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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-0919 Study Session PACKET CITY OF ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION . AGENDA Monday, September 19, 2016 Siskiyou Room, 51 VVinburn Way 5: 30 p.m. Study Session 1. Public Input (15 minutes maximum) 2. Look Ahead review 3. Discussion of modifications to emergency shelter resolution (request of Mayor Stromberg) 4. Discussion of Ashland Police Department staffing needs In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Administrator's office at (541) 488-6002 (TTY phone number 1-800-735- 2900). Notification 72 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to the meeting (28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title 1). COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE BROADCAST LIVE ON CHANNEL 9. STARTING APRIL 15, 2014, CHARTER CABLE WILL BROADCAST MEETINGS ON CHANNEL 180 OR 181. 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Mayor Stromberg has requested a study session discussion of the resolution that sets forth these policies and conditions. BACKGROUND AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS: The City Council in April 2007 adopted Resolution 2007-11 which set forth the terms and conditions under which a City building could be used as an emergency shelter for the homeless. Resolution 2007- 11 stated that Ashland will provide a City building, if available, for shelter when outside temperatures are forecast to be 20° or below. The shelter is to be staffed by volunteers and provide separate restrooms for men and women, as well as separate sleeping areas for single men, single women and for families. The resolution also spelled out guidelines for the operation of a shelter. Resolution 2007-11 was repealed and replaced in March 2013 by Resolution 2013-04, which restated the original resolution but added conditions under which dogs would be allowed in an emergency shelter. Because the declaration of an emergency shelter night is dependent on weather conditions, the number of additional shelter nights can vary widely from one year to another. In the winter of 2015-16, for example, there were six emergency shelter nights, but in the winter of 2014-15, there were none. At the September 6, 2016, Council meeting, the Mayor convened a study session with the organizers of the Tuesday and Thursday night winter shelters at Pioneer Hall to discuss potential modifications to the resolution that sets the terms and conditions for the regular, twice-weekly winter shelter. However, time ran out before the organizers and the Council were able to discuss the emergency shelter resolution. COUNCIL GOALS SUPPORTED 5. Seek opportunities to enable all citizens to meet basic needs. FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: N/A Page 1 of 2 . Wrr CITY OF ASHLAND STAFF RECOMMENDATION AND REQUESTED ACTION: Staff requests Council input and direction on any changes that should be made to the emergency shelter resolution before it is brought back to the Council for action. SUGGESTED MOTION: N/A ATTACHMENTS: Resolution 2013-04 Page 2 of 2 ILVI SECTION 5. Dogs Dogs may be permitted in an emergency shelter under the following circumstances: 1) Shelter volunteers must designate a specific area in the shelter for dogs. The floor of such area must be covered with thick plastic. 2) Dogs must remain in crates while in the shelter. Crates will not be provided, stored, repaired or cleaned by the City of Ashland and must be removed from the shelter when it is vacated. 3) If taken outside for biological needs, dogs must be leashed. 4) Shelter volunteers are to devise and follow procedures to keep dogs away from each other and other guests as they are being housed for the night and as they exit in the morning. 5) Shelter volunteers must be responsible for cleaning and sanitizing any areas soiled by a dog or dogs. Such cleaning is to be done to the satisfaction of City facilities maintenance staff. 6) Dogs that become threatening to others or are otherwise unmanageable will be required to leave the shelter. 7) Shelter volunteers must notify Jackson County Animal Control in the event a dog bite breaks the skin of an emergency shelter guest or volunteer. SECTION 6. Resolution No. 2007-11 is hereby repealed. SECTION 7. This resolution takes effect upon signing by the Mayor. This resolution was duly PASSED and ADOPTED this day of , 2013, takes effect upon signing by the Mayor. Barbara Christensen, City Recorder SIGNED. and APPROVED this day of o n Stromberg, Mayor Rev' wed as to form: David H. LpKman, City Attorney Resolution No. 2013- Page 3 of 3 RESOLUTION NO. 2013-0 A RESOLUTION SETTING FORTH POLICIES AND CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH ASHLAND WILL PROVIDE EXTREME WEATHER RELATED EMERGENCY SHELTER HOUSING AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 2007-11 RECITALS: A. Ashland is located in an area that has four distinct seasons, and the winter season can have weather extremes that can be hazardous to persons without adequate shelter. B. The City of Ashland desires to set forth the conditions under which it will provide emergency shelter housing and the policies related to those staffing or utilizing such emergency shelter. THE CITY OF ASHLAND RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Provision of Emergency Shelter. Ashland will provide emergency shelter under the terms and conditions set forth herein during times of extreme weather conditions. For purposes herein, weather conditions shall be considered extreme when outside temperatures are 20° F or below or a combination of weather conditions, in the discretion of the City Administrator, make conditions hazardous to human life without adequate shelter. SECTION 2. Terms and Conditions. 1) In the event of the need for an emergency shelter during extreme weather, an available city- owned building such as the Grove or Pioneer Hall may be used. Previously booked groups in those locations may be subject to cancellation. 2) The shelter will be staffed by volunteers from nonprofit organizations or other organizations in the business of providing for the needs of persons. The city's insurance company requires organizations providing volunteers to provide a letter to the City of Ashland stating that all shelter volunteers have received appropriate training to staff a shelter and have passed criminal background checks. 3) Shelter(s) will open at 8:00 p.m. Doors will be locked at 9:00 p.m. Guests may leave the shelter but not re-enter after 9:00 p.m. Guests arriving at the shelter after 9:00 p.m. will not be admitted unless brought to the shelter by a police officer. Guests must vacate the shelter no later than 8:00 a.m. the following morning. 4) Shelters must have separate restrooms for men and women and separate sleeping spaces for single men, for single women and for families. Children must not be left alone in the shelter, and signage must be conspicuously displayed to remind guests and volunteers of this requirement. Resolution No. 2013- Page 1 of 3 5) The shelter must contain an emergency box with a first aid kit. Shelter volunteers should bring their own cell phones in case of emergency. SECTION 3. Emergency Shelter Activation. Provisions for emergency shelter will be activated as follows: 1) When the City Administrator or designee determines that weather conditions are or are likely to become "extreme," he/she will contact the City's CERT Coordinator. 2) The CERT Coordinator will contact the Parks and Recreation to determine which facility or facilities will be used as an emergency shelter. 3) The CERT Coordinator will contact designated representatives from volunteer organizations to arrange for staff volunteers at the shelter. 4) Volunteers and guests are responsible for following the same cleaning requirements as other groups. SECTION 4. Emergency Shelter Policies. Operation of the emergency shelters shall, to the greatest extent feasible, comply with the following policy guidelines: 1) Shelter services must be provided with dignity, care, and concern for the individuals involved. 2) The buildings used as shelter must be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition at all times and must comply with City, County and State Building, Fire and Health Codes, unless exemptions have been obtained from the appropriate agencies.. 3) In all Shelters, there should be adequate separation of families and singles, and adequate separation of single women. 4) No drugs, alcohol, or weapons will be allowed in shelter property at any time. 5) No disorderly conduct will be tolerated. 6) No threatening or abusive language will be tolerated. 7) No excessive noise will be tolerated, e.g. loud radios etc. 8) Smoking will be restricted to the outdoors in designated areas. 9) Guests should maintain their own areas in an orderly condition and may be assigned other responsibilities or tasks at the shelter. Resolution No. 2013- Page 2 of 3 CITY OF ASHLAND Council Communication September 19, 2016, Study Session Discussion of Ashland Police Department staffing needs FROM: Dave Kanner, city administrator, dave.kanner@ashland.onus SUMMARY Police Chief Tighe O'Meara has produced a report, initially presented to the Council as part of its goals updating process, on current sworn officer staffing levels and the need for additional sworn officers based on current trends and future projections. The City's population has grown by 22% over the last 20 years and SOU enrollment is up 13%, but the number of sworn officers is essentially unchanged since 1997. This has resulted in more cases being handled by each officer and increasing response times. After receiving this report, the Council requested that it be scheduled for a study session discussion. BACKGROUND AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Last winter, the Council discussed a number of approaches to addressing downtown behavior issues, one of which included increasing uniformed presence in the downtown area. Police Chief Tighe O'Meara addressed this strategy by eliminating the school resource officer position and withdrawing from the regional gang enforcement team in order to create a second Central Area Patrol position. The Chief, with Council approval, also increased the number of cadets assigned to patrol downtown from four to seven. During the course of this discussion, the chief brought to the Council's attention the more general issue of police staffing levels and the difficulties involved in dedicating officers to one particular area of the City. The Council continued this discussion of both police and fire staffing levels during its goals updating meetings in June and July of this year, for which Chief O'Meara produced the attached report. The report indicates that while Ashland's population and SOU's student census (as well as the number of visitors) has grown substantially over the last 20 years, the number of sworn police staff has remained flat. This has resulted in an increase in the number of cases handled by each officer as well as an increase in response times. As time constraints did not allow for an in-depth review of this report in July, Council requested that it be scheduled for a study session discussion at which Chief O'Meara can address Council questions and concerns. COUNCIL GOALS SUPPORTED Public Safety 23. Support innovative programs that protect the community. FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: N/A Page 1 of 2 ILVI CITY OF ^AS H LA N D STAFF RECOMMENDATION AND REOUESTED ACTION: N/A. This item is scheduled for discussion only. SUGGESTED MOTION: N/A ATTACHMENTS: Staffing Report for APD, July 18, 2016 Page 2 of 2 ~ PIA City of Ashland Police Staffing Report July 18, 2016 Staffing report for APD Submitted by Tighe O'Meara, Chief of Police Current Staffing Overview The Ashland Police Department is made up of 28 sworn officers, as well as several non-sworn staff members. The 28 sworn officers are assigned as follows: 1-Chief 1-Deputy Chief 1-Admin Sergeant 1-Detective Sergeant 4-Detectives 3-General crimes detectives 1-Detective assigned to the YHOP (this position is due to return to the PD in 2017) 1-Traffic Officer, responsible for all of the city's special events, traffic enforcement, major crash investigation 2-CAP officers, working opposite days downtown to allow for seven day a week uniformed presence downtown 4-Patrol Sergeants, each supervising a patrol team made up of: Three patrol officers, giving a minimum staffing of one supervisor on duty at any given time, as well as two officers. This is the day-to-day, uniform presence, available for emergency response at any given time. Given vacations, sickness and training we often, if not usually, end up with a supervisor plus two officers as opposed to the full team, which is the supervisor and three officers. Note: There are a total of 13 patrol officer positions in the department. Three on each of the four teams, plus one extra to help cover the busier times at night. During the week days there are a few more resources available but this is not reliable given the admin officers' (chief, deputy chief etc.) responsibilities. Any critical or confrontational incident requires at least two officers to cover it safely, if not more. A basic rule of law enforcement is that we need to have any potential suspect out matched by at least a 2:1 ratio, so any confrontational investigation or even moderate incident (as opposed to major incident) will require at least two thirds of the department's on duty uniformed officers. This means APD officers City of Ashland Police Staffing Report July 18, 2016 can respond safely to exactly one incident at a time given our minimum, and often in-place, staffing levels. If multiple incidents happen at the same time, and even if the on duty team can manage to effectively handle both incidents, it often results in the sergeant being left in the city alone, as the lone police presence able to respond to incidents. (it should also be noted that often the decision must be made to cite someone who would otherwise go to jail, in lieu of arrest, due to staffing levels being insufficient.) In the last four weeks officers or sergeants have been left in the city as the sole police presence on at least nine occasions. That's one uniformed officer/sergeant in the city to answer calls for service. The situation described above, as well as large fights and disturbances, often bring outside agencies into Ashland to assist the APD. It is common for Talent and Phoenix PD to both come down to assist. However, they have their own areas of responsibility, and while APD maintains an excellent partnership with TPD, PPD and other agencies, APD can't assume that they are available to help handle Ashland's police business. JCSO typically has two deputies on patrol in the south county area. Just as Talent and Phoenix have their own responsibilities, the deputies do as well, covering approximately 1,400 square miles (the south half of the county). There can't be any assumption that they can assist us. Additional Cadets For the last several years the department has employed cadets to perform low level enforcement duties downtown. This has been a very successful program and has recently been expanded. One of the peripheral results of this is that the officers see an increased workload due to increased cadet-initiated contacts. For example, more cadets stopping more people results in more warrants being discovered which results in more demands on the officers' time. Historical Staffing Levels In the last twenty years Ashland has seen an increase in population of approximately 22% to our current level of approximately 21,000. Similarly, the tourist population has increased from approximately 235,000 in 1994 to 318,000 in 2015. Also, the SOU student population has increased by 13%, from 5,430 in 1990 to approximately 6,243 today. However, since 1997 APD staffing levels for sworn police have remained essentially the same, vacillating between a low of 26 in 1998 to a high of 31 in 2002. Even at the high point of 31 in 2002 the department was understaffed per Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) averages, which indicate that the full time sown strength should have been 34 officers (see below for further on this). City of Ashland Police Staffing Report July 18, 2016 Sworn 31 3C 2 (9, r x 2. T, . a 27 . ?6 2 _5 24 1007 1998 1999 2CKJO 2CO12CC 2 2003 2CXJ_= 2005 2000 2CXD7 2CKD` 200°_? 2010 20112012 2013 2014 2015 4i`JOrf f Visitors Each Year Tourists By Year 350000 300000 250000 200000 150000 100000 50000 0 1 4) -6) LOCH LCC~ 1~ C ` ,.CC -vz nC~O -Tourists By Year City of Ashland Police Staffing Report July 18, 2016 SOU Students by Year SOU Student Population by Year 8000 7000 6000 a 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 a cj a{° ~c . Ofl O~ & O' fl O~ 'F -51i -SOU Current Case Load Levels How many cases the department pulls is one of the greatest indicators of how much work the officers are being asked to do. Not every call for service (CFS) results in a case being pulled. The fact that caseloads are going up shows us that more CFS (which have remained somewhat flat at about 20,000 CFS per year over the last few years) are resulting in enforcement, crimes being reported, property being turned over to us, or some other situation presenting itself that triggers the case being generated. Cases Pulled 2012-2015 and YTD by year 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Cases . YTD City of Ashland Police Staffing Report July 18, 2016 Case load increasing Case load YTD (July 7th) compared to previous 2015 3684 1947 2014 3259 1773 2013 3375 1640 2012 3398 1677 2011 3441 1744 Response times One measurement police departments have consistently used is response time to emergency situations. The APD has made it a stated goal in each budget for the last several years to have a response time less than 4 minutes 24 seconds. This is the department's measure of how quickly officers can get to community members who are reporting emergency situations such as crimes of violence, serious motor vehicle crashes, and burglaries in progress, etc. This is an important metric that the department wants very much to keep flat, or better yet to send in a downward direction. APD response times for the last few years having been trending up: Response Times in seconds-Goal as stated in budget < 264 seconds 290 -ow"Op 280 270 260 250 240 230 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Series 1 Goal City of Ashland Police Staffing Report July 18, 2016 Detectives Case Load Detectives in APD handle longer-term investigations, as well as the acute, but more serious investigations. Another metric that has been spelled out in several years' worth of budgets is the amount of time it takes to close out these cases. In the past the detective unit has attempted to take every case referred by patrol. However, due to work load the detectives have had to refer some cases back to patrol. Detective Case Load-2016 Projected 250 200 150 100 50 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Series 1 How new policing strategies effect our staffing APD has always wanted, and expected, its officers to act professionally and compassionately with all members of the public. The department has always strived for engagement and education before enforcement. While these approaches have long been a part of community policing, they are very specifically integral parts of procedural justice. Procedural justice is a philosophy that is being embraced and encouraged nationally as a better way to engage the community. The fundamentals of procedural justice are that everyone needs to be given respect, needs to be treated with dignity, needs to be given voice, and needs neutrality in decision making. This is specifically important to staffing because the department is encouraging its officers to spend more time with investigating each incident, and to spend more time listening and allowing all to be heard. As has been shown in this report, the officers are seeing an increased case load and an increased response time to emergencies. Furthermore, the population the department is servicing (resident, tourist and student) is increasing. Combine all of this with a mandate to engage all community levels on a deeper level, and the need for additional resources is clear. City of Ashland Police Staffing Report July 18, 2016 Regional/City Partnerships Due to the acute staffing crisis of the last year, along with increased demand in the city in general, and specifically downtown, the department has had to temporarily step back from city and regional partnerships. Specifically, the department no longer participates in MADGE, the Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force and the school resource officer program. Also the APD problem solving unit (PSU) has been put on hold due to staffing and military deployment needs. Additional Officers Needed-Current Staffing is Below National Averages Currently Ashland has 1.3 officers for every 1,000 residents, (not including tourists and SOU students). This is significantly lower than the averages presented by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The BJS statistics have the lowest average officer: resident ratio as 1.8:1,000 residents (for towns between 25,000 and 100,000). Following this lowest average formula APD would employee 38 officers. The average ratio as presented by the BJS for towns between 1.0,000 and 24,999 residents is 2:1,000, which would have us employing 42 officers. Again, this is not taking into account that Ashland is so much more than a town of 21,000 residents. When the tourist and the student population is also factored in it makes the need for more officers even more pronounced, based purely on the numbers. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) does not recommend relying solely on factors such as population, but rather on more qualitative factors. The IACP suggests that communities decide what the department's and community's priorities are and what the department wants to accomplish. If the quantitative analysis presented by the BJS serves as a foundation it is clear that the department should have several more officers than it currently does, based purely on the city population. Add on top of that the IACP recommendation (the qualitative approach) that the community provide police staffing consistent with how the community wants its police officers to engage the community members (e.g. implementing procedural justice practices) the need for additional officers is even more clear. Hiring Time As has been pointed out before, it can take up to a year to get a new officer hired and deployed for solo patrol. The department can have interviews and an eligibility list established, but can't do a background until we can make a conditional job offer. Day 21- Day 49- background Day 309- officer finished, starts looks officer is schedule released for med & itz for acad. solo patrol psych start date Day 0-make conditional job offer, start background City of Ashland Police Staffing Report July 18, 2016 Day 21-background finished, schedule medical and psych (medical can be done anywhere, psych is done in Portland) Day 35-medical and psych finished, make offer and set start date, allow 2 week notice at least for exit from current job Day 49-officer starts, but is employed as a non-sworn CSO; look for first academy the officer can get into. Using today as an example, if the department hired someone on July 18th, the next academy is on August 15th, so the officer would start on day 77 of the process. The academy lasts for 4 months, so the officer would graduate and return on day 197 of the process. Day 197-new officer returns and enters the Patrol Training Officer (PTO) in-house program, which lasts for 16 weeks (112 days) If all goes according to plan, a new officer can be released for solo patrol after 309 days. This is given minimal time frames for background checks, academy start dates, and assuming successful completion of the academy and the PTO process without any setbacks or remediation. If the department were given the go ahead today to hire more officers on July 18, 2016 the first of them could be in place by next May of 2017. This is, of course, assuming that qualified candidates can be identified. Funding An entry level officer costs the city $77,272 (wage and benefits). A new officer costs the department approximately $5,000 to equip. The police department cannot absorb the cost of additional officers into its budget. There is a funding shift possibility coming up in that could absorb the cost of five new officers. Currently the police department pays Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon $421,160 a year in direct funding to cover costs of participating in a regional dispatch operation. There is a potential for a push toward ECSO becoming a special district under Oregon law, which would allow it to draw its funding directly from the property owners instead of it flowing through the city's general fund. If this were to happen but the city retained this funding level to the department the department could pay for five additional officers and the needed equipment. However, this would not be recommended, unless the city were committed to funding the new officers regardless of whether or not the special district initiative were approved. If the Council were to authorize five new officers one would be assigned to each of the four patrol teams. This would allow the department to increase minimum staffing to a supervisor and three officers. The remaining person, along with the position that will be returning from the YHOP assignment in 2017, would be used to re-engage our regional partnerships (likely SRO and MADGE). Furthermore, if authorized, the logical course would seem to be to bring officers on in stages, otherwise the APD's in-house training resources would be strained, and arguably unable to handle the training load.