A proposal before an RTD committee that would have canceled the agency’s security contract was voted down Tuesday night by an overwhelming 14-1 margin.
Director Shontel Lewis, who authored the proposal, which was before the operations and customer service committee, was the only member to vote yes.
The resolution, if passed, would have set in motion the termination of Allied Universal Security’s $22 million annual contract by the end of the year and the ending of agreements allowing officers with metro police departments to moonlight as security guards for RTD.
In all, the resolution would have freed up $27.3 million in spending, money which would have been used, according to the proposal, to hire outreach workers — including professionals with mental-health training — to replace security officers.
RTD members who voted down the proposal voiced multiple concerns with it, although most said that the conversation about improving RTD’s security should continue and move forward in tangible forms.