One of the final tweaks to the budget was to expand theA single-team pilot program of an SAPD officer, a San Antonio Fire Department paramedic, and a mental health clinician proved popular with city staff and council members. The team responded to mental health-related calls for service in the downtown area, with aThe city had already planned to expand the program to three teams by January which could cover the entire city between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Walsh said the city would commit to performing an assessment of a reported camp, doing outreach to the people there, and cleaning it up within two weeks of being called about it. The cleanup schedule will be publicly available, he said.After a review of its strategic plan and high-profile issues with dangerous dogs, including a deadly mauling of an elderly man on the West Side, the city is throwing its Animal Care Services department a big bone.
Saying that was still too little, Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez pushed to add all the necessary positions into the upcoming budget. However, City Manager Erik Walsh said that hiring and logistical hurdles would still prevent the city from achieving a 100% response rate right away.