HomeMy WebLinkAbout16.1 - - Communication from Public - 6/21/2011June 15, 2011
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CITY CLERK �k
2011 JUN 16 AM 9: 13
SUBJECT: POLICE DEPARTMENT REORGANIZATION STUD�T' G+ j;jA;
AND FY 2011-12 CITY BUDGET
CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 21, 2011
Honorable Mayor and City Council Members:
As a Costa Mesa resident I am concerned, as I am sure you are, that our Police
Department maintains sufficient capital and personnel resources to continue providing
the excellent quality of protection and service to which we have become accustomed. I
understand the need. to make hard decisions to balance the City's budget, but I
encourage you to be mindful of the effect those decisions will have on the level of
service provided by the Police, and other departments.
1 have read the study provided by Management Partners, as well as the report from
Interim Police Chief Stavely and the report from CEO Hatch. While many of the
recommendations in these documents can best be addressed by those with substantial
experience in provision of municipal police services (such as Chief Stavely), there are
some areas upon which I feel compelled to comment.
First, and perhaps foremost, is the emphatic recommendation of'Chief Stavely that,
"staffing levels below 140 [sworn officers] will result in degradation in service levels."
The chief reiterates this several times in his report. Of course, the possible
combinations of sworn and reserve officers, non -sworn employees and volunteers are
numerous and offer alternative ways of providing various services. But, even
accounting for these options, your hired consultant recommends at least 136 sworn
officers and Chief Stavely recommends no less than 140. To ensure optimum
protection of the City and its citizens, I feel the professional recommendation of the
Chief, or at least that of the consultant, should be the overriding consideration.
At the June 14 Council Study Session, Mayor pro tem Righeimer stated that the Council
"made it very clear we won't cut back on patrol." I can't imagine that reducing the
current level of sworn officers from 149 (budgeted) or 139 (filled positions) to 131 will
result in anything other than a cutback on patrol.
Both the hired consultant and the Interim Police Chief have stated.tlat the appropriate
level of staffing cannot be determined by reliance on standard ratios of Police Officers to
population. The 125 base level recommended by CEO Hatch appears to be derived
from application of the average (of the five other cities surveyed) of 1.07 officers per
1,000 population to the City's population of 117,000. (if this is not the source of the 125
number, there is no apparent basis for it — at least nothing contained in any of the
documentation.) Again, as stated in the Management Partners report (page 6),
"Benchmarking should not be used to create formulas or ratios for determining budget
or staffing allocations."
Moving -on from the issue of overall staffing levels, there are several other
recommendations that I feel require additional attention.
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The recommendations regarding K-9 deployment, Traffic Bureau staffing, School
Resource Officer positions and transition to a regional SWAT program all call for further
study. Yet, proposed staffing decisions appear to assume certain changes. I would
only encourage you to wait for the results of these further studies before making
irreversible staffing changes.
Along the same lines, at previous meetings, the Council voted to withdraw from the
ABLE program and proceed with sale of the assets (helicopters, etc.) and the Council
expressed interest in pursuing a regional helicopter program. Although it has been
stated that there are "already too many helicopters," and sale of the ABLE assets would
not hinder formation of a regional program, this ignores the question of whether -any of
the ABLE helicopters may be in better condition or otherwise better suited to a regional
program than helicopters owned by other cities. It would seem wise to retain the option
of contributing (or selling) ABLE helicopters to the regional program until further study
has been completed. Once they are sold, Costa Mesa would have nothing but money
to contribute to the program and, as we know, that is in short supply.
In conclusion, I urge you to heed the recommendations of the Interim Police Chief and
retain sworn staffing levels that will allow continuance of the Community Policing and
Problem Oriented Policing Programs, continuance of adequate patrols to act as a
deterrent to criminal activity, and maintenance of sufficient, qualified Police Officers to
respond to the crimes that do occur. Once these capabilities are lost and criminal
activity begins to increase, it will be extremely difficult to get the "horse back in the
barn."
If funding is an issue, I would again remind you that many of the 28 currently -vacant but
budgeted positions in the City are unlikely to be filled within the next three'to six months,
resulting in available funds of between $1 million and $2 million. And, additional salary
savings will accrue from employees who leave the City in the next year. Seldom are
employees replaced in less than two -to -three months following their departure.
Sincerely,
PERR ALANTIN
Costa Mesa Resident since 1972
Cc: CEO Tom Hatch
Police Chief Steve Stavely
Budget and Research Officer Bobby Young