London Mayor Josh Morgan and City Council met for the Strategic Policy and Committee Meeting to discuss how to handle London’s most pressing issues.
The London City Council touched base on how money raised through donations from London businesses and charities would be used for the benefit of the city’s residents.
Including a 25-million-dollar donation given to the city through an anonymous donation from a London family in January.
The meeting kicked on at 3 pm with the meeting being held at London City Hall, the meeting was made open to the public, while also being live-streamed on YouTube.
One major talking point throughout the beginning of the meeting was the issue of funding for London Police Services, with Ward 11 Councilor Skylar Franke spearheading the issue.
After asking whether the LPS had a representative at the meeting that could answer the council’s questions, there was no LPS representative at the meeting.
“I’m personally really struggling with this request because I have heard from citizens, some citizens want more police presence, and some citizens really want us to address the root causes of crime,” Franke said.
Further discussing the LPS’s request for more officers to help shorten the call time response, Franke said, “I’m not necessarily sure we should be looking to increase the police compliment that we currently have.”
Franke went on to cite other alternative solutions like an increase in funding for mental health services and more resources being made available to the public.
Ward 11 Councilor Skylar Franke
Councilors Steve Lehman and Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis have voiced their support for an increase in funding for LPS, with Lewis touching on the aspect of more police officers in London.
“We have to consider the impact of the understaffing on our officers themselves and the stress that gets put on them,” Lewis said.
He went on to add that “we need to be thanking our officers too but thanking them is not enough, we need to provide them the Staffing levels that they need to do their job appropriately,” Lewis added.
During the Debate, London Mayor Josh Morgan induced his stance on the topic adding, ”I will be quick in saying that I support the 4 million going forward for the 20 police officers.”
With the debate over LPS funding wrapping up, Morgan thanked the council for being open to debate and allowing themselves the opportunity to hear each other out.
During the first recces, the majority of the public audience made their way out of the gallery, including Chuck Lazenby, Executive Director of the Unity Project.
A charitable organization that provides housing options for those in London who are at risk for homelessness.
Lazenby talked about their feelings on how the meeting went, while also presenting their opinion on LPS funding.
“I think that one of the things we need is a more comprehensive plan for safety in our community and relying just on increasing police doesn’t solve that,” said Lazenby.
After the recces resumed, going on for close to 7 hours in total, Morgan thanked the city council and staff for coming together and getting work done.
Check out https://t.co/QXZfW0qLko for a full list of pop-up events where #LdnOnt's Community Connectors will be out & about at various @londonlibrary branches & community centres to chat about the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan and the work driving our city forward. See ya there ! pic.twitter.com/yF7Rbj7Z5b
— City of London (@CityofLdnOnt) February 27, 2023
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