Police helicopter to stay?

City Attorney James F. Penman called this reporter's phone this morning and announced that City Officials forgot to to disclose during Monday night's City Council meeting that the council reversed a previous decision to cancel SBPD's helicopter contract.

The helicopter contract was initially scrapped to free up money to finance six sworn officers' positions. Monday, the council changed course and voted to redirect those funds to pay for five SBPD staffers who perform support tasks, the idea being that keeping those jobs on the payroll will allow cops to spend more time on the streets.

The helicopter contract was discussed in closed session and Penman said the secrecy was legal because the earlier decision to cancel the coptract may have exposed the city to litigation. The question was whether the city had the legal ability to unilaterally cancel the deal.

I'm working on a fuller story and will update when an article is ready for print.