed the 80-officer ordinance in March, calling the number arbitrary and not supported by any recent studies on city policing. The council’s repeal led to a petition drive and collection of enough signatures to force the council to either rescind its vote or schedule a referendum. A previous council had passed the 80-officer ordinance in 2014 during a time when there was a drop in the number of officers and low morale at ...

New London — Jeanne Milstein, the city’s Human Services Director, says a $200,000 boost in funding in the mayor’s proposed budget could reduce the number of mental-health-related calls to police. She is developing a plan for a Peer Navigator program and looking to hire at least three people “with lived mental health experience” to perform follow-up work with individuals with mental health issues who find themselves dealing with police officers. About 40% of police calls for service in the city are mental health related and Milstein said the program could reduce that number and curta...

KXLY February 4, 2021 10:26 PM Kaitlin Knapp Updated: SPOKANE, Wash. — The pandemic is changing everything, even how people get booked into jail.  To keep people spaced apart, the Spokane County Jail is taking some of that process into a whole new building.  The new Intake and Release Center will streamline how people handle certain offenses and free up space for law enforcement. When it gets too crowded, officers sometimes have to wait at least an hour to book someone.  “It’ll help save off some of the traffic that would normally go to the jail. Reduce the ...