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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2019-73tlte d tyof KENAI, ALASKA 'V"' CI TY OF KENAI RESOLUTION NO. 2019 -73 Sponsored by: Administration A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI , ALASKA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO RECRUIT FOR AND HIRE AN ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICER POSITION BASED ON ANTICIPATED ATIRITION. WHEREAS, the City Council has authorized funding for 13 police officer positions in the annual budget ordinance and has approved a budget in accordance with that number; and, WHEREAS, the Police department has been experiencing high rates of attrition and difficulty recruiting for several years and is anticipating a continuation of that trend with anticipated attrition in the coming year and retirement e ligibilities in the following year(s); and, WHEREAS, the City would benefit from a more stable staffing level in the Police Department provided by recruiting for a 141h officer position in advance of the actual vacancy; and, WHEREAS, there are significant impacts to services provided by the Police Department and to public safety related to the Department being consistently understaffed ; and, WHEREAS, understaffing also e xacerbates the officer retention challenges , including personal leave rece iving increased scrutiny or denial, increased v oluntary and assigned overtime shifts , reduced or denied training, removal of the police officer from the Kenai schools as a school resource officer for the 2019-2020 school year, removal of the officer from the regional drug task force, reduced response time to some calls , more calls where no officer is available at all, and increased scrutiny to close cases where the investigation requirements are disproportionate to resources ; and, WHEREAS, the Police Department is currently recruiting for two vacant positions and one recently filled position is still in training; and , WHEREAS, hiring and training a police officer can take approx imately a full year o r longer from the time a vacancy exists until an individual can be hired , sent to attend a training academy, complete on-the-job field training, and be placed on their own filling an officer shift; and , WHEREAS, the City Administration anticipates that by evaluating the history of attrition , evaluating reasonably anticipated attrition in the future , and evaluating budget lapse that may occur as a result of attrition, that anticipatory hiring can be done largely in line with the approved budget; and , WHEREAS, the last several years have produced budget lapses from the Police Department due to the inability to maint ain staffing; and, Resolution No . 2019-73 Page 2 of 2 WHEREAS , there are some fiscal risks associated with anticipatory recru itment, in that if a period of full employment were to persist it may require additional appropriation, however, the benefits to public safety operations outweigh those risks . NOW , THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI , ALASKA: Section 1. That effective November 6, 2019 , the City Manager is authorized to recruit for and hire one officer position more than is authorized with in the budget based on anticipated attrition . Secti o n 2. That the City Manager, in accordance with his authority to manage personnel program of the City, is authorized to recruit for and hire one officer position more than what is budgeted within the FY2020 budget. Sect ion 3. That this resolution takes effect immediately upon passage. ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI , ALASKA, this 5 th day of November 2019. BRIAN GABRIEL SR., MAYOR ATTEST: 'Viti~ «1/t~ a Pa.f~ Ct'tf «1/t~ a Fa tfl.l"e " 210 Fidalgo Ave , Kena i, Alaska 9961 1-7794 Telephone : (907 ) 283-753 5 I Fa x: (9 0 7 ) 2 8 3-301 4 www.kenai.city MEMORAND UM TO: THROUGH: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Mayor Brian Gabriel and Kenai City Council Paul Ostrander, City Manager David Ross -Police Chief October 23 , 2019 Resolut ion No. 2019-73 -Authorizing the City Manager to Recruit for and Hire an Additional Officer Position For several years now the Police Department has been unable to reach or maintain a status of fully staffed and fully trained . The Police Department and City Administration have been evaluating solutions to the staffing issues at the Police Department over the last couple years , and those efforts are continuing in order to find long term solutions to the problem . Current high rates of attrition, anticipated additional attrition , difficulty recruiting, and related impacts to operations and public service all indicate that we should consider additional steps in the near term . The Police Department has two vacancies at this time that are being recruited for, there is another recent hire attending the police academy, and there is an officer on light duty due to injury. Those circumstances leave 4 positions that are unable to fill police officer shifts at this time . Along with those currently existing issues there is the near term potential for one to three additional vacancies in the coming year. Additionally, within less than three years the remaining 4 employees that are in the PERS Tier 3 retirement system are all eligible for retirement. The impacts due to staffing have included: personal leave receiving increased scrutiny or denial , increased voluntary and assigned overtime shifts, reduced or denied training , removal of the police office r from the Kenai schools as a school resource officer for the 2019-2020 school yea r, removal of the officer from the regional drug task force , reduced response time to some calls, more calls where no officer is available at all , and increased scrutiny to close cases where the investigation requirements are disproportionate to resources . Hiring and training a police officer can take approximately a full year or longer from the time a vacancy exists until an individual can be hired, sent to attend a training academy, and complete on-the-job field training, and be placed on their own filling an officer shift. Page 2 of 2 Resolution No. 2019-73 One of the near term solutions we looked at, is to pre-hire for anticipated attrition based on the consistent recent history of that. The last few years have produced significant budgetary lapse from the police department based on this inability to keep the positions filled . Hiring based on anticipated attrition does, however, carry fiscal risk that a period of staffing above what was budgeted for could exceed the budget and require additional appropriation. Your consideration of this Resolution allowing for hiring an additional officer, based on anticipated attrition , is appreciated .