GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Safety improvements, including a security guard, are being considered at Green Bay City Hall, but some are questioning whether there are more cost-effective ways to get similar results.
Right now, at Green Bay City Hall, anyone can come off the street and access any one of the building’s six floors.
“We have a real need I think, as a career public safety professional, for a little more intentional security at City Hall,” said Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis.
Davis says right now the best line of security is camera feeds that can be seen a few blocks away at the police department, but they’re not always monitored.
He believes a security guard would be the best short-term improvement. FOX 11 asked Davis why a security guard and not a police officer.
“A security guard we think can meet the need without the added expense of a police officer,” said Davis. “Police officers, we don’t have very many of them. It takes a longtime to train a police officer.”
City officials don’t view the security guard purely for security. There’s also a customer service element they’d like the position to provide – the ability to direct visitors where to go for services.
Eventually, city officials would like to bring the most in-demand services down to City Hall’s first floor, limiting the need for visitors to go elsewhere in the building. Mayor Eric Genrich noted that process is already underway with moving payroll and purchasing off of first floor to accommodate space for more in-demand departments.
City Hall staff was surveyed about safety. Exact data was not provided in the survey results FOX 11 obtained, but they showed a strong majority agreed they feel safe at their work. However, more agreed than disagreed that security personnel is needed.
The city’s plan includes paying Security Pro Intel $94,000 a year for security guard services. The guard would be in the building during business hours and potentially for council meetings.
“So I guess I’m trying to understand how we see those threats actually, unfortunately, very often in schools, but we still don’t have a person there, but we’re worrying about City Hall every day of the week?” Alderperson Jen Grant questioned Chief Davis during the city’s finance committee meeting Tuesday night.
“The cost of that with the number of schools we have and what a police officer costs for a year, we do the best with what we’re able to do with the resources we have,” said Davis in part of his response to Grant.
“I know it’s two different budgets, but I’m looking at this is going to be an ongoing expense,” said Grant. “I want to make sure we’re actually putting these resources in an area where it’s really needed and warranted or can we do more education and communication and training among staff to get the same results?”
Operations Chief Joe Faulds noted a major difference between City Hall and schools is almost all schools have one point of entry with a person monitoring the doors and unlocking them for visitors.
The city’s finance committee unanimously recommended the security guard and a plan to further enhance security. City council will have the final say at its next meeting.
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