TOLEDO – As the sun started to dim and duck behind the western horizon, the Toledo Council meeting kicked off on Monday evening. First up on the agenda was the Hometown Action Team, which has been working to secure a Safe Routes to School grant. Much discussion was had, and a few council members were left apprehensive and with a few more questions. In the end, the council did approve giving a letter of support for the committee to use while applying for grants. They also approved supplying the committee with a list of vendors and businesses that they work with, so the committee can ask the said vendors and businesses for donations.

EMS was approved to hire Christopher Moore for a part-time position. Moore will be brought on for $25 an hour which is more than the usual rate due to his credentials as a critical care medic.

The council approved the appointments, boards, and committees. The public works department reported that they’ve been servicing equipment and working on water mains and fire trucks.

The Fire Department reported that there were 189 calls in 2024. Making up the 189 calls were 60 medical assists, 37 grass fires, 35 car accidents, 19 hazmat, and 17 structure fires.

Toledo Police Chief Dan Quigley gave his 2024 year-end report. In 2024, the department started training harder than ever, implementing a designated training day once a month, where the subjects vary.

The department received 3,357 calls to service in 2024. Throughout the year, 191 arrests were made which resulted in 380 criminal charges. In an abnormal turn for the year, three separate individuals were charged with kidnapping. The blanket term of kidnapping covers a multi-faceted crime that involves a wide variety of situations. These cases of kidnapping are the first the cities had in some years.

One hundred forty-three calls regarding nuisance abatements were received throughout the year, and only 10 properties received an actual nuisance abatement.

May was the busiest month with more than 350 calls, and Fridays trended towards the day of the week with the most regular calls to service.

The department was awarded an $8,000 grant in traffic enforcement overtime and $1,000 for educational equipment purchases. The plan is to buy “beer goggles” that illustrate the impairment of alcohol.

Six use-of-force incidents were reported. The incidents were reviewed by the defensive tactics instructor and the chief, each incident was determined lawfully and within policy. There was one formal complaint about an officer. The complaint was reviewed by the city attorney and the chief, and it was found that the officer acted lawfully and within policy.

The chief also reported that between Dec. 23 and Jan. 12, the department responded to 131 calls for service and affected five arrests. Officer Dias completed his first week at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and is doing well. A new applicant is going through the interview process. On Feb. 27, the department is partnering with the Iowa Attorney General’s office to host a scam prevention information event at the Reinig Center.

The council went into a closed session at the end of the meeting.