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Syracuse’s Common Council unanimously passed a resolution providing additional mental health training to Syracuse Police Department command staff at its Monday meeting. 

The resolution calls for Ronald Fish, the clinical director at Psychological Health Care, to train the police department’s command staff to identify officers who may be facing mental health issues and assist them in getting professional help.

Emergency service workers experience significantly more trauma in their careers than civilians do on average, said SPD First Deputy Chief Joe Cecile.

Fish is a Liverpool-based psychologist who specializes in workplace trauma for emergency service workers and is a board member of the Trauma Resource Institute. The training, which is scheduled for this month, will cost the city $2,250.

The council also announced a virtual public hearing on SPD reform efforts. The meeting, which will be at 5 p.m. on Feb. 18, will focus on proposals made in the Syracuse Police Reform and Reinvention Collaboration Plan, a 76-page document outlining initiatives to reform the department. 

The plan incorporates Mayor Ben Walsh’s executive orders on police reform and council resolutions, such as the Right to Know Act, in addition to new ideas. It was written by a committee of law enforcement professions from around Onondaga County with community input.

Common Council delayed the decision to approve a draft of the plan until a later meeting.The draft will then be open for public comment before being adopted by the council and Walsh. The council must approve a final version of the plan April 1, as required by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s police reform executive offer.

Other business 

The council also approved a grant proposal to the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation for renovations to Westmoreland Park. The $50,000 grant proposal would be used to resurface and remodel the park’s basketball courts. According to the foundation, which works with children in the central New York community and provides support for cancer research and advocacy, the grant will be considered for approval during budget meetings in June.

The council also granted more than $100,000 to the Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center, which provides free financial counseling to Syracuse residents.

Residents can receive assistance with personal finance goals, managing loans, debt and information concerning federal stimulus checks. Due to COVID-19, the center is operating its services virtually via Zoom, WebEx, WhatsApp, phone and email.

The council also granted permission to Syracuse University and utility provider Enwave Syracuse to construct two underground water pipes on Henry Street, East Raynor Avenue and Irving Avenue on the west side of SU’s campus. SU must pay an annual fee of $12,231 to operate the pipes.

Published on February 8, 2021 at 9:02 pm

Contact Nick: nickrobertson@dailyorange.com | @NickRobertsonSU