Sec. 2-998. - Duties and functions.
(a) The Commission shall provide advice and recommendations to the City Council and the Mayor, from the perspective of the residents of the City, concerning the factors affecting the reduction in population at the Justice Center and the external impact of the presence of the Justice Center, community-based service facilities and other establishments providing alternatives to incarceration on communities within the City and provide a report of the Commission's advice and recommendations upon the request of either the City Council or the Mayor. In particular, the Commission shall work with residents of communities within the City, the City administration, administrators of the Justice Center and organizations providing community-based services or alternatives to incarceration to address how correctional facilities, community-based service facilities and other establishments providing alternatives to incarceration within communities affect property values, real estate taxes, police and fire services and public safety. The Commission shall also monitor and assess performance indicators that measure the long-term benefits of alternatives to incarceration to the community and determine the effectiveness of correctional facilities, alternatives to incarceration and community-based service centers and programs. For purposes of Section 2-924, the Commission is classified as "advisory." The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer shall provide the necessary support for the Commission. The Commission shall meet no fewer than four times annually and shall keep minutes in accordance with the requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The Commission may adopt rules of procedure or bylaws not inconsistent with this division or other applicable law to govern the conduct of its meetings and affairs. The Commission may elect from its membership a Chairperson and other officers it deems necessary in accordance with its rules of procedure or bylaws.
(b) The Commission shall make recommendations to the City Council and the Mayor concerning the following:
(1) Solutions to any problems within communities of the City related to property values, real estate taxes, police and fire services and public safety resulting from the presence of the Justice Center and community-based service facilities and other establishments providing alternatives to incarceration.
(2) The ways to establish inclusive, affordable housing that enhances the City's real property values, supports the public safety of the City and offers quality housing for all residents, including formerly incarcerated and vulnerable populations.
(3) Strategies to make the Justice Center an economic engine for the immediate and surrounding community and the City as a whole.
(4) Strategies to generate public support for alternatives to incarceration.
(5) The impact of the policies and practices of the City's criminal justice system on the incarceration rate at the Justice Center.
(6) Ways to communicate the mission and goals of the City's correctional services system to the public.
(7) Mechanisms to identify community service projects that are designed to reduce incarceration at the Justice Center and ensure the public safety of communities within the City.
(8) Community-based services and programs that are designed to improve public safety for the general public and reduce crime in communities of the City and reduce incarceration at the Justice Center.
(9) Ways to ensure effective communication and dissemination of information among the Commission, the City Council, the Mayor and the general public.
(10) The development of resources that are designed to benefit residents of the Justice Center and persons reentering the community after incarceration.
(11) The development of private business enterprises to provide employment to residents of the Justice Center and persons reentering the community after incarceration.
(12) Policies of the City's criminal justice system that affect the community.
(13) Interagency planning to avoid a disparity of community-based services facilities and alternative sentencing programs between communities.
(14) The funding necessary to implement and maintain the appropriate level of alternative incarceration services designed to meet the City's objective not to expand the Justice Center beyond 1,032 beds.
(15) The feasibility of creating a reserve fund to purchase and resell homes, which have not sold at fair market value due to the proximity of such homes to the Justice Center, in communities where resident-based services are provided and the communities surrounding the Justice Center.
(16) Methods to ensure that space within the Justice Center is reserved for persons incarcerated locally and that procedures are implemented to minimize the number of persons held for transport to other jurisdictions, including those held for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
(Code 2004, § 2-908; Code 2015, § 2-846; Code 2020, § 2-846; Ord. No. 2012-16-196, § 1, 11-26-2012)
