CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis is serving on Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger’s transition committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security Policy, the department announced on Wednesday.

While the committee was put together by the governor elect, Kochis told Cville Right Now there is “no politics in this.”

“There hasn’t been one conversation about politics when it comes to this committee,” he said. “It’s been all about real, on the ground, what are you seeing? What are some of the challenge we see from a public safety standpoint? And what can we do and what policy recommendations can we make to the governor elect?”

As part of the Governor-elect’s transition, the committee, which Kochis said consists of other police chiefs, sheriffs, emergency managers and academics, will be developing policy recommendations on key public safety and homeland security issues.

“I think the governor-elect is looking to have a really thoughtful approach when it comes to public safety in the Commonwealth,” Kochis said.

He said the group has already starting meeting weekly and is discussing day one priorities and policy recommendations. He added the committee so far has discussed a wide variety of topics, including regional police academies, mental health issues and gun violence.

“It’s a wide-ranging group that was put together,” he said, “and you can tell that [Spanberger] really just wants a very thoughtful approach to public safety.”

As for his own focuses, Kochis said he hopes to see increased funding for regional police academies, as lower rates in traffic tickets and summons, which used to be the basis for the academies’ funding, have led to funding gaps. Still, he emphasized it’s a “wide-ranging conversation,” and is interconnected to the bigger issue of gun violence in the commonwealth.

“We talk about this a lot, especially in Charlottesville, it’s not just one thing,” Kochis said. “Everything is interconnected.”