The Greenbelt City Council meeting on Monday, May 9 was focused on the public hearing for the upcoming budget (the first of two), but included residents sharing views on the recent shooting (May 2) and eviction relief. Representatives of the Greenbelt Police Department, Public Works, as well as the Greenbelt Assistance in Living Program (GAIL) and Senior Citizen Advisory Board were present to receive proclamations from Mayor Emmett Jordan, to commemorate Police Week, Public Works Week and Older Americans Month. These representatives gave a brief summary of their current activities.
Citizen Concerns
At the onset, resident Bob Rand expressed his desire for some sort of public review of the May 2 incident. As the city does not have a civilian police review board (which is a possibility for the future), Rand suggested that the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) be given this charge. While stating that the use of 10 shots to disable the resident seemed excessive, he acknowledged that he was not present at the time and thus could not make an accurate and objective assessment. He pressed for a much greater mental health perspective and presence on future calls such as this one, believing that there are better tools, tactics and de-escalation strategies in these situations than guns. He looked forward to the release of body camera footage on May 11.
Resident Gionni Smith pressed for the city to consider a further round of eviction relief, citing the difficulties being experienced by his mother at Franklin Park, who is now facing eviction despite his best efforts to assist her. He related that outreach to the Department of Social Services, the county and Greenbelt CARES has proved fruitless so far.
Jordan responded that the city has already invested $1.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) reserves for eviction and mortgage relief, and plans to do more. He advised further direct contact with CARES. He stated that council is well aware of the financial predicament that city residents continue to experience from the pandemic, and that Greenbelt does vastly more for its residents than similar municipalities of its size.
Councilmember Rodney Roberts was adamant that there should be no reason for evictions to be occurring given the significant amount of ARPA funds still unused.
Police Week
Police Chief Richard Bowers reported that this year’s addition to the National Police Memorial in Washington, D.C., is one of the largest, greatly driven by deaths from Covid. In addition to the events in D.C., Police Week has seen many local events sponsored by organizations like the Prince George’s County Command Officers and Municipal Chiefs’ Associations. Many newly sworn-in Greenbelt police officers were present at the meeting as well.
Acting Director of Public Works Brian Townsend was pleased by the recent plantings and bioretention area installed at Buddy Attick Park.
Older Americans Month
Older Americans Month has seen a large array of events and programs. The centenarian program, led by Therapeutic Recreation Supervisor Rebekah Sutfin, has now had two celebrations with another coming soon. The Senior Citizens Advisory Board, led by Betty Timer, is now at full capacity for the first time in five years. On Saturday, June 4, the board is having an online forum to showcase positive adaptations to the pandemic. The group Age My Way has as its goal the assisting of seniors to age in their homes.
Christal Batey, community resource advocate from Greenbelt CARES and GAIL, revealed a long list of future events. Planned Community Center events included a produce distribution on May 19 and an Open Air Resource Fair on May 24. A Health Screening was held at Green Ridge House on May 20, where visitors could have their blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and A1C assessed.
Budget Hearing
The public hearing began with an email from Molly Lester. Among other points not discussed at the moment, Lester expressed that the livable wage for lower pay grade, single adult city employees, based on a recent assessment by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, is $22.96/hour. She also encouraged raising the fine for ongoing municipal infractions from $500 to $1,500 as a stronger deterrent in situations like chronic trash accumulation.
In response to a question from resident Bill Orleans, Councilmember Judith Davis said that all groups or entities receiving city funds must and do produce documented receipts and requests and that all transactions are closely followed up.
Resident Joyce Campbell stated the need to curtail any rise in city taxes, citing the upswings in inflation and cost-of-living. Speaking as a senior, she related the challenges many experience from living on a fixed income. Rather than hire a full-time diversity/inclusivity position, she suggested a wiser and more frugal strategy was to simply provide related training to city staff.
Resident Bob Rudd echoed her sentiments, saying that the city’s property owners, homeowners and small business owners “are facing a terrible burden” through their financing of many city efforts. He called for a revenue neutral budget, and agreed that new hirings would be unwise in the current “bad economic times.” He called for council to “make the tough calls and balance the budget” without a raise in the tax rate.
Acting City Manager Timothy George praised the success of the recent job fair where 50 participants met with the 17 employers present. He extolled Greenbelt for the “huge community response” that “exceeded expectations” on possible uses for the ARPA funds.
