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Home My WebLink About01/08/2008 07B Minutes 12-05-2007 Council Public Safety Committee ° Y ak "im a C Cour�cil Subcomrri<rlfte� �IVlieetin �.. .... �Y _ J .T. .�. Counci(Pu6Cu Safety Committee 2nd Tfoor Training Rpom 'Yakima'PoCue Legal Center December 5, 2007 MINUTES Council Members Present: Norm Johnson, Susan Whitman Staff Present: Police Chief Sam Granato, Police Lieutenant Gary Belles, Assistant City Attorney Cynthia Martinez, Fire Chief Charlie Hines, Deputy Fire Marshall Ron Melcher, Police Administrative Assistant Terri Greer The meeting was called to order at 2 10 p m Novelty Lighters Ron Melcher provided a report on his community contacts regarding a ban on novelty lighters He contacted 64 retailers, several did not even carry novelty lighters One business owner stated that if one other business was selling them, he would continue to sell them, but if no one else was carrying them, he would not have a problem discontinuing them Only one retailer showed up to the meeting the Ron set up He stated that he did not like the idea of government intrusion into his business, but he would adhere to any ban Most business owners and managers were okay with a voluntary ban Ron has received endorsements for a ban from the Citizens for Safe Yakima Communities and the Yakima County Commissioners Councilman Johnson suggested the intergovernmental committee propose City /County joint legislation Councilwoman Whitman did not want to wait for the County She felt they would follow suit once we adopted our legislation Ron advised he had briefly presented the information to the incoming council members and they did not indicate they would be opposed to such legislation Councilwoman Whitman asked what the time frame for implementation would be The legislation is ready to adopt on December 11, 2007 It does not need a 1St reading Standard implementation would be 60 days after adoption Councilman Johnson asked that it be changed to implementation after 30 days and moved to the full council for consideration The item was moved to the full council Ron S Melcher stated he would make sure the other council members had an opportunity to see the information prior to the 12/11/07 meeting II Prosecutor Case Management System • Cynthia Martinez updated the committee on the acquisition of a case management system for the prosecutor's office The purchase can not be done through a sole source A Request For Proposal will be put out in the next 30 days III Drug Paraphernalia (off agenda item) Cynthia Martinez advised that there are police officers who want to cite shops for selling glass pipes commonly used for smoking drugs One attorney in her office feels the pipes could be legitimately used to smoke tobacco The committee advised to allow the officers to cite the shops and let the judges make the final decision IV Jail /Substation Expansion Lt. Gary Belles presented a list of needs for a proposed substation The suggestion is the same as for the jail expansion, to build for the size and needs for 25 years from now with space for full staffing in the future Councilman Johnson suggested that Clifford Adams from Congdon Orchards be contacted regarding possible property acquisition He suggested having Dick Zais be the contact person Lt. Belles added that if the Yakima Sheriff's Office is interested in sharing space, it would be necessary to incorporate their space needs and their financial contribution to the project. Questions were addressed regarding the number of female inmates and space needed for them Lt. Belles advised that there would not be any female trustees as that is too problematic Councilman Johnson commended Lt. Belles on his work on this project and advised he is doing an excellent job keeping the council informed of the progress Chief Granato advised there is a free training put on by the National Corrections Institute to instruct the decision makers in projects such as our expansion to help direct them He suggested that the members of the Public Safety Committee consider attending this week -long training in Colorado V Police Services Schedule Change Chief Granato advised that he had been approached by the union representatives of the AFSCME union regarding work overloads on staff due to current staffing shortages, causing frustration among the staff Currently, staff works from 8 00 a m to midnight. We are currently down 5 Police Services Specialist I positions, and will lose another Specialist in mid - December We are having to hire overtime to meet minimum staffing levels People are reporting to work sick, and cannot keep up with the data entry, filing and other mandated tasks The Police Department will be changing the operating hours in the Services division to 8 00 a m — 8 00 p m Two shifts will run from 8 00 a m — 4 00 p m , and from noon- 8 00 p m This will provide a 4 hour overlap to complete data entry It will allow the same amount of work to be accomplished with less overtime, will provide for staff coverage during meal breaks, and will keep the Department current with mandated work. AFSCME representatives have signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to the shift change and agreed to waive the two -week requirement to notify of a shift change The 12 hour business day proposed is still longer than what any other agency in Yakima County is providing, and more than most other agencies in the state When staffing levels stabilize, the new shift will be evaluated against the old shift for effectiveness There are concerns among the IAFF employees in 911 that this change could impact their workload The IAFF has not at this time filed a grievance about providing dispatch services to Selah Police, but this change may push them to file a grievance The Legal Department has advised that the only standing for a grievance would be if there was direct and physical harm to the 911 staff as a result of the shift change VI Scheduling of January 2008 Public Safety Committee Meeting Due to the fact that Councilman Johnson will be the only committee member after January 1, 2008 until the Council retreat later in January, the January 2, 2007 Public Safety Meeting will be cancelled VIII Off Agenda Items Chief Granato advised the committee that the arbitrator decided against the City on the random drug testing issue He believes the city manager will pursue a legislative track and have the state legislature push for random drug testing There is currently a confluence of conservative and liberal legislators who support random drug testing for various reasons An online poll conducted by the Yakima Herald Republic showed 60% of citizen support random drug testing for police officers and 24% support testing for all civil service employees Chief Granato also updated the committee on a training session he attended regarding in custody death and excited delirium He will be working on a policy ® to address contacts with subjects experiencing "excited delirium syndrome" and will involve emergency room physicians and ambulance crews in the development. • Chief Granato advised the committee that he has been in correspondence with Buck Taylor from the Yakima Air Terminal regarding some changes in TSA policy regarding reimbursement for airport security officers TSA will no longer reimburse for security officers, only for police officers There has been resistance from the airport board to hire off duty police officers to provide security at the airport, although the YPPA is willing to negotiate a reduced overtime rate In January, Chief Granato plans to implement a Crime Web program, allowing citizens to get notification of criminal activity in their neighborhood, crime statistics, suspect information or information on suspicious vehicles, scams, etc IX. Forensic Laboratory Tour The committee was given a tour of the new forensic lab X. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 3 45 p m The next regularly scheduled meeting will be February 6, 2008 at 2 00 p m in the City Manager's Conference Room , Susan Whitman Public Safety Committee Chair Minutes prepared by Terri Greer