Lakeland city leaders prioritize infrastructure, public safety and police tech upgrades at planning retreat

Lakeland leaders focus on growth, safety measures

During the city of Lakeland’s first day of their annual Strategic Planning Retreat, city officials discussed key issues, including infrastructure and public safety. FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.

LAKELAND, Fla. - The city of Lakeland is laying out its strategic plan for the near and distant future.

Officials held the first day of their annual Strategic Planning Retreat at the RP Funding Center Thursday, discussing key issues, including infrastructure and public safety.

Infrastructure importance

According to the city, infrastructure is the defining issue for Lakeland's next decade. Rapid growth, rising construction costs, weather events such as flooding and heavy rainfall, as well as aging roads and pipes are all potential threats.

In a community survey, 3,600 residents shared that their main concern was traffic congestion.

When it comes to infrastructure, City Commissioner Ashley Troutman says anything that keeps citizens safe is a top priority.

"Whether that's stormwater runoff-type things that can help with prevention, we want to focus on that," Troutman said. "Secondly, we are focusing on infrastructure that keeps us open for business, so that's wastewater capacity. Thirdly, we want to still communicate in such a way — what are the things infrastructure-wise that make us a desirable community, whether that's how much funding we put toward those bike trails, etc."

Public safety is a priority

Officials discussed a city-run unified emergency operations center so they could be better prepared to respond to a mass casualty incident or severe weather; however, they don't have a specific location or time frame for construction at the moment. 

Major police technology upgrades

The Lakeland Police Department proposed new cutting-edge technology that would make officers safer, smarter and more efficient.

Real-time translation through LPD’s Axon body cameras eliminates language barriers, and AI-assisted report writing can reduce writing time by 30% to 50%, which means less time on calls and more time for community engagement.

"The combined estimated savings, we believe, will be equal to approximately five to six police officers' time of availability a year," Hans Lehman, assistant chief and head of LPD’s traffic division, said. "I say that because one full-time officer equals $200,000 in year one and $120,000 each year after that. Staffing studies still show we need 15 officers, and we know we can't ask for that in one year, so we're trying to figure out ways to bridge the gap and do the best with what we have."

Drones could also be used as a first response for police and fire calls, to assess crash scenes and much more.

What's next:

If approved for the October 1 budget cycle, this new technology will go into effect.

There will be another full day of the strategic planning retreat on Friday.