A. The health and safety commission shall strive to maintain and improve the overall health and safety of the community in accordance with its purposes and responsibilities. The commission shall have the following purposes and responsibilities:
1. Increase Public Awareness: Promote and broaden community awareness of health and safety issues, including issues of public health and welfare, healthy lifestyles, mitigation of safety risks and hazards, the importance of disaster preparedness (hereafter "health and safety issues") and encourage citizen participation in efforts aimed at promoting health and safety issues.
2. Inform The Public: Educate and inform members of the community regarding health and safety issues and risk avoidance through various means, including, but not limiting to, public discussion, website publications and postings, community outreach, sharing of information and by assisting at and supporting city sponsored activities and programs which promote health and safety issues.
3. Provide A Public Forum: Provide the community with a public forum within which members of the general public can discuss and/or comment on health and safety issues.
4. Provide Recommendations: Recommend strategies aimed at improving the health and safety of the city, including as directed by the city council, or as requested by members of the general public, and/or which relate to health and safety issues.
5. Support Efforts Aimed At Disaster Preparedness, Prevention, Mitigation, Response And Recovery: Support the work of all city departments before, during and after a medical, natural or manmade disaster, and strengthen ties with the community's disaster related stakeholders.
6. Recognize Achievement: Honor individuals, businesses or groups that have demonstrated leadership in the field of health and safety, have promoted health and safety issues and/or have otherwise made a contribution to the missions of the health and safety commission.
B. For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
DISASTER: The kind of event, such as fire, flood, storm, earthquake, riot, or any other occurrence, for which a "local emergency" or a "state of emergency" may be proclaimed, or which constitutes the existence of a "state of war emergency", as each of those official emergencies are defined in section 2-4-102 of this title.
DISASTER RELATED STAKEHOLDERS: Local residents, businesses, schools, faith based organizations, community based groups, and local, state and federal agencies that are involved in disaster preparedness and response.
C. Notwithstanding any provision of subsections A and B of this section, the commission shall not be a department oversight commission, a police oversight commission, or a fire oversight commission. The commission shall not become involved with:
1. Police or fire response issues;
2. Issues that involve special technical expertise;
3. School safety issues;
4. Monitoring or overseeing any enforcement activities of any city department, including, but not limited to, enforcement of this code, enforcement of traffic laws, or enforcement of state criminal or civil laws. (Ord. 16-O-2701, eff. 5-6-2016)