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ANALYSIS AND OPTIONS: The COPS Hiring Recovery Program provides
money to hire officers forthe purposes cited. There is no limit on
how many positions the Citycould request through CHRP. However, as
with all hiring grants, careneeds to be given in deciding how many
positions to request to assurethat we dont either overextend
ourselves in the future or put ourselves ina position where were
unable to meet the obligations of the grant. In thecase of CHRP,
for eachposition requested, the City is required toassume a
financial burden of $6,619 in the second year of the grant;$10,989
in the third year of the grant; and $98,137 in the year after
thegrant ends for a total commitment of $115,745 over four
years.(NOTE: These figures assume the current contracted minimum
COLAs,the current benefit rate, and the current pay step
intervals.)
Council has the option to apply for more than one position
throughCHRP. However, taking that course will obligate the City to
provide aconsiderable amount of local funding over a four-year
period. If theeconomy were to make major improvements during the
course of thegrant, using this opportunity to hire additional
positions could be anexcellent way to get early assistance in
paying for police positionsneeded to respond to community growth.
However, there are certainly
no guarantees that a strong enough economic recovery will occur
duringthe next three years to assure that a decision to hire
multiple positionsthrough CHRP will prove to be a wise one.
It seems prudent at this point to use the CHRP funding
opportunity to justreplace what weve lost. In the 2009 budget, the
City eliminated onepolice officer position, reducing the
Departments commissioned strengthfrom 68 to 67 officers. While this
manifested itself as no longer beingable to deploy a detective to
the regional narcotics task force, the actualposition loss was an
entry-level police officer position. Electing to ask forone
position through CHRP would permit us to reinstate the
eliminatedposition and return to 2008 service levels for at least
four years while notputting us in a position where we are dependent
on a big improvement in
economic climate in order to meet our financial obligations to
CHRP.
The CHRP application itself is on-line, so it cannot be provided
directlyto Council for review. However, the attachment included
with the staffreport describes the Citys community policing
strategy and our rationalefor requesting the one position were
suggesting be funded. The grantapplication must be submitted by
April 14, 2009. Any changes to thestaff recommendation will need to
be made without delay and will not beable to be reviewed by
Council, given that Council is not meeting againuntil the grant
application due date.
Option 1: Move to authorize staff to apply for a COPS Hiring
Recovery
Program grant to rehire the police officer position eliminated
in the2009 budget.
Implications:
1. Helps maintain 2008 police service levels by restoring the
PoliceDepartments commissioned staff strength back to 68 officers
for atleast four years.
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2. Has no substantial local cost to the City until the year
after the grantends.
Option 2: Elect not to apply for a COPS Hiring Recovery Program
grant.
Implications:
1. Does not take advantage of a readily available funding
resource forrestoring a lost public safety position.
Option 3: Direct staff to prepare a COPS Hiring Recovery Program
grant foradditional officer positions.
Implications:
1. Allows police services to respond better to community growth
for atleast the next four years, and potentially thereafter.
2. Requires the City to commit more resources over the grant
periodand the year thereafter.
3. Could prove to be a brilliant decision if the economy
improvessubstantially or a significant financial burden if it
doesnt.
