Columbia city councilwoman Pat Fowler

Unanimous vote from Columbia city council on trash bags

December 6, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

A city of Columbia official trash bag contains the city logo (2022 file photo courtesy of Columbia Solid Waste Utility spokesman Brandon Renaud)

A proposed ordinance change eliminating the requirement for the use of city logo trash bags has been approved by Columbia’s city council. Monday night’s council vote was 6-0, and the change takes effect immediately.

Council members had numerous questions for Columbia solid waste utility manager Steve Hunt. Fifth ward city councilman Matt Pitzer voted for the change, saying the current program isn’t working. Pitzer says while the changes are not ideal, they are a good step forward.

The council heard testimony from numerous residents, and many of them like Eugene Elkin complained about the quality of the city-logo trash bags. First ward councilwoman Pat Fowler, who voted for the change, wants to see the city help low-income residents obtain trash bags. Mr. Hunt is open to that, telling the council they have several thousand trash bags on hand. The ordinance change will save Columbia $1.1 million each year, according to the solid waste division.

The council’s vote also eliminates the requirement that the city provide trash bags. Roll carts were not part of the ordinance change that was voted on last night, although that appears to be the direction the city is going in.

Columbia’s FUSUS camera plan defeated on a 4-3 vote

November 22, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

Columbia’s city council has narrowly rejected a proposal to allow the FUSUS camera system.

Monday night’s vote was 4-3. Our news partner KMIZ reports the vote happened during a contentious meeting that lasted more than five hours. The three council members supporting FUSUS are Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, Councilman Matt Pitzer and Councilwoman Betsy Peters. The no votes came from Council members Pat Fowler, Andrea Waner, Roy Lovelady and Nick Foster.

Police Chief Geoff Jones tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that FUSUS does not identify people based on race.

“FUSUS is a platform that allows us to take video feeds that are already out in the community and bring them onto one platform,” Jones says.

Chief Jones says FUSUS doesn’t use facial recognition, but critics worry it could target specific demographics. Other critics express skepticism about how successful it’s been in other communities. Chief Jones says he heard positive responses from businesses before the meeting, saying the vast majority of businesses he spoke to support FUSUS. He says he heard concerns from two or three businesses, before the meeting.

Reporter Leila Mitchell from our news partner KMIZ reports First Ward Councilwoman Fowler had numerous questions about the camera system for Chief Jones.

Columbia city council set to vote on camera system proposal

November 21, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

Columbia’s Downtown Leadership Council (DLC) is supporting the purchase and implementation of the FUSUS real-time software platform.

The city council is scheduled to vote Monday evening on FUSUS, which is a software platform for law enforcement that allows police to access any public or business-linked camera asset in real-time and review camera footage. Columbia Police say FUSUS provides a real-time crime center, allowing officers to have immediate access to video feeds on one single platform while responding to emergencies.

The DLC says downtown violence remains a top concern to its members, saying the October shooting downtown on Homecoming night wounded “and almost killed a Mizzou student walking to his apartment.”

There are critics of FUSUS who worry it could infringe on the Fourth Amendment. Our news partner KMIZ reports Council members Pat Fowler and Roy Lovelady have pushed back against FUSUS at meetings, expressing concerns about who the system will target.

Columbia Police have said that FUSUS does not not identify people based on race, and does not use facial recognition.

Columbia councilwoman wants all of the city’s $25.2 million in ARPA funding to go to those most impacted by COVID pandemic

February 21, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

A Columbia city councilwoman has filed a resolution that commits to invest all of the $25-million the city will receive from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to provide direct assistance to those most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Councilwoman Pat Fowler’s resolution will be first-read at tonight’s (Monday) council meeting: a vote will not …