WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The goal was a simple one: get Warner Robins City Council, Mayor Randy Toms, and most Warner Robins department heads in the same room and, eventually, on the same page when it comes to the city's priorities for the next few years.
Department heads led off the workshop by briefing elected officials on their goals and needs.
Acting Police Chief John Wagner's presentation got particular attention.
He was open about the department's continued hiring challenges.
"An understaffed police department is forced to spend all their time policing, solving crime, and giving out tickets," he said. 'Full staff allows a department to become proactive, stop crime before it occurs, and to actually maintain order rather than work full-time to try to restore it. That's where I want to be."
Wagner admitted the department is still 10 patrol officers short of being fully-staffed, but said that's better than where they were months ago. He noted dozens of recruitment and retention strategies he's pursuing, including more traditional tactics like school career fair recruiting, billboard ads, and longevity incentive programs.
He also touted more forward-leaning programs, including a mental health counseling team designed to encourage current officers to stay with the department by helping them cope with the job's stresses.
"If you consider this weekend we had 2 suicides, one at Cheddar's," he said. "We had a baby death, a baby fall, and a SWAT callout. Those things just wear on you, you see it when you close your eyes and lay down in bed. This peer support group talks to officers."
Mayor Randy Toms said he approved of Wagner's presentation and was open to raising the city's millage rate to help better fund the department's hiring needs, both by potentially opening more officer positions and increasing the benefits package for recruits and existing officers.
"We believe we have a good overall compensation package, but it's like (Acting) Chief Wagner said, we're all competing for the same small pool for police officers," Toms said.
Toms said he things a 1-point millage increase should be "considered."
Wagner wasn't the only department head to brief elected leaders.
Utility Department head Montie Walters told the group he estimates his department will need nearly $20 million for infrastructure projects in the next 2 years: $14 million for sewer line work and $4 million for water line expansion.
He said the area near the Highway 96 expansion in Bonaire is seeing rapid growth and the city's infrastructure is struggling to keep pace. Some projects are designed to install infrastructure capable of servicing higher usage.
Fire Chief Ross Moulton told the group the city's expansion is affecting his department, too.
He said 911 call volume for the fire service has jumped more than 35 percent in the last 5 years. He asked elected officials to fund more positions in the department so he can hire more firefighters.
Moulton also described a department program called the "Smoke Alarm Blitz," where the WRFD gives out 10-year smoke alarms for free. He said the department holds outreach events throughout the year that promote the program, but any citizen can go to a fire station and get a free smoke alarm at any time.
Councilwoman Carolyn Robbins was not present for the workshop.