To meet a goal to modernize its operations and systems by 2020, the Dixon City Council unanimously approved two items regarding public safety Tuesday.
First, the council approved starting a search for a consultant to develop a long-term strategic plan for the Dixon Fire Department.
Fire Chief Jay Bushrow said the fire department had a plan completed in 2007, but it is considered obsolete at this time.
The consultant will look at the area Dixon Fire covers to identify the risks the community has. That will influence the location of facilities, including a new fire station, and equipment needed.
The total financial impact will be approximately $40,000, which has been budgeted and carried over from last fiscal year.
The council also unanimously approved a five-year contract with Mark43 for a cloud-based police records and evidence management system at an annual cost of $24,960.
“This is moving us into the 21st century,” Mayor Thom Bogue said.
“Or at least the early 21st century,” Police Chief Robert Thompson said.
Officers will have access to the system from any internet-connected device, he explained. Mark43 has multiple servers throughout the country.
When an officer is writing a report and references a piece of evidence, the system creates a barcode for the evidence, which is tied to the report.
Photos and videos also can be attached to a report.
An officer could create a map to show all cases of a particular crime in one area, or to track a particular suspect description.
The system is encrypted and is accessed through two-factor authentication, Thompson said.
Dixon police officers have been using Solano County’s law enforcement records management system since 2015. At the time, the city’s own records management system was no longer supported by the vendor, making it expensive and limiting to obtain components for it.
The city’s goal to modernize was set at a strategic planning retreat earlier this month.
Other goals to meet by 2020 are to enhance economic development, expand and improve infrastructure and expand staffing to accommodate city growth.
At least two Dixon residents felt their input was not considered at the retreat.
Addressing the council Tuesday, Loran Hoffmann said three members of the public were excluded from the circle and their comments were not recorded.
“I have never felt so unwelcome at a place ever in my whole life,” she said.
She added that she participated in many strategic planning meetings when she was employed at the University of California, Davis.
“Ideas can come from anywhere, not just from up here,” she said, gesturing to the dais.
Later in the meeting, City Manager Jim Lindley apologized to those who he thinks misunderstood what they were doing at the retreat.
“The only thing I can imagine is they missed the first 15 to 20 minutes of the retreat which explained what we were doing, why we were doing it and how we’re going to proceed with it,” he said.