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minutes 12-04-99Page 25 of 39 <br />City and County in regard to their experience there, which seems to be pretty positive in regard to a Fire Commission. So, I <br />don’t know if we want to talk about it necessarily under the umbrella, or separately as a Fire Commission, or however you <br />want to approach it. Marni. <br />HERKES: Reading the Charter, Police and Civil Defense are under the Mayor, and Fire is under the Managing Director. That <br />doesn’t make any sense to me. As I said in my testimony, I look at it from a client standpoint. I want public safety. The safety <br />is one entity. They don’t think of themselves as separate entities, and I don’t think they are. I think that they all work together <br />to manage public safety, and it doesn’t make any sense to me that they’re under different entities, that they have separate <br />Commissions and I think a Department of Public Safety would, maybe, manage public safety a little better than managing the <br />Police Department, the Fire Department. <br />RAY: So, you’re talking about administratively, one department that would have all three under it? <br />HERKES: Yes. <br />HIGASHI: Three departments with one Board? But they all have different missions, though. <br />HERKES: They all have different missions. <br />HIGASHI: So maybe it’s one Board, three departments. <br />HERKES: Yes. <br />RAY: Okay, I’m not with you. So you’re talking about a Commission that would umbrella three departments, or are you <br />talking about one department; consolidating in one? <br />HERKES: Commissions habitually are separate. I’m talking about the Police Commission. They have certain roles that they <br />perform, so Public Safety Commission would have certain roles that they would perform for each of the three entities. <br />RAY: So, would the same people deal with Police and Fire and Civil Defense? <br />HERKES: The same Commission? <br />RAY: Yes. <br />HERKES: Probably. <br />RAY: I just want to get focused on what it is we’re possibly talking about. <br />HERKES: I’m not set on this. I know there will be lots of problems. <br />RAY: Do we have information? Is that the way Public Safety Commissions work? We know there are Public Safety <br />Commissions, right? But is it like nine Commissioners that deal with Police and Fire and Civil - all of those things? That’s a <br />question. So, how does that work, or do they have - Okay. Sue. <br />IRVINE: I guess the big thing I was wondering is like our Police and Fire Commissions appoint the heads of those <br />departments, and then we’d have one Commission doing that in the future if we were to combine these? <br />RAY: That’s a question, right? <br />IRVINE: Yes. <br />RAY: John. <br />SANTANGELO: I think what we’re going to, hopefully, hear coming from, at least, the Police Commission - <br />file://\\coh01\cohweb\council\charter_commission\minutes\minutes 12-04-99.html7/1/2011 <br /> <br />