City of Midland Pess Release... March 11, 2008

March 11, 2008

OUTSIDE AGENCY FUNDING
The City is now taking applications from agencies that want to seek funding in the City of Midland 2008-09 Fiscal Year budget. Each year, the City budgets funds for Hotel/Motel, City Development, and Non-Departmental activities. Applications are due Monday, April 7, 2008. Currently, 20 agencies are receiving funding through this process.

The three categories include (1) Promotion of Tourism and the Hotel industry, i.e. Commemorative Air Force, Arts Assembly of Midland, Midland Convention and Visitors Bureau, (2) Promotion of Growth and Development, i.e. Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Midland College B.E.D.C., and (3) Agencies that are an extension of city services, i.e. Teen Court and D-FY-IT of Midland.

Current applications are for funding in the FY08-09 Budget Year, beginning October 1, 2008. The respective citizen advisory board will review Hotel/Motel and City Development funding requests.

STATE OF THE CITY
Midland Mayor Wes Perry will present the 2008 State of the City address on Wednesday, March 12, 2008, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Midland Center.

The event is an opportunity for residents to learn more about the City and the future direction of the City Council. Topics will include State of the Economy, Economic Development, Housing Strategies, Transportation, Quality of Life, Quality Water, Public Safety, and Downtown Development.

At the end of the address, the Mayor will open the floor up for a question and answer session.

The event is free to the public. Lunch can be purchased for $12. Reservations can be made by calling 685.7203.

MARCH 11th CITY COUNCIL MEETING

APPROVED: The City Council approved authorizing advertisement for bids for management services connected with the Midland Odessa Urban Transit District (EZ Rider). The current contract with McDonald Transit Associates expires at the end of September. A new agreement will have a term of five-years subject to termination. The city hopes to award the contract at the May 27th meeting.
APPROVED: The City Council approved authorizing the city to enter into agreements with the State for the approved Safe Routes to School projects. The Safe Routes to School project will be constructed at Fannin Elementary, Emerson Elementary, and Goddard Jr. High. This program is a 100% federally funded cost-reimbursement program managed through the Texas Department of Transportation. The purpose of the program is to make walking and biking to school safer and more appealing to children, including those with disabilities. The project reduces traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution near primary and middle schools (grades K-8).
PRESENTATION: The City Council listened to a presentation regarding the 2007 Midland Police Department Racial Profiling Report. See attached release.

2007 RACIAL PROFILING REPORT
The City Council will listen to a report by the Midland Police Department regarding the 2007 Racial Profiling Report at the March 11th City Council Meeting. This is the sixth year of the report with the M.P.D. collecting data on all traffic contacts since 2002.

In summary, the numbers reflected that: the percentage of Caucasians, Asians, and Native Americans that came in contact with police in a traffic related incident where a citation was issued was lower than the comparison percentages; the percentage of African-American and Hispanics, and Asians that came in contact with police in a traffic related incident where a citation was issued was higher than the comparison percentages. When comparing 2007 to previous years, there was an increase in percentage of contacts among Caucasians while a decrease in percentage of contacts was detected among African American and Hispanic drivers. Compared to 2006, searches in 2007 were up 15% for Caucasians, and down 8% for African Americans and 7% for Hispanics. Caucasians were arrested the most in traffic related contacts, 49% compared to 24% for African Americans, and 27% for Hispanic.

The M.P.D. complies with every requirement of the law. The Midland Police Department is a professional police agency that does not condone racial profiling. Employees are taught that racial profiling is unacceptable. Employees continue to attend roll call and bi-annual, state mandated, racial profiling training. All patrol cars are equipped with in-car video cameras, the majority of which are the newer digital equipment. Policy states that all contacts are video and audio recorded. Policy requires that the recordings be kept for 120 days and supervisors randomly review the recordings and report their findings in monthly reports.

The department does not condone “exploratory” searches. Since August 1, 2004, officers are required to articulate a reason, in writing, for asking for consent to search. Although not required by law, the department has taken this step to ensure consent searches are not conducted because of the public’s lack of understanding of the law and their right to refuse a consent search. If the officer is unable to articulate a reason for the consent request, the officer is not authorized to ask the owner for consent to conduct a search.

The department will continue to provide information on how to file a complaint in leaflet form and on the department’s website for those who feel they have been subjected to racial profiling. As a department, we will continue to evaluate policy and procedures to insure public acceptance.

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