Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 08-14-07 workshop minutes — reading text

83 MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING OF THE CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA AUGUST 14, 2007 INTRODUCTION A Council Workshop Meeting of the City Council of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was held on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 5: 30 p. m. wth the following members present: Mayor Mike Anderson Councilmen: Mike Holmes, Virgil Miller, Dennis Reevesol,Bill Garvie, Dr. Wayne Pullen, and Mike Minich ~,;~. Absent: Jim Hartwell Also Present: Joyce Shanahan, City Manager; Helen Spencer, City Clerk; Lisa Absher, Finance Director; Toni Craig, City Attomey; and Department Directors CALL TO ORDER The Mayor called the meeting to order. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Mayor led in the Pledge of Allegiance. PRESENTATION BY IT/ POLICE DEPARTMENTS- MOBILE DATA BROWSER Dr. Pullen advised he saw this presentation at one of the neighborhood meetings and found it very informative and wanted Council and the public to be aware of the use of computers in the police vehicles and their capabilities. Ted Litschauer, Police Chief, discussed how technology has advanced since he first entered law enforcement, and explained how computers are used extensively by the Department in the He advised that performance of their duties, including record keeping, analysis, and dispatch. information such as addresses and calls of other officers and the ability to check persons and car tags, as well as the to research and access the driver' s information and photograph, is ability available in the police vehicles. Chief Litschauer noted the Fort Walton Beach Police Department is affiliated with the Northwest Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the FBI' s North Florida Cyber Crime Task Force, and the National White Collar Crime Center. Sgt. Phil Cheney demonstrated some of the field capabilities of the computer systems, including licenses and dispatch, the Active Incident Screen, messaging, and the ability to check drivers vehicle tags. The Mayor questioned the procedure for keeping points of contact for businesses current. Chief Litschauer advised that the contacts are only as current as received from the business proprietors, and that part of the alarm ordinance coming before Council is an annual registration to keep contacts current. to giveas much Ray Seip, 121 Nebraska Avenue, was advised that individuals are encouraged that information comes up automatically when information as possible when calling dispatch, some an individual calls, and that all unresponded 911 calls are answered. in- car After the presentation, Council was invited to the City Hall parking lot to view one of the computer systems.