FWPD RECEIVES GRANT – Message From The Mayor

As part of continuing efforts to make City government as responsive as possible, the 311 Call Center will now be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays with two members of our 311 team taking calls from the public. These additional hours will help provide residents with more opportunities to get in touch with the City. The Call Center can be reached by calling 311 within the City limits or at (260) 427-8311. 

Current plans call for the new Saturday hours to run through December 15. The Call Center will be closed November 22 – 24 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Residents are also encouraged to visit www.cityoffortwayne.org and click on the 311 icon to download the 311 mobile app as another way to communicate with the City.

We recently brought our fleet maintenance services operations in-house. By bringing this service in-house, we have direct access to mechanics, improved efficiency, cost reductions and improved reliability. The move is expected to save nearly $350,000 a year.

The new arrangement also allows us to take advantage of federal and state cooperative agreements, which can reduce costs on vehicle parts.

From snow plow trucks to water and sewer maintenance trucks to road paving equipment and police and fire vehicles, our fleet department maintains more than 2,300 pieces of equipment. This equipment is used every day to provide essential services throughout the community.

Having a productive fleet of vehicles is critical to our continued proactive efforts to provide the services that our residents and businesses depend on each day.

It’s important that we keep our vehicles on the road and working in our neighborhoods and major traffic corridors in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

The Fort Wayne Police Department has been awarded a Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement grant. The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) awarded several million dollars to departments across the country in support of forensic activities.

The Fort Wayne Police Department’s awarded grant will allow for the strategic implementation of improving timeliness and quality of digital forensic services, reducing backlog of evidence by 64.5% in mobile examinations, 58.93% in computer examinations, and 88.27% in video examinations.

The dedicated staff includes three detectives, (two additional detectives to be added in the near future), who have a combined law enforcement experience of 57 years, several of which have been served in our Forensic Laboratory. They are responsible for examining all digital multimedia evidence items for the FWPD, Federal agencies, and other agencies in eleven northeast Indiana counties.

I continue to be encouraged by the proactive efforts of the Fort Wayne Police Department. Being recognized by the federal government to receive this grant will enhance our public safety capabilities and provide additional opportunities for us to make a lasting and meaningful impact to help ensure Fort Wayne is the safest city possible.