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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20120802 public safety minutes 1 Public Safety Committee Meeting Call to Order The August 2, 2012, Public Safety Committee meeting convened at 8:08 a.m. by Councilman Pope. Attendance Present: Committee Members: Councilman Bryan Pope, Councilman Bill Luebbert, and Councilman Rick Prather. Guests: Councilman Bob Scrivner, Councilman Bob Weber, City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus, Fire Chief Bob Rennick, Police Chief Roger Schroeder, Police Captain Bob Clark, Police Captain Bob Cynova, Matt Morasch with Public Works, Fire Division Chief of Prevention Jason Turner, Cole County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Farr. Councilman Pope asked for a motion to add “budget discussion” under Other Business. Councilman Luebbert made the motion, Councilman Prather provided the second. Motion passed. Approval of Minutes Minutes from the May 17, 2012, committee meeting were approved. All voted in favor. Discussion of Agenda Items OLD BUSINESS Outdoor Warning Sirens Update Chief Schroeder stated the outdoor warning siren project, which has been in the planning stage for several years, is now in the implementation stage. He deferred to Captain Cynova to give the update. There are 12 outdoor warning sirens, two of which will be placed in their original sites. All sirens will be placed on city-owned property or public right-of-way. The preparatory work is being completed, and it is estimated the sirens will be activated by the first week in September. Captain Cynova stated Cole County has offered to pay for two new sirens, one at Binder Lake and one at Militia Drive. This would require approval by the City Council. Wardsville has also expressed interest in a 50/50 sharing of a siren site that would cover the southern edge of Jefferson City and North Wardsville. Russellville and Lohman are integrating their sirens into the City system. Bill Farr stated there are options for siren tests such as a chime or voice message. A voice broadcasts “warning” before the siren is activated. A voice will notify when the emergency or test has been completed. In answer to an inquiry, Chief Schroeder stated a system for phone notifications is still being pursued. 2 New Fire Station #3 Design Matt Morasch with Public Works Engineering Division gave a presentation of the layout of the proposed new fire station. The City is performing duties as site engineers, and is currently working with MoDOT concerning access to the building site. The building includes an auxiliary 9-1-1 center, which will be relocated from its present site at the Capital Mall. The building will also incorporate “hardened” areas for the safety of emergency personnel during severe storms. Chief Rennick advised Cole County had been offered a place to house an ambulance in the new building, but has declined at this time. This space will be kept in the design for possible future use and will be utilized for storage. Mr. Morasch gave an overview of the costs of the building. Councilman Weber suggested there might be SEMA “safe shelter” grant money available. Councilman Luebbert made a motion to move the new fire station building project onto the City Council. Councilman Prather seconded the motion. Discussion was held regarding: amending architectural contract because of the increased size of the building and hardened rooms , which add complexity to the design and expanded scope of work; the architect’s fee; and the conference room/living room area. City Administrator Nickolaus advised the City’s computer backup would also be housed in one of the “hardened” areas at the new fire station. Councilman Luebbert’s motion was approved. NEW BUSINESS Overtime Needs within the Police Department Councilman Pope advised he would like to blend the added item, “budget discussion”, with the overtime needs of both the police department and the fire department. Chief Schroeder stated he was asked to provide an estimated cost of staffing for special events. He distributed a list of the events that were approved and/or held in 2011 and to date in 2012, along with the estimated costs of overtime to staff these events. Tens of thousands of dollars are spent each year to staff special events. It was Councilman Pope’s hope to spark discussion and/or subsequent changes in the area of special events. Chief Schroeder advised that $230,501, representing the requested 2 ½ percent in budget cuts for fiscal year 2012-2013, primarily includes cuts in overtime. A discussion was held concerning the department’s overtime budget which is, among many things, used to pay for officers who staff special events, act as court bailiffs, and investigate crime scenes. Chief Schroeder stated that officers cannot manage overtime in regard to crime investigations without compromising citizen safety. He had previously capped compensatory time at 80 hours because it is less expensive for the City to pay overtime than it was comp time, since comp time increases in value with each salary increase. However, with cuts in overtime, the cap on comp time has been lifted. Chief Schroeder advised 92.18 percent of the police department’s budget is personnel, and the police service vehicle is personnel. He also advised that not all extra service to the community is reflected in overtime pay as many of those hours are banked as comp time. The police department works closely with other city departments, so any cuts impact those other departments as well. Councilman Pope had to excuse himself from the meeting, and Councilman Luebbert took over the chair. 3 Councilman Prather stated he would like a copy of the rules for comp time accumulation from Human Resources. Chief Schroeder advised that FLSA identifies the parameters which depend on the police department’s 14-day work cycle. Chief Rennick advised the Fire Department is on a 27-day work cycle. The Fire Department does not offer comp time, only overtime. Their work agreement is within Federal guidelines. Mr. Nickolaus stated the City can reimburse overtime with pay or comp time. At the suggestion by Councilman Luebbert that organizers compensate the City for special events, Mr. Nickolaus stated it was his opinion that the biggest problem was for 5K events. They are numerous and are difficult to make safe. Chief Rennick agreed that Chief Schroeder made valid points in regards to budget cuts. The Fire Department also works with other departments in accomplishing a number of activities. Regarding cuts to the Fire Department budget, they kept enough money to provide the basics and desire for the funds cut to be restored to their budget. Community Services Unit Proposed Changes Chief Schroeder introduced Captain Bob Clark and Sergeant Pat McCutchen and asked Captain Clark to talk about changes to the Community Services Unit. Captain Clark stated the DARE program will be reorganized. Currently, DARE is taught in all 5th grade classes in the public schools and in three parochial schools. Across the country, DARE is traditionally taught in 6 th grade. Accordingly, the Jefferson City DARE program will be taught in the 6th grades at Thomas Jefferson and Lewis and Clark middle schools beginning in 2013. There will be no DARE classes taught this school year. Currently the department has two DARE officers, one of which is deployed with the military. School Resource Officers will be cross-trained to teach DARE. One of the SROs will be reassigned to the Jefferson City Academic Center, as they will be adding students next year. The Jefferson City School District pays ½ of the SRO expense. Captain Clark gave a brief description of the SRO’s daily duties. Chief Schroeder reiterated that having SROs in the school relieves street officers from constantly being called to the schools to resolve a diversity of problems. Councilman Pope asked Captain Clark to prepare a one-page summary of the proposed changes to include with the minutes from this meeting. OTHER BUSINESS None. Adjourn Councilman Prather made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Luebbert provided the second. The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m.