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Session 1309, Minutes Page 13 June 7, 1982 Mr. Adams brought up the matter concerning the 1/20, transportation tax, discussed at the last Council meeting, when he suggested that St. Louis County be asked to use part of this tax money for senior citizen transportation. Mrs. Metcalfe con- curred that the County be approached on this matter, as she was alarmed at the amount University City was spending on an obligation that the entire County should be sharing. Although not suggesting that it be cut, she said this was a function which was not 5sually done by a municipality and that other resources should be in- vestigated. Mr. Adams said he felt that County support of senior citizen transpor- tation was a more worthy and justifiable expenditure of transportation tax money than some of the other uses to which it was being put. Mr. Ollendorff suggested that he and the Mayor make that request of the County, and all agreed. The next item was on page C-34, Insurance and Pensions, under Contractual Services, 4.07 Hospital and Medical Insurance. Mr. Ollendorff stated that bids for health insurance had been received the previous Friday, but there had not been time to an- alyze them and a report was not ready. However, he was certain the contingency fund would cover any increase in cost for this insurance. Police Department (page C-40). Mr. Ollendorff said questions had been raised about the employment of additional police.officers; however, he recommended against doing this. Mr. Lieberman said he had requested the cost of adding three police officers because of requests received from the community for walking patrols, since citizens perceive this activity as making the community safer. He also asked about this since the police force was almost never at full strength because of various factors. He said a police force of 83, for instance, would actually provide a full strength of 80, which was now authorized. Mr. Adams said it had not been proved that foot patrols reduced crime levels, although people may have that perception. He said he was opposed to increasing the police force to 83, noting that the police-to-person ratio had increased because of the City's decrease in population. Mrs. Metcalfe said it should be left to the Police Department to decide how best to utilize its personnel. She thought there was a correlation between future crimes and the. amount of time police have to follow up on crime. She said their response time was excel- lent, and she felt the community was very satisfied with the department. She said that Mr. Ollendorff's response at an earlier meeting about intending to keep the de- partment at its full strength of 80 at all times was adequate to meet the expressed concerns of councilmembers. Mr. Schoomer agreed that the purpose of a policemen on foot patrol was not to deter crime, but to increase citizen morale and create a feeling of well-being. He thought that should be encouraged if it can be done with the current strength, but he did not think the force should be increased. The next item was on page C-58, Street Maintenance, under Contractual Services, 6.02 Street and Sidewalk Repairs. Mrs. Metcalfe said she had asked the number of feet of curbing which could be repaired or replaced with the amount budgeted and had received an answer of 300 feet. She was quite concerned about long-term maintenance and felt the City needed a plan for regular repair and/or replacement of its streets, curbs and sidewalks. Mr. Ollendorff concurred, noting he would be working on such a plan in the very near future. Mrs. Metcalfe said she wanted maintenance to be kept at a high level, since that was one of the things which encouraged private investment in the Community, and after protection of persons and property, she thought that took precedence over other activities of the city government. On page C-66, Public Works, Sanitation, under Personal Services, 1.1 Regular Employ-