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2 <br /> <br /> Ms. Richards said she would not presume to tell the Police Chief how to run his <br />department, but agreed that she would want these positions to stay in community <br />policing. <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Connell said he will provide historical information on the number of <br />o fficers in community policing. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling asked how these new positions will be filled when the department <br />has had trouble filling positions in the past. <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Connell said that improving police salaries and allowing cars to be taken <br />home should hel p. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling asked for specific changes being made to help with recruitment. <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Connell asked Councilors if they support this approach. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he supports it, but wants to ask the Police Chief what happened to <br />former officers hired for this purpose, and wants to be assured that they will remain <br />community based. <br /> <br /> Mr. Cox said he feels strongly that Council needs to support Chief Longo in his <br />request. He said his achievements have been consistent and high. He agreed that he <br />wants to be assured that the officers will not be reabsorbed into the main police force. <br /> <br /> Mr. Caravati said he awaits additional rationale. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling said he feels car use ought to be tied to living in the City. <br /> <br /> Ms. Katie Bullard, Budget Manager, said that i t will cost $573,845 to reduce the <br />tax rate by two cents, and the increase in tax and rent relief will cost $843,845. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling said he thinks Council overstepped when they increased the amount <br />for rent relief, especially for people who make $50,000 a year. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch agreed with Mr. Schilling. <br /> <br /> Mr. Cox said he would like to see a profile of people who receive rent relief. <br /> <br /> Mr. O'Connell said the proposal to add one cent to the meals tax would provide <br />$1.3 million, and he is proposing that two - thir ds of that be used for school capital <br />projects and one - third for City capital projects, in particular on the downtown mall, <br />through a $10 million bond issuance. <br /> <br /> Mr. Cox said he would like to try to find a way to leverage more money for mall <br />improvements, such as a public private partnership or business improvement district. Mr. <br />Cox said he would like Council to have the freedom to use the funds on West Main Street <br />as well. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he thinks we need to fix what we have before we go on to other <br />th ings. <br /> <br /> Ms. Richards noted that the costs for Corner improvements was paid partly by the <br />businesses there, but said this is not the type of things that BID supports had in mind <br />when they proposed the district. <br /> <br /> Mr. Cox said he thinks the meals tax increas e is justified and well directed. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch asked if this will be enough for school capital projects, and the answer <br />was no. <br /> <br />