A RACE AGAINST TIME TO LET THE PUBLIC DECIDE.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: BOB GARDINIER Staff writer

City leaders have decided their proposal to increase the number of members on the Board of Public Safety must go to a public vote in November, and they now have to hustle to place legal notices, hold two public hearings and submit paperwork to county election officials by Sept. 30.

The Common Council unanimously passed a resolution on Sept. 4 to increase the number of members on the Board of Public Safety, which oversees the police and fire departments, from three to five. The board, which has come under fire after two years of turmoil surrounding the police department, consists of Republican Mayor Mark Pratt and two …