It’s time for the city’s community mediation program to have its six-month checkup.

Police officials were expected to attend this week’s City Council meeting to give a department report on the effectiveness of the program since it was implemented in April.

Bickering neighbors who call the police, people who’ve contacted code enforcement and those who’ve completed a form on the city’s website are referred to the community mediation program to help work out their disagreements, according to Sgt. Don Aguilar of the T.O. police.

“The program has been very successful so far,” Aguilar said.

In the past, addressing property line or landscape disputes, loud music and other problems was time-consuming for police officers, who repeatedly had to return to the same address to resolve the issue, Aguilar said.

Now, police can turn over those disputes to community mediation and focus on more serious law enforcement issues.

The mediators meet with neighbors and discuss options and solutions. Their work is free.

Excessive dog barking, parked cars, noise, parties, unruly teenagers and other such problems are referred to mediation after city staff first tries to resolve them through other channels. Two professionally trained volunteer mediators are assigned to each case, and mediations are conducted at local neutral venue sites such as libraries, city hall and the police department.

The mediator home base is at the Thousand Oaks Resource Center at The Oaks mall.

Issues not referred include those that involve violence, such as child abuse, elder abuse or domestic violence.

—Nancy Needham