McDonough officials are moving forward with “identification of opportunities for improvement” within the city’s police department.

  The City Council voted at its June 15 regular meeting to pass a motion by council member Sandra Vincent to involve the police chief, his designee, the mayor and council, and other stakeholders in the process. The vote came after the council discussion that included Vincent’s suggestion to establish a citizen review panel and get the community involved in addressing challenges faced by the police amid the current national unrest.

  Several potential steps were suggested, including a public workshop, but few specifics were included in the motion. Council member Benjamin Pruett cast the lone dissenting vote, asking that a decision be delayed until recommendations are made because of the complexity of the issue. Mayor Billy Copeland did not vote.

  The action came on the same night that the police department was recognized for McDonough being named one of the safest cities in Georgia by two separate organizations. The city was ranked 24 by alarms.org and 35th by Safewise, according to a staff report.

  Acting police chief Ken Noble and Major Kyle Helgerson were invited by city administrator Preston Dorsey to accept the awards at the meeting. Dorsey was police chief for several years until his appointment two months ago.

  Another new development in city government in the coming months is expected to be “race equity and leadership” training, as the first step in the process was approved by the council after a lengthy discussion.

  Vincent cited a recent training trip to the National League of Cities which covered various aspects of the topic. She said she feels that she and council member Kamali Varner are treated as lesser citizens, having been left out of important communications and gotten no response when sharing their own concerns. She added that her efforts a few months ago to move forward with training ideas were met by resistance from others on the council.

  Mayor Pro Tem Elrod publicly thanked Varner for a recent conversation, saying that he fully supports training so that open conversations will continue going forward. Varner points out that the training will have to include dedication and some frank and open dialogue, which she is hopeful will feed into staff and extend into the community.

  After more discussion, Varner motioned to move forward with the training, with three options to be brought back at the July 20 meeting. The vote was unanimous.

  In other business, the council approved several items as part of its consent agenda, including a contract for a year-end audit, a memorandum of understanding between Main Street and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, a paving contract for several roads, and extension until Aug. 1 of a moratorium on approval of new development that will connect to the city’s water system.

  Vincent’s motion to separate all seven items on the consent agenda failed 3-4, after which a motion to approve the agenda as published was approved by a 5-2 vote. Copeland said that motion sanctioned approval of the consent agenda as well.