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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.c. Staffing for Police DepartmentEXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council Work Session: April 10, 2017 AGENDA ITEM: Staffing for the Police Department AGENDA SECTION: Discussion PREPARED BY: Mitchell Scott, Police Chief AGENDA NO. 2.c. ATTACHMENTS: Farmington Police Staffing Study APPROVED BY: LJM RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion only. BACKGROUND In 2016 staff identified areas of need for the police department. One of the areas identified in 2016 was the need for an additional detective position. Staff has recently received information that the City will be eligible for a partial grant from the Minnesota Commerce Department to help offset the funding for an additional detective in 2018. Staff would also like to discuss the future needs of the police department regarding personnel. Staff has also provided a staffing study that has been completed by McGrath Consulting Group Inc. for the Farmington, MN Police Department. Staff has provided this study as a reference for the council, as they may refer to it during their presentation. RECOMMENDED ACTION Discussion only at this time. Submitted by February, 2017 SSttaaffffiinngg SSttuuddyy For FFaarrmmiinnggttoonn,, MMiinnnneessoottaa McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 4 CURRENT STAFFING LEVELS ............................................................................................... 4 ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF NEEDS ...................................................................................... 12 FUTURE STAFFING ................................................................................................................. 17 RETENTION AND TURNOVER ............................................................................................. 20 OTHER ISSUES ......................................................................................................................... 41 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 42 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................... 44 APPENDIX A: CONSULTING TEAM MEMBERS .............................................................. 45 Chief Ronald Moser – Project Manager / Senior Police Consultant .............................. 45 Chief Mark Beckwith – Law Enforcement Consultant ................................................... 46 Sheriff Patrick Perez – Law Enforcement Consultant .................................................... 47 Dr. Victoria McGrath – Human Resources ...................................................................... 48 Deputy Chief Andy Johnson – Law Enforcement Consultant ........................................ 49 McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 3 INTRODUCTION McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. was contracted by the city of Farmington to complete a staffing study for the Police Department. The study focused on four major issues related to staffing. Those four issues included (1) is the current level of staffing appropriate, (2) is additional administrative staff needed, (3) what are the future staffing concerns based on projections for population, business activity, and other trends in the City of Farmington, and (4) a review of retention and turnover of employees of the Police Department. Five consultants were assigned to this project. In conjunction with this study, and during the same time frame, our firm conducted an evidence and property audit of items being held by the department. Those findings are reported on in a separate report. The team members are listed in Appendix A. During the course of the study, consultants conducted formal interviews with all Police Department Sergeants, Officers and full-time Administrative Support Specialists. Team members toured the facility as well as the jurisdiction of the City. Numerous documents and data were provided to the consultants and were reviewed both on and off-site. Consultants also conferred with Community Development Director Adam Keinberger who provided excellent data on proposed future development in the City. Fire Chief Jim Larsen gave ambulance response information which helped in projecting future police medical response calls. The consultants wish to express appreciation to the many individuals who were involved in these interviews and other interactions, and to those who provided copious amounts of data and other items of information for this report. A special thanks to City Administrator David McKnight, Chief Lindquist and his staff, as well as all other personnel who ensured that consultants were provided with all support needed. At the end of the report is a “Summary of Recommendations” by the consulting team. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Consultants have made ten recommendations to improve the Department. The report provides sections addressing current staffing levels, administrative staff needs, future staffing, and retention and turnover. To summarize, it is recommended that two additional patrol officers be added to the department, and placed in the patrol function, at this time. An Administrative Captain is also recommended to be added to the organization now. This is an additional person, not a reduction of a Sergeant position. In two to three years, if anticipated growth in the City occurs as is described in the body of the report, an additional two more officers should be hired for patrol. It is not recommended to add other additional positions in investigations or administrative support now, or within the next two to three years. Turnover of personnel in the department is extremely rare. The positive culture and found within the agency attributes to this phenomenon. CURRENT STAFFING LEVELS The authorized strength of the Police Department is a total of 27 full-time employees. Of the authorized total, 24 are sworn full-time personnel comprised of the Police Chief, four Patrol Sergeants, one Investigative Sergeant, one Administrative Sergeant, two Investigators, one School Resource Officer, one Drug Task Force Officer, one Canine Officer and 12 Patrol Officers. The civilian staff includes three full-time administrative Support positions. These three persons conduct the records and other administrative functions for the department. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 5 The current organizational chart is shown below. Consultants first reviewed staffing assigned to the patrol function. This is the area that has the most police personnel assigned. Of the 24 sworn members of the department, 17, or 70.8% are assigned to patrol. Patrol officers are assigned to 12 hour shifts. It is required that a minimum of two officers, which could be a mix of a Sergeant and an Officer, be on duty at all times. In the recent past a minimum of three is required between the hours of 8:00pm to 2:00am on Friday and Saturday nights. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. For example, in the case of an officer taking sick time, and when no other officers are available for duty, they allow reducing to two officers during this time period. During the interviews, all but one sworn patrol officer expressed their perception that additional staffing was needed in patrol. Mostly, these recommendations were for the addition of one to two officers to balance the schedule and address frequent shift shortages. It is of note that officers did point out the availability of mutual aid to assist in major incidents, with one officer stating he had never been in a situation that he felt created undue danger due to staffing. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 6 Several officers touched on the challenges associated with having four officers assigned to the regional SWAT team for an agency this size. Consultants were advised that agencies in the area that are much larger than Farmington assign similar numbers to the team. Officers did point out the benefits to having several officers on staff that were highly trained in SWAT; however several pointed out the difficulty in having these officers away each month and for a full week at a time for annual training. In further examining this issue consultants found that all four officers participating in the regional SWAT team (Mutual Aid Assistance Group, or MAAG) are assigned to patrol. Over a year period each officer would be gone a minimum of 160 hours of training, and perhaps more based on their specialty assignment (one day each month regular training for 12 days, five day annual conference, estimated three days additional for a total of 20 days; calculated at eight hour training days). With four officers in patrol each absent from the patrol assignment for 160 hours, there is a 640 hour (53.3 twelve hour shifts) block of time devoted to this training. Although this is a valuable group to be a member of, consultants are concerned that the level of involvement is very high, which detracts from the main function of the department, which is patrol. Therefore, it is recommended that no more than two officers be team members. Future dates could be established for incremental reductions in which officers may self select disengaging from the team. This would result in substantially reducing the burden in filling patrol shifts. In speaking with supervisory staff of the department consultants were informed of incidents in which shortages in patrol created difficulties in providing services. On occasion, the administrative Sergeant has been contacted to cover patrol duty shortages. Another incident was a recent burglary to a business which involved a great deal of crime scene evidence to be processed. As only two officers were working one was tied up for a lengthy amount of time on processing and collecting the evidence. Another recent event involved the need to execute two search warrants on the same day. As there were only two patrol officers working there were not available support officers to aid the investigators on the execution of these warrants. These incidents are only some of the occurrences in which a shortage in patrol caused service delivery concerns. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 7 At this time, the department does not track overtime expenditures by categories other than court time, training, traffic detail, or special assignment. The vast majority of overtime paid out is simply listed as “overtime”. Details could not be provided to the consultants on how much overtime was expended to fill shifts due to officer shortages. The department needs to expand its’ overtime codes to include at a minimum, shift coverage and late calls. Consultants utilized the model developed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to study patrol staffing. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has developed a patrol staffing model to determine the appropriate number of patrol officers to be assigned to the patrol function. This calculation does not include supervisory ranks. The IACP formula takes into account incidents reported (for this study includes citizen calls fo r service, traffic stops, and other officer self-initiated activities), average time to respond and handle the incident, patrol officer availability (relief factor), and a calculation for administrative duties (servicing vehicles, personal relief and break/meals, in-service training, meetings, etc.), as well as preventive/proactive patrol. Records provided by the regional dispatch center showed the two year average required to handle incidents including both primary and secondary units to be 43.85 minutes. This is less than the assumption of 45 minutes which the IACP utilizes. The formula also assumes that one-third of an officer’s time should be spent on this activity to allow for another third to be devoted to administrative duties and the final third on preventive/proactive patrol. Consultants reviewed patrol calls for service for 2015 and 2016.  2015: 11,634  2016: 11,774 The average number of calls for service for those two years is 11,704. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 8 The following calculation is derived from the average of 11,704 calls for service recorded by the Farmington Police Department over that period of time. Calculations are based on a 24 hour staffing model.  First, the 11,704 incidents are multiplied by 43.85 minutes to find that 8,553.67 hours are needed in patrol to process these incidents.  Next the 8,553.67 hours are multiplied by three to allow for administrative and preventive/proactive patrol to find that a total of 25,661.01 hours are needed in patrol. To staff one patrol position for a full year 4380 hours are needed (12 hours multiplied by 365 days). The required 25,661.01 hours are divided by 4380 showing that it takes 5.85 patrol units to process the volume of 11,704 incidents requiring 25,661.01 hours of response time. Farmington patrol officers are scheduled to work 2,080 hours per year. Consultants examined total leave times for all patrol officers and sergeants that worked in patrol for the years 2015 and 2016. The average annual time off per officer or sergeant, for all leave categories (includes vacation, sick, compensatory time used, floating holiday, funeral leave, and personal time off) for those two years, are shown as follows.  total annual average time off per officer or sergeant is 302.44 hours  regular days off total 832 hours  total of average time and regular days off equals 1,134.44 hours  to convert 1,134.44 to 12 hour patrol shifts multiple by a factor of 1.5 which equates to 1701.66 hours Of the 4380 hours needed to staff one patrol unit based upon a 12 hour shift, an officer is available 2678.34 hours (4380 scheduled hours minus 1701.66 hours of time off). The basis of 4380 hours is calculated by multiplying a 365 day year by 24 (8760 hours), then dividing by two (4380 hours for 12 hours increments). To determine how many officers are needed to staff one patrol unit for one year, divide the number of hours needed by the number of hours available McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 9 (4380 divided by 1701.66 hours not working) to determine the availability factor. The availability factor is calculated at 2.57 officers needed to fill one patrol position. Since 5.85 patrol units are required this is multiplied by the availability factor of 2.57 which equates to 15.03 officers. As seen from the calculations, the Farmington Police Department patrol function should be staffed with 15 patrol officers – given 11,704 calls for service averaged from the previous two calendar years. Currently 13 officers are assigned to serve in patrol. Therefore, staffing of this function is calculated as being short by two officers. Consultants next examined the staffing level of the investigative function. This is the second largest component of the sworn personnel, with five, or 20.8% of sworn officers. A Sergeant is assigned to supervise the personnel in this division. Two investigators are assigned to the division. One of the Investigators is designated as full-time, meaning the assignment is permanent, whereas the second Investigator rotates out of the position periodically to patrol. In addition to the two investigators the School Resource Officer and the regional Drug Task Force officer are under the command of the Investigative Sergeant. The School Resource Officer is not assigned cases for follow-up as listed below. This officer keeps the Sergeant informed about activities arising at the high and middle schools. The Drug Task Officer receives assignments through the Dakota County Drug Task Force. Those cases are not counted in the investigations assignments. The Sergeant utilizes “solvability factors” to screen the offenses to assign to investigators for follow-up. Solvability factors include those matters that make it more probable for a case to be solved in which the offender is initially unknown. This would include such items as existence or lack of witnesses, physical evidence, video, etc. If a case lacked factors which would make it more probable for an offender to be identified, then the case was not actively investigated. This allows the investigators to focus their efforts where there is more likelihood to make an arrest or clear the case. The Sergeant also assigns cases to himself for follow-up. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 10 Consultants reviewed cases assigned to investigators for 2015 and 2016. The number total assigned is as follows.  2015: 178  2016: 205  The average number of cases assigned for those two years is 191.5. Over the two year span, each of the three personnel assigned to the investigations function averaged 63.8 cases per year. The cases assigned for the two year period have been assigned the following dispositions for 2015 and 2016 (at the time of data collection).  CLOSED: 202 (52.7%)  CLEARED BY ARREST: 72 (18.7%)  UNFOUNDED: 19 (4.9%)  OUTSIDE AGENCY CASE: 11 (2.8%)  ACTIVE: 38 (9.9%)  CLEARED: 37 (9.6%)  OTHER: 4 (1%) Brief definitions of disposition categories are as follows. CLOSED: The case has been investigated but due to a lack of evidence the offender was not identified or sufficient evidence lacked to bring a charge. CLEARED BY ARREST: The offender has been charged with the offense. UNFOUNDED: The investigation revealed that in fact no criminal offense occurred. OUTSIDE AGENCY CASE: The investigation revealed an offense occurred, but in another jurisdiction. The case was sent to that other agency for investigation. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 11 ACTIVE: The incident is open and actively being investigated. CLEARED: The incident has been resolved without charges being filed. Factors could be an uncooperative victim, uncooperative witnesses, the offender has been identified but the prosecutor has declined charges, or other issues. OTHER: These are very rare incidents that do not fit into the above categories. In examining the School Resource Officer position it was found that in past years there were three officers to cover the high school and two middle schools. This has been reduced to one to cover all the schools. However, the officer primarily serves issues at the high school at this time. The investigation section is currently responsible for property and evidence held by the department. The Sergeant and one Investigator handle these duties. It was reported by the Sergeant that in recent years approximately 461 items of evidence are entered into the system each year. This is also reported as requiring approximately ten hours of total time per week. An evidence audit was conducted by consultants simultaneous to this staffing report. More detailed information in the evidence audit report addresses staffing issues of the evidence function (see McGrath Evidence Audit report). In summar y, the investigative caseload allows the Sergeant and investigator to manage the evidence function at this time. The next section examined was that of Administration, which includes one sworn Administrative Sergeant and three full time civilian administrative support personnel. This section handles all administrative issues related to records management, budget, training records, and citizen front desk walk in issues including processing background checks, fingerprints, various permits, etc. Consultants were advised by the Administrative Sergeant that this section is very timely with all reporting and other functions. Consultants interacted frequently with the civilian staff during our onsite meetings and requested numerous documents. They were able to quickly and efficiently provide us with the data requested. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 12 The final component of the department is the office of the Chief of Police. Six Sergeants report directly to the Chief. The Chief reports directly to the City Administrator. Recommendations: 1. Increase the current authorized number of patrol officers by two and place them in the patrol function. 2. Reduce the number of officers assigned the collateral duties with the Multi-Agency Assistance Group (MAAG). 3. Expand department overtime codes to include, at a minimum, shift coverage and late calls to better understand and track overtime use. ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF NEEDS The Chief of Police is the only exempt sworn position on the department. All police Sergeants are represented by the Law Enforcement Labor Services Sergeants union. All patrol Officers and Investigators are represented by the Law Enforcement Labor Services union. The civilian members of the department are not members of a labor organization. All four patrol Sergeants, the Investigative Sergeant, and the Administrative Sergeant report directly to the Chief of Police. The investigative and patrol Sergeants are primarily involved with operational matters. The Administrative Sergeant assists the Police Chief with support functions. In the absence of the Chief of Police a sergeant is appointed to be temporarily in charge of the department. This is normally done on a rotational basis. During the interview process with employees it was noted that five of the six Sergeants expressed their belief that a layer of supervision between their rank and that of the Chief was needed. Additionally, three patrol Officers also expressed the need for another supervisory rank such as that of a Captain. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 13 When asked during the interviews what improvements to the department would be recommended, the most commonly raised suggestion was that communication within the department be improved, especially from the top down. Ten of the employees interviewed voiced this concern. Over half (14), of employees interviewed expressed the opinion that the department should expand its community outreach/community policing activities. Officers stated that especially in the current difficult climate of policing, forming tighter bonds with the community would be of benefit. There is a concern with the Police Chief being the only non-union member of the sworn force. The Chief does not have a second in command to assist with labor and management issues. In the case of an internal investigation, currently a sergeant would investigate an incident involving a patrol officer or civilian. The results of the internal investigation would then go to the Chief of Police for final disposition. However, in the case of an incident involving a sergeant the Police Chief would investigate the allegation. The Chief would then be in a position to not only be the investigator but also the administrator who would determine the final disposition and if necessary administer discipline. This is not a good practice. The functions of investigation and disposition of internal matters should be separated. Although the administrative Sergeant is able to assist the Chief with some support matters, that Sergeant has other responsibilities that require significant time. The practice of rotating leadership of the department in the absence of the Chief of Police leads to inconsistency and is not a preferred method. Having a police Captain, who is always second in command of the department, would provide consistent leadership. The Chief and Captain would coordinate to ensure that one of the two is always available. Communication is an issue to be considered related to the need for a Captain. As indicated from the comments during the interviews of employees communication is a concern. The Chief conducts meetings every three months for the department. It was described that attendance is required, unless the employee has a valid reason for not attending. It was also found that there is not a daily shift briefing or roll call in patrol. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 14 During the structured employee interviews the question was raised as to how important is the opportunity for job growth in retaining employees. Eleven employees answered that it was very important, ten employees answered it was important, which represents 80.7% of the employees feeling that opportunities for growth were very important or important. By creating the Captain’s position an avenue for advancement is in place for the department Sergeants as well as for officers to then fill the open Sergeant rank. It is recommended that a Captain’s position be added to the organizational chart of the Police Department. The Captain will report directly to the Chief of Police. This position should be an exempt, non-union position. The Captain will have duties including, but not be limited to, internal affairs investigations, assuming command of the department in the absence of the Chief of Police, taking command at major incidents, conducting performance evaluations for assigned personnel, participating in preparing the department’s annual budget and tracking expenditures, serving on boards and committees as assigned by the Chief of Police (to include at a minimum the Multi-Agency Assistance Group (MAAG), the Dakota County Drug Task Force, Electronics Crime Unit, Civil Disturbance Group and Safe and Sober), preparing periodic or special reports, assisting with planning special events as well as on-site supervision, serving as the department public information officer and in that capacity coordinating and preparing media releases and events, coordinating department promotions, hiring, transfers and coordination with Human Resources of the City, maintaining training records and conducting required submittals to the state Police Officers Standards and Training Board (POST), and other assigned duties. On occasion, when necessary, the Captain could provide supervisory duties in the absence of a patrol, investigative, or administrative Sergeant. The Captain’s position should facilitate communication within the department. The Captain can implement a process of regular meetings amongst that position and the Sergeants. Additionally, the Captain should create and implement a regular daily roll call briefing document for patrol. This position could coordinate and ensure a smooth flow of communication within the department. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 15 The Captain’s position could coordinate, expand, and control the department community policing efforts. If the Captain position is instituted, two different organizational charts are shown below, of where the position could be located in the organization. Revised Organizational Chart #1 In this structure the Captain reports directly to the Chief of Police and has command over the operational units of the organization including patrol and investigations. That span of control includes five Sergeants and those under their command. The administrative Sergeant remains reporting directly to the Chief of Police. The advantage to this configuration is that all operational issues are under the command of the Captain. Administrative functions continue to report directly to the Chief of Police. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 16 Revised Organizational Chart #2 In this structure the Captain reports directly to the Chief of Police and has supervisory responsibility over all the department Sergeants and functions. As can be seen from the chart, all communications from the Sergeants flow through the Captain to the Chief of Police. The advantage to this configuration is consistency in chain of command. If the position is approved the department command staff can further determine the best placement of this position. This position should be salaried with an approximate current starting salary of $114,539. This represents the midpoint between the Police Chief’s current salary of $117,362 and the total base salary and overtime amount of the highest-paid Sergeant in 2016 at $111,717. Benefits would of course be a cost in addition to this salary amount. It should be noted, due to compression issues McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 17 with overtime in the Sergeant rank, this recommended salary is approximately 97.5% of the Chief’s salary, and approximately 2.5% above the noted Sergeant’s pay for 2016. Recommendations: 1. Approve the position of Captain. 2. Adopt one of the proposed revised organizational charts. 3. Direct the Captain position to improve internal communication through regular operational meetings with Sergeants. 4. Direct the Captain to create and implement a regular daily roll call briefing document for patrol. FUTURE STAFFING From discussions with Adam Kienberger, community development director, as well as review of the Farmington 2030 comprehensive plan and the Community Profile for Farmington prepared by the Metropolitan Council it is evident that several issues could have an effect on future police staffing. The community is growing because of space and affordability. The City of Farmington has the land capacity to add an additional 10,000 residents, which would be an increase of almost 50%. Also, some additional business development is anticipated. A very large area that could produce residential growth is the Orchards at Fair Hill. There are approximately 1000 acres at that location that could be developed for residential use. At this time, 200 lots are proposed for development on 90 acres. The Winkler development area is in early stages of development with approximately 120 lots planned. Therefore, there is the possibility of 320 residential lots being developed in the next several years. In addition to these two major developments there are a smaller number of lots available, fewer than 100, for residential development in the City. Possible commercial and business development includes a small number of commercial nodes available for development throughout the City as well as on highway Three. A current development underway is a 70 unit senior assisted facility that is under construction at Denmark McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 18 south of St. Michael’s church. This facility will have a memory care component. It is anticipated that it will open in the fall of 2017. Hy-Vee grocery owns a lot on Highway 50 and is considering developing a store there of between 57,000 to 60,000 feet. Assuming the growth described in both residential and business activity occurs, there will be an effect on the police workload. Based on the 2015 population of 22,451 and average call load of 11,704 this equates to slightly over one-half a call for service generated by each Farmington resident per year. Applying that assumption, each additional 1000 residents could generate an additional 500 calls for service per year. Current population of the City is 22,451 with 7657 households (2015 statistics from Metropolitan Council Community Profile). Their forecast population for 2020 is 24,300 with 8500 households. Projection for 2030 is 28,300 with 10,100 households. The average household size in Farmington in 2015 was 2.9 persons. Per these forecasts, the police call load could raise from the current two year average of 11,704 to approximately 12,704 in 2020 (additional 2000 residents generating 1000 additional calls for service). This does not include additional workload from business development. The senior assisted facility is anticipated to generate calls for service as the police officers respond to medical matters. Comparative information was provided by Fire Chief Larsen of the Farmington Fire Department. In the downtown area of Farmington there is currently a three-story 48 unit care facility. In 2016 the fire department responded to 35 calls for service at that location. The Chief further advised that these responses would have only been for significant medical issues. As the police officers will respond to a wider variety of calls, it could be estimated that this facility could generate up to 150 calls per year. The Hy-Vee grocery store will also be a source of additional activity for the police. Statistics from The Eagan Police Department showed 89 calls for service at the new store at 1500 Central Park from September 1st to December 28th. That approximates 267 per year. The Lakeville Hy- Vee, at 16150 Pilot Knob Road, generated 64 calls from June 21st to December 27th, 2016. That approximates 128 per year. Averaging the call load for both stores approximates 198 calls per McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 19 year. Each of these stores is larger, between 90,000 to 95,000 square feet, than the one proposed in Farmington at 57,000 to 60,000 square feet. Applying 63% (the approximate size of the Farmington Hy-Vee compared to Eagan and Lakeville) to their average call load of 267, the Farmington police could anticipate 168 calls per year at the store. Therefore, it is conceivable that the call load will increase in the next several (two to three) years due to the following.  Residential population increase: 1000 calls for service  Senior assisted facility: 150 calls for service  Hy-Vee grocery store: 168 calls for service  Other residential and business growth (assumption of 1.1% increase from 2015 to 2016): 129  TOTAL INCREASE: 1,447 (approximate 12% increase from current call load) It is difficult to predict all activity that will impact future police service and staffing. If the above increases occur, then calls for service could reach 13,151 or more within two to three years. Using the same calculations in the current staffing section, but applying a call load of 13,000, the suggested number of officers required for the patrol function is 17 officers. Currently the number of officers assigned to patrol is 14. Applying the same increase (12%) to investigations would assume annual case load for the unit to increase from 191.5 to 214, and from 63.8 per investigator per year to 71.3. It is not anticipated that these increases require addition staffing in the investigations function. The increased work load will cause additional administrative support. If the Captain position is added to the department, as recommended by consultants, which should be sufficient to cover this increased workload. An associated issue to consider, if new officers are hired, is that of field training. No field training has been conducted since 2010, the last time a new officer was hired. Therefore, the McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 20 department should send officers to a new Field Training Officer (FTO) course prior to bringing the officers on board. Recommendations:  Add four additional patrol officers to the department over the next two to three years (this includes the two recommended immediately). This should be phased in as residential and business growth occurs.  Prior to adding new officers to the department, prepare an updated field training program by sending officers to a Field Officer Training (FTO) course. RETENTION AND TURNOVER As part of the staffing study the City requested insight into the issue of retention of their police officers. Throughout the nation many police agencies are facing severe problems with retaining their officers. In fact, the federal Office of Community Oriented Policing (COPS) commissioned a study by the Rand Corporation to conduct a study and make recommendations. That resulted in the research in brief study entitled “Improving Police Recruitment and Retention”. The retention concerns of other police agencies throughout the country are not faced by the Farmington Police Department. In fact, it is quite the opposite. When officers are hired here, they stay. The last officer hired by the department was on June 22, 2010, almost seven years ago. That officer was laid off due to staff reductions, but reinstated on August 13, 2014. The fact that officers do not leave employment here, in and of itself suggests a very positive working atmosphere. To examine the issue in more detail the consultants individually interviewed every employee of the department (except the Chief of Police) and asked a series of ranked questions as well as some open-ended. Consultants note that Farmington Police staff consistently expressed a general overall high level of satisfaction with the working environment and the agency overall. Farmington staff related McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 21 that they are paid well, trained well, equipped well, and generally treated very well. Several officers related that they are not ‘micromanaged’ and are trusted to make decisions. Additionally, numerous employees mentioned the relationships they have built with their coworkers in Farmington. Employees tended to mention that the department is family oriented. Together, these factors seem to be working to keep employees in Farmington despite the relatively low potential for job growth due to the size of the agency. The twenty-six employees that were interviewed responded to the following questions and ranked their responses as either almost never, occasional, usually, or almost always. Chart #1 Almost never: 3.8% Occasional: 38.4% Usually: 50% Almost always: 7.6% Of the employees interviewed 57.6% responded that the organization almost always or usually encouraged adequate planning and participation. Occasionally or almost never was chosen as a response by 42.2% of the employees. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 22 Chart #2 Almost never: 0% Occasional: 0% Usually: 19.2% Almost always: 80.7% All of the employees interviewed responded that individuals in the organization almost always or usually practice the ethical standards of the organization. No employees felt that ethical standards were not practiced by individuals. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 23 Chart #3 Almost never: 0% Occasional: 0% Usually: 30.7% Almost always: 69.2% All of the employees interviewed responded that throughout the organization there are examples of individuals who act out their commitment to do the right thing. In fact, 69.2% of the respondents stated this happened almost always. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 24 Chart #4 Almost never: 19.2% Occasional: 23% Usually: 50% Almost always: 7.6% Of the employees interviewed 57.6% responded that the organization almost always or usually involves those affected by a decision in the decision-making process. About 40% (40.2%) felt that the organization occasionally or almost never involves those affected in the decision making process. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 25 Chart #5 Almost never: 3.8% Occasional: 7.6% Usually: 46.1% Almost always: 42.3% The large majority of the employees, 88.4%, responded that people and groups in the department trust each other. Only, 11.4% felt that this trust was occasional or almost never. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 26 Chart #6 Almost never: 0% Occasional: 0% Usually: 34.6% Almost always: 65.3% All of the employees interviewed responded that the organization almost always or usually promotes its ethical values. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 27 Chart #7 Almost never: 0% Occasional: 15.3% Usually: 34.6% Almost always: 50% Of the employees interviewed 84.6% responded that the organization almost always or usually treats its’ people fairly. A small number, 15.3%, felt that the organization treated its’ people fairly occasionally. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 28 Chart #8 Almost never: 11.5% Occasional: 30.7% Usually: 38.4% Almost always: 19.2% The question of honesty and openness characterizing relationships within the department received mixed reviews. As can be seen from the responses, the opinions do not represent a consensus, but more resemble a typical bell curve. The most frequent response was usually at 38.4%. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 29 Chart #9 Almost never: 0% Occasional: 7.6% Usually: 42.3% Almost always: 50% Overwhelmingly, 92.3% of the employees responded that the values of individuals on the department are consistent with those of the organization. Only two, 7.6%, felt that this is the case only occasionally. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 30 Chart #10 Almost never: 3.8% Occasional: 30.7% Usually: 23% Almost always: 42.3% The question involving the sense of the organization’s mission received mixed reviews. However, the most frequent answer was almost always at 42.3%. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 31 Chart #11 Almost never: 3.8% Occasional: 19.2% Usually: 30.7% Almost always: 46.1% Slightly over three-fourths’ of the employees, at 76.8%, responded that there is respect for views of others within the department almost always or usually. The rest, 23% felt it occurs occasionally, 19.2%, or almost never at 3.8% McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 32 Chart #12 Almost never: 11.5% Occasional: 30.7% Usually: 38.4% Almost always: 19.2% The question of accountability had mixed results. Almost always and usually received 57.6% of the replies, whereas, occasionally and almost never received 42.2%. The twenty-six employees that were interviewed responded to the following questions and ranked their responses as very important, important, somewhat important, or not important. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 33 Chart #13 Very important: (3) 11.5% Important: (8) 30.7% Somewhat important: (10) 38.4% Not important: (5) 19.2% McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 34 Chart #14 Very important: 53.8% Important: 42.3% Somewhat important: 3.8% Not important: 0% Overwhelmingly the employees rated benefits as very important, or important, with 96.1% responding to those categories. Only one person felt benefits were somewhat important to retention. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 35 Chart #15 Very important: 42.3% Important: 38.4% Somewhat important: 7.6% Not important: 11.5% The majority, 80.7%, felt that opportunities for job growth were very important or important. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 36 Chart #16 Very important: 53.8% Important: 23% Somewhat important: 7.6% Not important: 15.3% Slightly over three-fourths’ of the employees, at 76.8%, responded that the retirement program is very important or important to retaining employees. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 37 Chart #17 Very important: 15.3% Important: 46.1% Somewhat important: 19.2% Not important: 19.2% Recognition of exceptional work was felt to be very important or important to 61.4% of the employees. The categories of somewhat important, and not important, each received 19.2% of the replies. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 38 Chart #18 Very important: 46.1% Important: 26.9% Somewhat important: 26.9% Not important: 0% Training was felt to be very important or important to 73% of the employees. No employees felt training was not important related to retention. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 39 Chart #19 Very important: 42.3% Important: 30.7% Somewhat important: 26.9% Not important: 0% Department equipment was felt to be very important or important to 73% of the employees. No employees felt training was not important related to retention. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 40 Chart #20 Very important: 11.5% Important: 30.7% Somewhat important: 38.4% Not important: 19.2% The department building facility was not important, or somewhat important, to 57.6% of the employees. Very important or important received 42.2% of the replies as related to retention. The responses overwhelmingly describe a working climate and culture favorable to retention. Poor ethical standards, often a reason for employee turnover, are far from a concern. In fact, all employees feel that personnel almost always or usually practice ethical standards of the organization. Similar in nature was the fact that 69% said almost always individuals act out a commitment to do the right thing. Overwhelmingly, 88%, say there is a great deal of trust within the department. It is also clear from the responses that people are treated fairly. Furthermore, over three-fourths’ of employees feel they is respect for views of others. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 41 The majority of employees rated benefits, the retirement program, training, and equipment as very important or important. This seems to imply satisfaction in these areas since retention is so rare. Based on the information from the interview process the department retains its’ employees due to satisfaction with leadership, organizational culture, fair and ethical practices, a sense of “family’, and overall very good working conditions. OTHER ISSUES During the interview process consultants asked additional open-ended questions. The summation of responses to those questions is as follows. Consultants inquired about the department’s relationship with surrounding police agencies. One hundred percent of employees (officers, sergeants, and support staff) indicated that the Farmington Police Department maintains excellent working relationships with surrounding agencies, including municipal, county, and State agencies. Officers related a high level of cooperation with interagency drug task forces and the county-wide SWAT team (MAAG). Several officers pointed out the value of these relationships in terms of mutual aid assistance with calls for service, especially during nighttime hours. Next consultants asked what can the department do to better serve the citizens of the City of Farmington. Fourteen employees expressed the opinion that the department should consider expanding its community outreach/community policing activities. It should be noted that the overall feeling of the employees when asked this question is that the Farmington Police Department does provide a high level of service to its residents. Employees were asked what improvements to the department they would recommend. The most commonly raised suggestion in response to this question was that communication. This issue is addressed in the section on Administrative Staff Needs. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 42 Overall, department staff perceives themselves as having excellent relations with other police agencies, they feel they provide good service to the citizens but could expand community policing activities, and believe internal communication could be improved. There were no prominent negative concerns throughout the department related to external or internal matters. CONCLUSION This staffing study focused on four issues in order to ascertain; (1) is the current level of staffing appropriate, (2) is additional administrative staff needed, (3) what are the future staffing concerns based on projections for population, business activity, and other trends in the City of Farmington, and (4) a review of retention and turnover of employees of the Police Department. Consultants recommend the addition of two additional patrol officers at this time to support the current service load. Also, the department personnel commitment to the Multi-Agency Assistance Group (MAAG) should be reduced to provide more staffing in patrol. To better track staffing needs the department should create additional overtime codes for more detailed tracking of personnel needs. The management of the department should be strengthened by creating the additional position of Police Captain. If the position is adopted the organizational chart should be changed to reflect the new position in the chain-of-command. The Captain should be instructed to improve internal communications as part of the position. In addition to the two officers and Captain position recommended at this time, consultants feel that that an additional two officers should be hired over the next two to three years. This however, is dependent upon the anticipated residential and business growth as described in the report. These positions should be phased in as growth occurs. If hiring of new officers is to be approved, the department needs to prepare by sending some officers to a field training officer (FTO) course. The department needs updated procedures and training as there has not been an officer in the field training program for almost seven years. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 43 Consultants found reasons for the extremely low amount of turnover of employees related to the overall management practices of the department and City. The department is well managed, staff exhibits high levels of ethical standards, employees are treated well and with respect, there is a “family oriented” climate in the department and there are good benefits and working conditions. Consultants found no overall institutional problems. It was found that relationships with other departments are excellent, the staff feel they serve the citizens well and in fact want to increase their community interaction and involvement, and they wish to see improved internal communication for the betterment of the department. Of course, these recommendations must be considered by the City in light of fiscal ability as well as the level of service desired. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 44 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS # Topic Recommendation 1 Current Staffing Increase the current authorized number of patrol officers by two and place them in the patrol function. 2 Current Staffing Reduce the number of officers assigned the collateral duties with the Multi-Agency Assistance Group (MAAG). 3 Current Staffing Expand department overtime codes to include, at a minimum, shift coverage and late calls to better understand and track overtime use. 4 Administrative Staff Needs Approve the position of Captain. 5 Administrative Staff Needs Adopt one of the proposed revised organizational charts. 6 Administrative Staff Needs Direct the Captain position to improve internal communication through regular operational meetings with Sergeants. 8 Administrative Staff Needs Direct the Captain to create and implement a regular daily roll call briefing document for patrol. 9 Future Staffing Add four additional patrol officers to the department over the next two to three years (this includes the two recommended immediately). This should be phased in as residential and business growth occurs. 10 Future Staffing Prior to adding new officers to the department, prepare an updated field training program by sending officers to a Field Officer Training (FTO) course. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 45 APPENDIX A: CONSULTING TEAM MEMBERS Staffing Study Team Members Chief Ronald Moser – Project Manager / Senior Police Consultant Chief Ronald Moser heads the police division of McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. and will serve as the Project Manager. Prior to joining McGrath Consulting, Chief Moser spent 34 years in law enforcement at six municipal agencies, in three states, in vastly different and diverse communities ranging in population from 9,000 to 700,000. At three of those communities he served as Chief of Police. When serving as Chief of Police for 11 years in the Village of Hanover Park, IL, a Chicago suburb, he held the collateral position of Director of Emergency Management. The Village Board subsequently appointed Chief Moser to the position of Village Manager where he served for three years before retiring. Shortly after retiring he was recruited to serve as Interim Chief of Police for the Village of Sugar Grove in Kane County, Illinois. There, he implemented much needed change, and helped the organization become more efficient and realized significant cost savings through scheduling and other changes. Chief Moser was responsible for developing the first strategic plan for a police department, facilitated the accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) of the Hanover Park Police Department, and has served as a CALEA team accreditation member and Team Leader. Thus, he has a wealth of experience in the evaluation of best practices within the police and law enforcement arena. He has been most successful in developing strategies in reducing crime. Chief Moser has been instrumental in developing partnerships with Homeland Security, local and regional law enforcement agencies, including cross jurisdictional responses of Village emergency responders – police, fire, and public works – to local, regional, and state disasters. Through his innovative efforts, the Village saw a 50% reduction in Part One crime. The Village of Hanover Park was recently rated as one of the 100 safest cities in America. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 46 In addition to serving his community, Chief Moser is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (Life member), Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (Life member), DuPage County (IL) Chiefs of Police Association (past President and Life member), North Suburban (IL) Association of Chiefs of Police (Life member), the American Society for Industrial Security, and a former member of the International City Managers Association and Illinois City Managers Association. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at a number of colleges and universities and currently instructs criminal justice courses through Columbia College of Missouri. Chief Moser has a Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and Corrections from the University of Iowa, as well as a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Illinois University. Chief Mark Beckwith – Law Enforcement Consultant Mark Beckwith is the Deputy Chief of Public Safety for Augustana College in Illinois. Prior to joining the campus police for Augustana, he served a distinguished 28-year career with the Milan, Illinois Police Department. At that department, he rose through the ranks to become Chief of Police. He has the collateral duty at Augustana as the Emergency Management Director, and is currently authoring the campus University Operations Plan. Under his leadership, Augustana College was selected as one of nine colleges to participate in the State of Illinois “Ready to Respond Campus” pilot program. Deputy Chief Beckwith, for six years, served as the President of the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System, which provided leadership to the entire state of Illinois Law Enforcement Mutual Aid System. This included oversight and a management of Homeland Security funding for Illinois agencies, as well as administering the coordination of out of state mutual aid response to Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 Republican National Convention, the 2009 G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago. Deputy Chief Beckwith has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration from Western Illinois University, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 47 Sheriff Patrick Perez – Law Enforcement Consultant Sheriff Patrick Perez began his career with the Kane County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office and rose through the ranks of Sergeant, Supervisor of Special Operations, Investigations, and Patrol as well as spending some time in the civil division responsible for foreclosure sales in Kane County. In 2006, and again in 2010 he was elected Sheriff. Under his oversight, to complete evidence audits were conducted. The first was necessitated by the department’s move to a new facility. Therefore, not only was every item of evidence inventoried, they were transported to the new storage area. Later, another complete audit was conducted since the records management system of the department changed. This required each item to be newly entered into the new system. The evidence room under the Sheriff’s command included a lab processing area, several computers and report writing stations, a pass-through evidence storage system, and refrigerated locker. Strict security measures were put in place by the sheriff including video surveillance and controls over employees that had access to the area. Sheriff Perez brings a wide variety of experience in law enforcement from street policing to administration of a County Sheriff’s department of over 300 employees representing 30 divisions. Sheriff Perez enacted several initiatives to professionalize the agency including: mandatory random drug testing, an office of professional standards, major revision of the department’s Standard Operating Procedures, established a crime analyst position, redesigned the website, established a public information officer, and implemented a Citizen’s Police Academy. During his tenure as Sheriff, the operations were relocated, thus increasing jail capacity from 400 to 640 inmates. Thus, he has experience in design and building of a new corrections facility. In 2008, the operations were move to the new St. Charles facility; which entailed the relocation of 511 inmates in one night. The increase in population did not correlate to an increase in staffing, as many alternative staffing methodologies were considered and implemented. Current correction officer staffing is 122 personnel, 35 assigned to court security, and 85 deputies. As Sheriff, he has overall responsibility for a budget approximately $27 million. Sheriff Perez is a graduate of the National Sheriff’s Institute. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 48 Dr. Victoria McGrath – Human Resources Dr. Victoria McGrath has an extensive background in the field of human resources, predominately in the public sector; but also has a number of years in the private sector having worked in health care, banking, and education. In 2012, due to the ability to serve organizations in human resources beyond public safety, McGrath Human Resources Group was formed and Dr. McGrath serves as CEO of this subsidiary organization of McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. She brings over 29 years of experience in all phases of human resources. Her professional experience includes the City of Brookfield, WI, which had in excess of 500 employees, including 5 labor unions; the Elmbrook School District, WI – the 2nd largest school district in Wisconsin, also with 5 labor unions; and Citicorp Banks. Thus, she has dealt with labor/employee relations; policy, procedure and labor compliance; benefits and compensation; recruitment and staff development. As a labor negotiator, Dr. McGrath has represented management while utilizing a consensus style bargaining for a variety of public sector unions. During contract negotiations with the Fire Union, the entire contract was re-written in order to accommodate the first paramedic training center located outside an educational institution. Through her education and experience in both working and consulting in human resources, she has developed an extensive background in analysis and development of compensation systems, overtime analysis and FLSA compliance, labor contract analysis, and development of integrated human resource systems – recruitment, compensation, policies & procedures, and performance management. In addition to the evaluation of all aspects of a department/organization’s personnel systems, she has also worked with department supervisory personnel to ensure efficiency in job responsibilities either within a single department, or across departments within an organization. When called upon, she has then integrated these recommended position changes within the organization’s compensation system. McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 49 In addition to her role as CEO of McGrath Human Resources Group, Dr. McGrath is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University teaching in the Masters of Public Policy. A member of the Society for Human Resource Management, Wisconsin City/County Management Association, International Public Management Association for Human Resources; and World at Work. Dr. McGrath has a Ph.D. in Administrative Leadership from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, a Masters of Management from Cardinal Stritch College, and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Relations/Finance from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and has completed Labor Management Relations Training from the Federal Labor Relations Administration. Deputy Chief Andy Johnson – Law Enforcement Consultant Andy Johnson is a 17-year veteran of the Hanover Park, IL Police Department where he currently holds the rank of Deputy Chief. Johnson serves as the Support Services Deputy Chief, where he is responsible for budgeting, purchasing, training, emergency management, code enforcement, records, internal affairs, CALEA, and also serves as the Department's public information officer. He is the Chair of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police Public Relations Committee, as well as the Chair of the DuPage County Chiefs of Police Association Communications Committee. Additionally, he is the Chair of the Hanover Park Safe Communities America Coalition, which is a community coalition seeking to improve safety throughout the Village of Hanover Park. Johnson has been a blog author for the International Association of Chiefs of Police on the topic of social media implementation and communications strategies. Johnson recently authored a comprehensive analytical report on the Hanover Park Police Department's compliance with the recommendations of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing Report. He holds a master's degree in criminal justice from Columbia College (MO) and is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.