BEYOND THE BADGE: Meeting the New Face of 911 in Ithaca

If you live, work, or walk around Ithaca, you probably remember the headlines from 2021. The city was abuzz with a radical idea to "reimagine public safety"; with some calling to "abolish the police." The headlines were loud, but the complex policy reality left many residents scratching their heads, wondering: Who will show up when I call for help?

Five years later, we have an answer. The heated political rhetoric has cooled, giving way to a new reality that is now live on our streets as of early 2026. The Ithaca Police Department (IPD) is still here, wearing the badge and responding to emergencies. But now, for many calls that define the "Life in Ithaca" pulse; mental health checks, homelessness outreach, or neighbor disputes...a different kind of responder is showing up.

They are the ROOTS team (Responders Offering Outreach, Trust, and Support). And their toolkit doesn’t involve a gun.

The $795k Reset

This isn’t just a nice idea; it’s a fully funded city department with a first-year pilot budget of nearly $795,000. We dug into the City Council resolutions from February 2026 to see exactly what that covers.

ROOTS is a specialized five-person team of city employees, consisting of a dedicated supervisor and four outreach responders. Working in pairs during peak call hours (roughly 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.), they are designed to be a "third option" for 911 dispatchers.

"Who Shows Up?" The Ithaca User Manual

The shift in Ithaca public safety means the answer to "Who shows up?" depends entirely on the situation. Here is the new breakdown of how ROOTS and the IPD are working together, based on city protocols:

Situation	Who Shows Up?	The Role
High-Acuity mental health emergency	CARE Team	Specialized clinical support (Mental Health clinicians).
Crimes in progress, violence, accidents	IPD (Police)	Law enforcement response.
Quality-of-life checks, neighbor disputes, homelessness outreach	ROOTS Team	Unarmed support, trust-building, resource connection.
IPD requests ROOTS on the scene	ROOTS (to assist IPD)	Taking over a call to connect an individual with services once the scene is safe.

This isn’t "abolition." Mayor Robert Cantelmo described it as "right-sizing" our response, moving from a one-size-fits-all police approach to an integrated model that fits the unique needs of our community.

In short: the ROOTS team is a pragmatist's evolution of a once-radical debate, proving that reimagining public safety doesn’t mean getting rid of response, but redefining who responds and how.

Sources & Further Reading

• City of Ithaca Common Council Resolution (Feb 10, 2026): Adoption of the Resolution to Launch Community Responder “ROOTS” Team. This official act established the three-year pilot program and its mission to handle non-violent calls via 911 dispatch.

• Office of the City Manager Memorandum (Nov 13, 2025): Proposing the Ithaca ROOTS Team. This memo details the $795,000 first-year budget, the team structure (4 responders, 1 supervisor), and the overlapping shift schedule (11 a.m. – 11 p.m.).

• Mayor Robert G. Cantelmo’s State of the City Address (Jan 14, 2026): In his annual address, Mayor Cantelmo reaffirmed the city's commitment to resourcing alternative crisis response as a core pillar of his 2026 policy agenda.

• 2026 City of Ithaca Adopted Budget (Nov 12, 2025): The final fiscal plan that secured funding for the ROOTS pilot following a widely reported "synchronization error" in the initial draft software that briefly left the program's funding in question.

• Community Justice Center (CJC) Performance Dashboard: For data regarding Ithaca Police Department arrest demographics and the ongoing evaluation of the "Reimagining Public Safety" initiatives.

• Tompkins County News: County Crisis Alternative Response and Engagement (CARE) Team Launches. Documentation on the distinction between the clinical CARE team (mental health specialists) and the community-based ROOTS team.