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A 2005 Police Contract Review CITY OF CHAN HAS SEN 7700 MarKet Bculevard PO Box 147 Cl1anllasserl. MN 55317 Administration Prmle 952.2271100 Fax 952 227.1110 Building Inspections Phone 952227.1180 Fax 952227 1190 Engineering Pho:18 952.2271160 Fax 952 2271170 Finance Ph(!IIe.952.2271140 Fai 952.227.1110 Park & Recreation Prorle 952 2271120 Fax 952.2271110 Recreation Cerlter 2310 Coulter Boulevard ProrlC 952 227.1400 Fax 952.2271404 Planning & Natural Resources Phooe 952.2271130 Fax 952 2271110 Public Works 1591 Park Road Pllor'," 952227.1300 Fax 952.227.1310 Senior Center Phone 952.2271125 Fai 952.2271110 Web Site www.cI.cl:anl.asser·. . rllr' .liS The City of Chanhassen · A A ,..--..-- MEMORANDUM TO: Todd Gerhardt, City Manager FROM: Justin Miller, Assistant to the City Manager </" DATE: October 13,2004 OJ~ RE: 2005 Police Contract Review BACKGROUND Earlier this year the City Council authorized Ehlers and Associates, along with Dick Setter and Don Davis, to review the public safety needs of the City. The first step of this process was to review the proposed 2005 police contract supplied by Sheriff Bud Olson. Attached is their report and recommendations. It should be noted that this is only the first step in the public safety review process. The consultant team is in the process oftaking a larger look at the City's public safety needs, which will include a more detailed analysis of our situation, at least one open house, and interviews with key staff and council, but this process will take a few months. As a more definite schedule is received, it will be distributed to the Council as well as the general public. RECOMMENDA TION Staff and the Sheriff's department are seeking what level of staffing the Council is prepared to authorize so that the 2005 contract and budgets can begin to be drafted. This report affirms what has been allocated in the preliminary 2005 levy, therefore staff recommends that the Council direct staff to work with the Sheriff's department on a 2005 contract which includes two new deputies and to work with the Sheriff on a timeframe for adding the new personnel. Any final decision will be brought back before the council in a separate action to approve the 2005 police contract. community with clealllakes quality SOIIDOls. a :.lllnTwlg duwrltowrl. tlmvlrlg IJUSlfleSS¡S wlrlOlng tralis. aod beaulllul A great place to live. work. ami play DRAFT MEMORANDUM TO: Todd Gerhardt, City of Chanhassen FROM: Public Safety Consultants Richard Setter and Don Davis SUBJECT: 2005 Law Enforcement Services Contract City of Chanhassen - Carver County Sheriff's Office DATE: October 13, 2004 We have reviewed the proposed law enforcement services contract for 2005. The following represents our opinions, comments and recommendations relative to this contract. Backeround Findines: A review of the background relating the current police services contract includes the following findings: 1. The Carver County Sheriff's Department (CCSD) currently provides contractual services for 11 cities and one township within Carver County. These services are beyond those mandated by state statute for a sheriff to provide to a community and are being provided by mutual agreement to meet the needs of the City of Chanhassen, which is the largest receiver of contractual law enforcement services in Carver County. 2. The CCSD ranks second among Minnesota's 87 counties in providing contractual law enforcement services to municipalities. Only Wright County, which provides contractual services to 13 municipalities, is higher. 3. In 1999, the City of Chanhassen eliminated its public safety department and entered into discussions with the CCSD to provide law enforcement services to the City. In recent years, those discussions were formalized into a contractual agreement between the City and the County. 4. Presently, the CCSD is in the process of creating a common model to formulate service descriptions and costs for each of the 12 communities receiving law enforcement contract services. This model appears to rely primarily on population and service based cost sharing of services. 1 5. Because many of the contracts are entered into on a year-to-year basis, there is limited opportunity for individualized strategic planning, commitment to process and projection of needs and costs. 6. The City has undertaken this evaluation in order to develop a sustainable long-term model for assuring that residents continue to receive high quality police services at affordable costs. 7. Chanhassen is a developing community, experiencing controlled growth. In 2002, the community had a population of 21,345 and projections indicate that by 2020, Chanhassen could have 34,000 residents. As Chanhassen grows in population, there more than likely will be corresponding requests for increases in City services, including law enforcement. 8. The contractual agreement which Chanhassen has had with the CCSD over the past several years has proven to have been beneficial, both from a financial and service deli very perspecti ve. 9. While there have been a few issues regarding the delivery of these services, all concerns and issues have been addressed and resolved in a timely manner. As a result, the current contract for police services for the year 2005 is under consideration. 10. During discussions of the proposed 2005 contract, City officials are discussing essential operational and funding strategies to plan for future law enforcement service contracts. Because of this, there is a need to develop measurable service levels and associated costs that are acceptable to the City. 11. The contract proposed by the County provides for a significant increase in resources dedicated to the City resulting in increased costs. Our review includes an analysis of the need for the increase in resources. 12. In order for Carver County to be able to provide services required by the City sufficient lead time and planning need to be built into service contracts. Police Services Contract Model In order to align the community public service needs and available resources it is recommended that the City adopt a services contract model that incorporates the following elements: · Periodic needs analysis based on review of police services related activities (crimes, accidents, calls for services) and community input. 2 · Development of a five-year strategic plan based on analysis (including specific goals, strategies and resource requirements. · Annual adjustment of the strategic plan. · Development of a funding formula and determine hourly rates for services purchased from County. · Development of input and feedback mechanisms for both policy-makers and community members regarding public safety needs and results. · Methodology to identify, rank and assign community priorities regarding the delivery of police services. · Establishment of effectiveness and efficiency measures of police services. · Preparation of a long-term contract with Carver County including provision for annual adjustment as required. · Analysis of how baseline services are delivered and if they are billed as contract serVIces. 2005 County Contract The proposed 2005 services contract requests four additional deputy positions at an approximate cost of $403,534.00. The four positions are for two patrol deputies, one investigator and one corporal - all full time positions. The City of Chanhassen proposed budget provides for an increase of about $160,000. Additional Patrol Some background to this request includes: · The national staffing average for police personnel in 2004 is 1.9 per 1,000 of population. · The City of Chanhassen currently has .54 sworn deputies per 1,000 of population, with a total of 11 deputies. · The Sheriff has provided data comparing the City of Chanhassen to other Minnesota communities of similar size regarding their law enforcement staffing numbers and related costs. That data illustrates that most urban cities in Minnesota currently are staffed at 1.3 sworn officers per 1,000 of population. 3 Recommendation · It is recommended that two of the four requested deputy positions be funded in 2005. Both positions should be utilized to focus on community traffic safety and overall patrol efforts. · The starting dates for these positions could be staggered to meet available funding allocations. For example, one deputy could begin in January 2005 (12 months) and another in March 2005 (10 months). The cost for 22 months of coverage in 2005 would be approximately $161,150.00 ($7,325.00 per month per deputy). This "phasing in" of new deputies would allow the Sheriff to properly recruit and train officers while not negatively impacting public safety. While the recommended allocation of two positions is significantly below the Sheriff's request for four positions, it is believed that the funding of the recommended two deputy positions is adequate to meet the community's law enforcement needs in 2005. · There are several issues that should be resolved prior to proceeding with this staffing increase including: Community Policing: The contract proposal discusses "proactive community- oriented policing." How does the CCSD define this and what type of approach does it propose to use? Evaluation: What are the intended measurable outcomes of adding two additional deputy positions in 2005? What type of performance evaluation system will be used to monitor deputy performance for those assigned to the City of Chanhassen? Patrol Services: How will the addition of deputy positions to the patrol division affect patrolling operations in the City of Chanhassen? How will the assignment of current and additional deputies reflect community priorities and expectations? What is the process used to track and record officer-initiated calls? 4 How do daily patrol logs reflect and record the activities of deputies assigned to the City of Chanhassen? How are City patrol services impacted by the addition of two patrol deputies? Selection and Assignment: What criteria are being utilized to select and assign deputies to the City of Chanhassen? What form of training or orientation are deputies given regarding the City's community policing philosophy? Is the assignment of deputies to the City of Chanhassen guided by labor law agreements and how much discretion does the Sheriff have in selecting and assigning personnel to the City? What is the length of time that individual deputies are expected to serve in their assignment with the City of Chanhassen? Response Time: What impact will the addition of two deputies have on both emergency and non-emergency response time? Traffic: How will current traffic enforcement and educational efforts be impacted by the assignment of two additional deputies? The use of an educational "speed trailer" is mentioned in the 2005 contract proposal. How often will it be used and how will location assignments be determined, if additional deputies are authorized? What process will be used to obtain input into traffic enforcement efforts by community and neighborhood watch residents? What impact will the addition of two deputies have regarding the response to traffic-related complaints? Investigator The CCSD has requested a full time investigator be assigned to coordinate follow- up investigative activity regarding those crimes that are not currently being investigated by CCSD. 5 There is no specific formula from which to judge whether or not an investigator is needed to conduct follow-up criminal investigations. A sampling of comparable communities shows a combination of efforts towards providing investigati ve serVIces. For example, some communities have patrol officers conduct as much follow-up investigation as they can. Others have officers who merely take an incident report and turn it over to the investigator for follow-up. The Sheriff has provided data which shows that there were 12,032 calls for service recorded in 2003. 417 of those calls were Part I and Part II Crimes, which may have required some form of additional investigative follow-up, which was not being provided by the CCSD. Recommendation · The request for an additional investigative position may be valid. It is our opinion, however, that the assignment of a deputy to such position is of a lesser priority than that of a deputy's assignment to traffic safety and general patrol duties and need not be added at this time. · There are several ways in which additional investigative resources can be obtained, other than adding an additional position. One such way is to provide more training to patrol deputies and to encourage them to follow up on cases that need additional investigation. · Another option is for the Sheriff to consider adding one investigative staff position to the County investigative division for the year 2005. The cost of that position could then be prorated among the 12 contract communities who also have investigative follow-up needs. Supervision - Corporal Position Currently, a sergeant is assigned as the CCSD Coordinator of Contractual Services for the City of Chanhassen. This position is included in the overall 2005 contract for services proposal. The purpose of this position is to provide coordination and communications with City and County officials regarding the delivery of police services to the community of Chanhassen. The 2005 Contract services proposal includes a corporal's position to better provide supervision of contract services after hours, when the contract supervisor has gone off duty Recommendation · It is our opinion that the current sergeant's position for the year 2005 is adequate to supervise the deli very of contractual services. 6 · After hours contract coordination and supervision is currently being provided by the CCSD county-wide on-duty supervisor. SUMMARY · Based on the preliminary analysis of other community comparisons, crime and service trends, the staffing level of .54 full time employees per 1,000 of population, has proven to be adequate. · In our opinion, adding and funding two patrol deputies in 2005 (rather than four) is reasonable and should provide increase services for traffic control and general patrol. · There does not appear to be sufficient justification to add a full time investigator position in 2005. As an alternative, it is suggested that such services might be shared on a prorata basis with other contracting communities within Carver County. · It is also our opinion that there is not sufficient justification in the 2005 contract proposal to add a full time corporal position. · Presently, County contractual police services are evaluated on a year-to-year basis. It is our opinion that there is a need for the City and the CCSD to develop a strategic plan for forecasting and making a commitment to long term staffing needs. We believe the proper forum to achieve this is through the Sheriff's Contract Committee (SCC) which is comprised of representatives from the 12 jurisdictions receiving contractual services. In March 2004, the SCC released its "Vision 2005 - Project Recommendations" an informative document for all contractual entities. In our opinion, the communities and the Sheriff's Department would be well served to utilize this committee to address operational and funding issues associated with contractual services. · According to the Sheriff, the opportunity to provide forecasting, strategic planning and commitment, regarding personnel needs will enhance the County's ability to recruit, assign and train police personnel for contract communities in Carver County. As an example, there is approximately a three-month recruitment and background checking process for all police applicants. In addition there is a three to six month Field Training Orientation Program, as well as additional coaching time, before a deputy can assume unsupervised patrol duties, all of which need careful planning, scheduling and implementation. 7 . It is our opinion that there is a growing need, among other contractual communities in Carver County, to join together to make a common commitment which supports an ongoing effort directed at providing adequate contractual policing services. Such commitment will assist the Sheriff's Office in having trained personnel available to meet the wide variety of policing needs found throughout the County. . In conclusion, the proposed CCSD services contract for 2005 should not be viewed solely in terms of a financial decision but must also be viewed in a broader, conceptual manner that deals with both perceived and actual public safety concerns. 8