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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/19/2008 04B Minutes 02-06-2008 Council Public Safety Committee ti r iii tti`Co�eairAl c Ffilttee M4106� 6� �x a:� .res...s...a�«..� . k .5s�.x.�.= w -...,. r .-. w- .. -,�::c cf�.m..z.�..a. «... ,..- . -�.r= ...vmw,.rnv- � p s^ - a,.�e"aw..$,rw +w-�.- ..s�:. ,.._....a�J�»� .... _ .r' �"k.`" Council Public Safety Committee City SManager's Conference pom City 7faf February 6, 2008 MINUTES Council Members Present: BiII Lover, David Edler, Rick Ensey (alt.) Staff Present: City Manager Dick Zais, Assistant City Manager Dave Zabel!, Police Chief Sam Granato, Assistant City Attorney Cynthia Martinez, Fire Chief Charlie Hines, Deputy Fire Chief Bob Stewart, Police Administrative Assistant Terri Greer The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m. I. Selection of Committee Chairperson Councilman Lover nominated Councilman Johnson to chair the Public Safety • Committee. Councilman Edler seconded the nomination. The motion passed unanimously. Councilman Edler asked if the Public Safety Committee needed to meet every month. Staff advised that there are generally enough issues that need to be brought before the committee to merit a monthly meeting, but in the event that there is not anything to discuss, the meeting would be cancelled. II. West Valley Fire Department Interlocal Agreement for Automatic Aid Chief Hines briefed the committee on the proposed agreement between the Yakima Fire Department and the West Valley Fire Department to provide automatic aid in an area south of the airport that is in West Valley's jurisdiction (Yakima Fire would respond) and west of 72 " Avenue that is within Yakima Fire's jurisdiction (West Valley Fire would respond to any structure fire). In addition, West Valley Fire would provide fire education at some of the elementary schools located within the city limits. West Valley Fire has already approved this agreement and it is ready to be presented to the full council. The agreement was approved to be forwarded to the full council with the recommendation of the Public. Safety Committee. • Additionally, the EMS committee has had a council member on the committee. Former Council Member Whitman was the representative previously. Councilman Ensey was nominated and selected to sit on the EMS committee. Councilman Edler requested that additional information be brought to the committee regarding what the costs would be to obtain and staff two additional engine units that fire command staff advises are needed. III. Random Drug Testing The issue of Random Drug Testing remains a high priority on the City's legislative agenda. A request has been made to the legislature for a hearing on the issue. If the request is granted, it is expected to be only a courtesy hearing to be able to discuss legalities, testing protocol, procedures, etc. The company that currently provides CDL testing for the City will providea question and answer sheet. Staff feels it is premature to conduct an advisory vote at this time. It would be expensive and could be skewed to make it look like it is only a Yakima issue. A non- scientific poll could be conducted through YPAC, the City website, or could be sent out with utility bills, or a scientific poll could be conducted at an additional expense. Many organizations who would most likely have supported the issue had already set their legislative agendas for the year and could not get random drug testing on their agenda. It is very likely that additional support will come when the next series of legislative agendas are set. Chief Granato had a conversation with the lobbyist for the Fraternal Order of Police, who believe the issue should be a subject of collective bargaining. Chief Granato did not disagree, but asked what remedy was available when the union does not bargain in good faith. The FOP lobbyist could not answer that question. IV. Witness Coordinator Chief Granato would like to explore a partnership with Yakima County to create a witness coordinator position that would notify officers when they are needed to appear in court. This would reduce the amount of time officers and detectives are required to stand by when not needed and therefore would reduce court overtime. Councilman Edler asked if this is something Chief Granato would like to have City Council introduce to the County Commissioners. Chief advised he would like to have that happen. V. Police Policies & Procedures Manual Chief Granato advised that one of the recommendations of the LEMAP report was to have an outside company rewrite the Department's . policies and procedures manual. Lexipol is a company that provides this service and has made a proposal to create a policies and procedures manual for the Yakima Police Department. They have created a generic manual that is applicable to Washington state, and would then tailor it to our agency. Lexipol also provides a training module that verifies the receipt of the manual and any updates and that employees understand what is in the manual. The initial start up cost would be approximately $19,000. It was moved by Councilman Lover and seconded by Councilman Ensey to enter into a professional services agreement with Lexipol to provide VIII. Police Vacancy Update The sergeant and officers have been selected for the Proactive Enforcement Team. They will be transitioned over to the team as new officers come back from academy and are put out on the streets. There will be two officers transitioned to the team by March 1 and the plan is to have the rest transitioned by early June. The Deputy Chief position is being advertised regionally. If we are able to • identify and select a candidate before July 1, we will attempt to bring that person on earlier. The LEMAP report recommended upgrading the Crime Analyst position from a simple data entry clerk to a more specialized position requiring some analytical expertise. The pay scale has been increased to attract candidates with that specialized training, however, we will need to figure out how to budget the additional $20,000 for the upgrade. This position will report directly to the Chief of Police. IX. LEMAP report The LEMAP report was distributed to the committee members for their review. Garry Anderson, LEMAP Coordinator for WASPC, will attend the next meeting. He will be able to address any questions the committee has after reviewing the report. City Manager Zais pointed out that two of the major recommendations in the report are regarding the Crime Analyst position and revamping the Policies and Procedures Manual. X. Committee Carryover Assignments A list of previous committee assignments and priorities was distributed to the committee members for review. Councilman Lover requested a very short update and recommendation on each item be prepared for the next meeting. XI. Adjournment 4110 The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be March 5, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. in the City Manager's Conference Room for review of the LEMAP report with Garry Anderson and review of committee assignments. ice /i — r� David Edler (Acting) Public Safety Committee Chair Minutes prepared by Terri Greer