LEO

Acting Mayor Laura Lewis says given the current job market, she thinks it’s unrealistic for the police department to fill all 15 vacant positions in one year.

The police department’s sign on bonus for lateral transfer hires has grown significantly since it was introduced last November in the city budget.

"People like me have been hearing the word 'wait' for as long as we can remember," Alderperson Phoebe Brown said. "It is imperative that we move on."

Alderperson Cynthia Brock said she’s working with the Tompkins County Ethics Board to open an investigation into the former mayor.

"A number of comments and emails that we received recently made me feel like I was living in some alternate universe," said Alderperson Ducson Nguyen.

Van Houten said the Reimaging Public Safety working group lacked full understanding of Ithaca’s existing criminal justice system when it authored the report.

"We're talking about reimagining public safety. And we're still hiring more [armed] officers," said Common Council member Phoebe Brown.