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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/25/2004 Work Session . City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2004. The City of Springfield council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, October 25,2004 at 5:32 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Ralston, Lundberg and Woodrow. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. Joint Meeting with the Police Planning Task Force. The Police Planning Task Force (PPTF) continues to meet on a monthly basis with the staff of the Springfield Police Department. The Task Force has worked with the department to advise on policy matters; to support community outreach efforts; to support special projects such as grants, a successful operating levy and a bond measure; and to act as the "eyes and ears" of the department in the various communities represented in Springfield. . Mayor Leiken welcomed the PPTF and invited them to take roll call. PPTF Chair Steve Singleton called roll for the PPTF. Those in attendance were Chair Steve Singleton and members Roxie Cuellar, Diana Garcia, Quentin Hogan, Fred Simmons, and Bruce Webber. Members Chris Pettit, Mark Watson, Donald Moloney and Jeanette Brashnyk were absent. Police Chief Jerry Smith said he appreciates the citizens who serve on the PPTF. It is an opportunity to share information back and forth with members of the community. It is an opportunity for the task force members to understand a little more about what is going on in the Police Department which they can then share with friends and neighbors. It is also an opportunity for the Police Department to hear back from the citizens on the PPTF what they hear going on in their community. The more serious policies the Police Department has in place, such as pursuits, use of force, and K -9 deployment, are shared with the PPTF for their perspective. The Police Department also shares major events that are going on with the Task Force such as homicides, arson and other major investigations so they have a better understanding of what has happened so they can share that with the community. The department updates the PPTF on D.A.R.E. Funding, Animal Control issues, and other programs. The task force members also bring ideas that are used by the Police such as the Bait Car, which is used to catch car thieves. The Police Department and PPTF have discussed the Public Safety Facility Levy and the implementation of that. The PPTF plays an active role in the Police Department Budget Process and the annual public survey. The PPTF was instrumental in creating the Drug and Prostitution Free Zone and the Bicycle Program. . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 25, 2004 Page 2 . Mayor Leiken invited members of the PPTF to speak up at any time with questions or comments. He said the PPTF are the eyes and the ears of the citizenry to the Police Department. Mr. Singleton said the Task Force has been at the forefront of the Political Action Committees (PAC's) for both the successful operating levy which occurred in 2002 as well as the current measure for the Public Safety FacilitylMunicipal Jail. Through their phone surveys, they have received a great deal of support for the current Public Safety Facility measure~ They are confident that this measure will succeed because of the confidence the citizens have in our Police Department. He recognized Roxie Cuellar who has done a great job on both PAC's for the 2002 Levy and the current measure. He also acknowledged his late friend, Sean Wilson, for his great work on the 2002 levy. The passage of the levy in 2002 was a step forward for the Police Department, especially with the addition of the Community Service Officer (CSO) Program. It has had a positive impact already and helps with patrol services, records and in the community. He would love to see the city have enough CSO's geographically located, similar to the beat cops ofthe past, with a face in the neighborhood that is recognizable. The CSO's have taken a huge load off the sworn officers and patrolman. . Mr. Singleton said the goals of the PPTF are to help the department reach out to the growing community. With the growth of the community there will be unique problems. Our current number of police patrolman is very close to that in 1980 and our community has grown in size. The PPTF is excited about the outreach they have made to the Latino community. The last two surveys have been bilingual and the department now has a bilingual domestic violence advocate on staff, funded through the Stop Violence Program. One of the newest members of the PPTF, Diana Garcia, is bilingual. She brings a Latina perspective to the meetings. As a group, the PPTF is also watching development in the community and are concerned about the growth. Growth is good, but with growth there will be unique problems for the Police Department. He discussed some of the development that will impact the Police Department. Their concern is the impact all ofthis will have on public safety. They are grateful to be able to serve this community. Mr. Singleton said when he was first asked to serve on the PPTF, he wanted to be assured it was not a Police Commission. It seems the sole purpose of the Police Commission is to fmd everything wrong with the Police Department. The PPTF spends time finding what's right with the Police Department and functioning in a way to help the department be even more right. He said one of the greatest compliments to the Police Department was evidenced last year when Chief Smith was ill. Mr. Singleton said he really appreciated the fact that the Police Department continued to function well and continued to provide service. It is a strong organization with great support staff. He commended Captain Rick Lewis, Captain Rich Harrison and Senior Management Analyst Mike Harman. This speaks well of the quality of the department. Mr. Singleton said another benefit is that the Police Department goes out of its way with the PPTF to put a face on the Police Department, policies, and plans. There is nothing in the dark, it is brought to light. The Police Department appreciates the input of the PPTF and accepts their ideas. PPTF has been strong advocate ofthe Bicycle Patrol. The purpose of the PPTF is to aid and assist Chief Smith and his department and to bring the citizen element to the Police Department. Those two links provide the city with the seamless kind of service that we have in our Police Department. ~ . Councilor Fitch thanked the PPTF for the time and energy they put forth. She said if the Public Safety Facility passes, a citizen task force would be needed to review the plans. She asked ifthe City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 25,2004 Page 3 . current PPTF members would be willing to serve in that additional role. It will be critical that it be functional, workable, practical and a Springfield facility. Mr. Singleton noted that the PPTF members were nodding in agreement. He discussed the importance to the citizens that the facility is practical and not frivolous. Councilor Ralston asked how many times the bait car had been stolen. Mr. Harman said they have made about half a dozen arrests using the car. It is set up to lock doors and windows and shut off. Councilor Ballew said she appreciated the PPTF members' willingness to serve on citizen task force for the Public Safety Facility if the measure passes. She would also like to have that committee expanded to include others. She said she hopes the PPTF is generating interest to continue the current levies. Mr. Singleton feels that positives breed positives. Once the positive impacts are felt, people will realize this is a great thing. The cost of the Public Safety Facility for each citizen is much less than the cost of one burglary. The PPTF is already looking to the future regarding levies. If the public has a good positive perception of what the law enforcement can do, he is optimistic about the future. Councilor Ballew said when the levy is due to be renewed, there will also be Willamalane and the two serial levies. . Mayor Leiken thanked Mr. Singleton for his comments. The Public Safety Facility/Municipal Jail measure is now the topic of conversation in town. He commented on the radio ad for the measure that was very well done. This has been a very well organized campaign. Mr. Singleton discussed the ~ampaign further and the need for the facility. Councilor Woodrow said Lane County sent a proposal to the city stating that they would lease the city up to 119 beds at the Lane County Jail at a cost of $2.1M. It will be about three years before the city will have its own jail built, staffed and ready to house criminals, should the measure pass. The city would save a large amount of money, about $750,000, by putting offenders in jail now. He thought it may be worthwhile to go back to the county to negotiate getting those beds using the $750,000 the city would save. This would prove to the citizens that the city is going to get tough on crime by putting these criminals away. It would buy credibility for the city, would give the police more opportunity to do their job and would help the courts to start collecting bail and fine money. Lane County's offer was only for two years, at which time the city would also have to pay the county's indirect costs. He said it would be worthwhile to investigate this to see if the city could lock up the criminals now and prove to the citizens that this is a viable, functional police department. Councilor Ballew asked if that offer had Board of Commissioners approval. Councilor Woodrow said it did not have their approval at this point. . Councilor Ballew said $750,000 is ambitious, but she would love to see county take these offenders because it is their job. J City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 25, 2004 Page 4 . Ms. Cuellar said she hoped this wasn't indicating to the community that there was a solution other than the municipal jail. We don't know if this is solution. If it was a temporary solution, it might be great to consider, but she does not want it to be confused as an alternative to the jail. Councilor Ballew asked why the Sheriff only offered it for the two years. Mr. Kelly said the county has proposed a law enforcement levy scheduled for 2006. The Sheriff is hoping that levy passes. If it does, he doesn't want to be committed to one agency to supply jails. If the new Sheriff has new sanctions available beyond intervention and prevention, he wants to be able to use the jail for all citizens in Lane County, not just Springfield. The Sheriff made the $2.1M offer for one year with a nearly thirty percent increase for indirects in the following year, but would not commit to anything beyond that. The city is not sure whether the county would have enough sanctions even with passage of the levy, but the city has not yet had those conversations with the Sheriff and the Commissioners. Mr. Singleton asked ifthe proposal for 2006 was for the Lane County Public Safety District. That is correct. . Mr. Simmons asked if this would sti1lleave the city an opportunity to apply cost factors to those prisoners being held in terms of charging for facility use or offenders contributing to their fair share of room and board with this lease back discussion. This would allow the city and citizens the ability to recapture some of those costs. He asked if there had been a discussion of a day rate. He asked if the number of beds, the day rate and the opportunity to recapture costs was included in the $750,000. Ifwe could do that on a short-term basis and charge and recapture some of the costs, that would follow the spirit of the Springfield voters in terms of offsetting some of those costs. The city might learn what rate of return we could get in terms of the process. There are a lot of complicated numbers in that process and there needs to be assessments of those factors. Mr. Kelly said in looking at staffing costs for Springfield, the city did talk to Sheriff Clements who gave the city an estimate of $2.1M for the first year and about $2.6M the second year. Springfield did an assessment of a one hundred bed municipal jail which was about $1.5M. The city felt that by holding on to our own offenders, the city could recapture some bail money and fmes that would equate to about $500,000-$750,000 with a net cost of approximately $700,00- $900,000 which is far less than the $2.1M Lane County was going to charge. The city is hopeful to go back to the county if there is a yes vote on the Springfield Public Safety Facility to talk to the new Sheriff and the County Commissioners to see if there is a better price for an interim solution. If there were a better price, staff would bring that proposal back to the City Council to see if that was acceptable. Springfield staff would also like to talk to Eugene, Creswell, Coburg and others who may be in need of a municipal jail on an interim basis to see ifthey could share the costs until 2006. Councilor Fitch said voters approved in the last levy hiring Community Service Officers (CSO's) versus Police Officer for certam things. That has proven to be successful. She asked if the same comparison could be used to say that the staff of a municipal jail, which could include non-sworn officers, would be different from that at the Lane County jail, which includes all sworn officers. One of the biggest costs to the city is labor. . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 25, 2004 Page 5 . Chief Smith said the Lane County Sheriff s office uses deputies and Springfield would contemplate using non-sworn officers in a municipal jail at a lesser cost. When the county started to experience cuts in the 1980's, they took road deputies with seniority and had them work the jail and laid off the less senior officers. That is why they have deputies at the jail. Springfield doesn't have any inclination to use sworn officers at the jail so there would be less cost. Councilor Fitch asked if there was any estimate of the cost difference in terms of percentage. Mr. Kelly said the officers need to be certified. That is one of the debates between the city and Lane County. Lane County Sheriffs office has said that through certifying officers as corrections officers, the gap would narrow. Chief Smith said the salaries listed in the State Department of Corrections is much higher. Springfield looked at using the rate for Step II or III Police Officers to be the top step for correction personnel and that is how the rates were calculated. It is about ten percent less at the top end than those at Lane County. Ms. Garcia asked if the figures noted by Councilor Woodrow for the temporary costs for two years reflected costs from the survey done in the past or current information. She asked if those figures were reflective of any increase over time. . Councilor Woodrow said the figures were based on the estimate of what the city would save if we were able to put those offenders in jail and could collect bails and fines. It is just an estimate and that is why the proposition is to take a more detailed look. Ms. Garcia asked if that would only be servicing Springfield residents or would we be facilitating offenders from neighboring communities. Councilor Woodrow said it would only be Springfield utilizing bed space in the Lane County Jail. Councilor Lundberg said more clarification needs to be made regarding comparisons of numbers during that temporary time. The county has to provide more at their facility in terms of health care and other services. She asked what was in their proposal that might be different from what we would have regarding what we would have to do versus what could be negotiated. Mr. Kelly said Lane County Jail is required to take female offenders and offer medical services, but a municipal j'ilil would not. That reflects in higher costs for the county. Councilor Lundberg asked if something temporary was put in place, would the city be running something more like a municipal jail in the county facility or would the city just increase the number of beds which would be run at the county level. She would like clarification on what that would entail. She asked how a Public Safety District would affect Springfield and jail space. There would be a substantial impact to Springfield. There needs to be clarification on those items before going forward. It is an interesting concept. . City Council Candidate Joe Pishioneri said there is disparity between wages earned by the local certified deputies versus Department of Corrections employees. There are up front significant training costs to get them up to certified levels, plus academy. He discussed lateral hires, which City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 25, 2004 Page 6 . would be hiring people already certified and trained which would significantly impact that cost. There would be some limitations with those employees, but that may be what is needed. The top level of Department of Corrections ~mployees is about the same level as Step II or III deputies. There are several county employees with wages equal to that of middle management in the Department of Corrections. Councilor Ralston said he is intrigued by this idea because it makes a lot of sense. He would want to wait to discuss this more until after the election. He has two concerns. He would have to be assured that Lane County would intend to keep the offenders in jail until the city decided to let them go. He would not support anything that would be a revolving door at the cost of $750,000. He doesn't mind taking the amount we could collect in bail money to put into this project. He has no confidence in the county's proposed Public Safety District. Mr. Singleton said he cannot delude himself that Lane County would allow the city to control what goes on in their jail. He agreeably disagreed with Councilor Woodrow's suggestion. It is a matter of control. If the city gets into a business agreement with the county, the city will not be in control. It will be up to Lane County or the District Attorney's Office. He read a public records statement from Alex Gardner, Lane County District Attorney. This letter was given to the City Recorder to be included with the public record. Mr. Singleton said it scares him to think of entering an agreement with any agency that is willing to make crime "mere violations" as stated in the letter. If the county has control, no matter how many beds or how much money the city spends, the county still has the final say who stays in and who is released. Mr. Singleton said that is absolutely unacceptable. . Councilor Woodrow said the Sheriff offered to lease "X" number of beds for "X" number of dollars. Our judge controls the five beds we currently lease. Rather than agreeing to the whole 119 beds, the city could look at what could be saved in fines and penalties and rent that number of beds from the Lane County Jail that our judge controls to incarcerate misdemeanors or felons. Lane County Jail would not have control because we are paying for those beds. He suggested looking at how much the city would save and bring that number to the Sheriff to negotiate. He believes it is worth looking at to see if we could obtain additional jail space based on our courts and judges putting and keeping offenders in the jail through 2006. At that time the city will know how much they will be saving by incarcerating these folks, so council can make a decision on how much money is needed to operate a municipal j ail. He does not want Lane County to be in control of it, or the Lane County Sheriff. Councilor Fitch said it might be a short term option, and something we could consider. There are differences in philosophy about running a jail. People who operate preventative programs have expressed a great deal of interest in Springfield having a jail. They are confident it will improve their success rate with their current programs by having sanctions when offenders fail to fulfill the program requirements. With successful passage of the Public Safety measure, there will be a lot of issues to consider. The city has told the citizens that we will look at the funding of the jail and operations. It will have to be determined how that can happen, what is feasible, what are our options and how can we think outside the box. The city may decide it is good to increase the beds now or put money aside to fund those operations. That is something for a larger discussion if the measure is successful. . Ms. Cuellar said after the election everything should be on the table. The key is that we have told citizens we need more jail space. We shouldn't turn down an interim opportunity to have more jail space if that works out. After the election, the city should sit down with the county and City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 25, 2004 Page 7 . try to find something that would work for Springfield and provide our residents with the advantages we would like to see. She said she doesn't want us to close the door. She doesn't want the citizens to be confused and believe there is an alternative solution to the jail. Councilor Fitch said she agreed with Ms. Cuellar. Everybody in Lane County pays part of their property taxes to fund the operation ofthe County Jail. She said it doesn't seem right for Springfield to pay extra money for the additional five priority hold beds when they already have part of their taxes going to run for that facility. If we increase that amount, it would seem we were asking the citizens to double pay for the jail space and that doesn't make sense. Mayor Leiken asked Chief Smith how many beds the whole county needs. Chief Smith said the number recommended from the 1999 study was 330-600+ beds. Mayor Leiken said he thought the District Attorney's office estimated about 800 were needed now. He said any idea suggested needs three votes from the Lane County Commissioners. Without their votes, there is no agreement. Elected officials will have a responsibility to work with Lane County to insure the Public Safety District is the only item they place on the ballot in 2006. He referred to Councilor Ballew's suggestion to Commissioner Green during their Joint Meeting to stay focused on one issue. Springfield elected officials need to work with the elected officials in Eugene to discuss the issue of Lane County having only one item on the ballot in 2006. If the city were to lease these additional jail beds, county leadership would still consider it theirs. . Councilor Ralston said he would not ask the citizens to come up with more money to pay for the beds the city leases from Lane County. He and Councilor Woodrow are proposing that the money the city would save or collect as bail and fmes would be used to support the additional beds. Councilor Woodrow said the money from bails and fines would be the actual money the city could use. The city would need to determine what that amount would be to know what could be used. If the city makes the Lane County Jail look better, he feels the commissioners would not object. Mr. Simmons said it is good to negotiate that and look for a good solution, but remember the city has a fall back position. He discussed the tent city type of set up that is in Arizona. He feels it would resolve the situation and give the city the positive affect of moving the offenders offthe street, putting them injail, making them pay and giving the sanctions to drug and alcohol offenders. If this type of set up was temporary with a sunset date, it could be effective. He said he was serious about this proposal. Councilor Fitch thanked the PPTF for their work. Councilor Ballew asked if the PPTF,has had an overall presentation of the city's budget. She said an overview may be worthwhile. Mr. Singleton said the PPTF have been careful about approaching council on money measures. The PPTF does not change policies; the City Council has that responsibility. All members of the PPTF ate concerned with Springfield's budget. . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 25, 2004 Page 8 -( . Mayor Leikenthanked the PPTF for their work and the good discussion with council. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:31 pm. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Attest: ~~ Amy So City Rec rder . .