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Minutes 1994-03-31 . . MINUTES JOINT MEETING ARROYO GRANDE AND GROVER BEACH CITY COUNCILS THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1994 SOUTH COUNTY REGIONAL CENTER 800 WEST BRANCH STREET, ARROYO GRANDE, CALIFORNIA The City Councils of the cities of Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach met at 7:00 P.M. to answer questions and receive input from the public Qn the Feasibility study for Consolidation of Police Services. Arroyo Grande Mayor Matthew Peter Gallagher, III, presided. 1. FLAG SALUTE Mayor Gallagher led the Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag. 2. ROLL CALL Also present were Mayor Fred Munroe of Grover Beach and Council Members Drew Brandy, Bernard Burke and James Souza, Arroyo Grande, and Ron Arnoldsen, Lowell Forister, Henry E. "Gene" Gates and Peter Keith, Grover Beach. Staff members present were City Administrator Penelope CUlbreth-Graft, DPA, Grover Beach; City Manager Chris Christiansen, Arroyo Grande: Finance Director Brian Johnson, Grover Beach: Police Chief David L. Brown, Grover Beach: Police Chief Rick TerBorch, Arroyo Grande, and City Clerk Nancy Davis, Arroyo Grande. 3. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. 4. WORKSHOP - JOINT FEASIBILITY STUDY OF POLICE CONSOLIDATION Mayor Gallagher said there was another public meeting on the proposed consolidation of the police departments on March 23, 1994, in Grover Beach, and this meeting was for the citizens of Arroyo Grande. He said the feasibility study was researched and compiled by staff members of the two cities and no outside consultant was paid to work on it. Mr. Christiansen said the studies were available for reading at the two City Halls and the library, and the cost of the report is $10.00. Mr. Christiansen, Chief Brown, Chief TerBorch and Dr. Culbreth-Graft reviewed the consolidation study, including Factors Supporting Consolidation, Shared Services Concept, the organizational Model, Financial Analysis and the Transition Management Plan. Mr. Christiansen said the two Councils had directed that the study objectives should be: 1. Maximum use of resources to maintain and, when possible, enhance law enforcement and related services to both communities: 2. Twenty-four hour per day, seven day per week dedicated field supervision, and 3. Maximum cost effectiveness of law enforcement operations by the elimination of duplicate administrative and support services. Dr. Culbreth-Graft said the conclusion of the study was that the consolidation is feasible. She the councils' objectives can be met. She said the Memorandum of Understanding with the employee group cannot be negotiated without the formalization of the consolidated agency being created first, but it is not anticipated that personnel costs will vary significantly from what has been estimated in the study budget. She quoted Mr. Christiansen as saying that it is time for governmental operations to change. She said the police consolidation is a way to do a better job for less money. 1 i , . 257 JOINT CITY COUNCILS MEETING MINUTES MARCH 31, 1994 Mayor Gallagher opened the meeting to the public, and speakers included TIM QUIGGLE, Arroyo Grande Economic Development Committee and Chamber of Commerce: DICK FRANKS, Arroyo Grande Traffic commission chairman: BARRY BRIDGE, Arroyo Grande Police Officers Association president: TONY OREFICE, Arroyo Grande Architectural Review Committee chairman: HEATHER JENSEN, Arroyo Grande Cham~er of Commerce executive director: DR. ROBERT REED, Grover Beach: VANESSA CAMPBELL, Arroyo Grande Police Department investigator: the REV. RANDY QUIMETTE, Arroyo Grande Fire Department chaplain and pastor of st. John's Lutheran Church, Grover Beach, and ARTHUR PERLE, Arroyo Grande. Mr. Quiggle, Mr. Franks, Mr. orefice, Ms. Jensen and Reverend Quimette all said they supported the police consolidation. Officer Bridge said the Police Officers Association had agreed in concept to the proposed consolidation, but the group had some concerns about how and when details such as salary and benefits could be worked out in an MOU. He asked what would happen to the MOU if the consolidated department dissolved, and about whether Proposition 172 monies would go to the consolidated department or the cities. Mr. Johnson said Proposition 172 money is for police and fire safety and goes to the cities. He said legally it would not be available to a joint powers (consolidated police) authority. Mr. Christiansen referred to the question of the consolidated department dissolving, and said an asset allocation would have to be made before a JPA was set up. He said he could not answer at this time questions regarding salary increases in the future or any retroactive compensation for Arroyo Grande Police. Dr. Culbreth-Graft said the figures in the study's MOU were not "gospel," but were based on what the committee thought would be common ground. Mayor Munroe said a two-stage joint powers agreement is being proposed, and the provisional agreement would have to be approved before MOU negotiations could begin. Officer Campbell said she saw a great potential for the consolidation, but asked how budget savings could be shown in the study when the MOU had not been negotiated. Dr. Culbreth-Graft said the figures are accurate and were costed-out on an employee by employee basis. She said it was not possible to correctly figure some costs like PERS and insurance. She said the numbers are conservative. Dr. Reed said crime is increasing because of population increases, and that four new officers would not change the crime rate. He said each city has different police needs and asked where the new officers would go. He asked if police on bicycles and horse patrols would be considered. Mr. Perle requested that the Councils look at what the city of Lakewood is doing in contracting out for police services. He ~- gave the Councils copies of a report on Lakewood describing how it is a "contract" city. When no one further came forward to speak, Mayor Gallagher closed the hearing to the floor. Chief TerBorch responded to statements by Dr. Reed, and said increased staffing would allow the police to respond to the increased work load and thereby make it tougher on crime. He said with regard to the cities having different police needs, trends that occur can be identified and solving the problem of different needs has to do with workload not geography. 2 j . . 258 JOINT CITY COUNCILS MEETING MINUTES MARCH 31, 1994 Chief Brown said if there are unique programs that a city wanted to address, that city would have to pay for it. He said that hiring four more officers for the consolidated department would not necessarily reduce crime, but would keep the police from falling farther behind. Mayor ~onroe said contracting with the County Sheriff's Department for police services would not be an acceptable alternative. He said he had heard complaints about responsiveness and about officers not knowing the territory. Council Member Souza asked if the employee contract could be settled before the JPA is formed, and Mr. Christiansen said there would be a temporary JPA that would allow negotiations after which the permanent JPA would be agreed upon. Council Member Souza asked for more information on what the temporary JPA would entail. Council Member Keith and the two Mayors discussed the purpose of this meeting, and the Mayors said they understood that this was a meeting to interpret the consolidation document, and that further public hearings would take place when the individual Councils met. Council Member Keith said the public might want to hear how the Council Members felt, but he would accept the Mayors views as long as the Councils agendize the consolidation and discuss it. council Member Gates referred to Page 5 of the JPA model and asked who would be hiring the police chief. Mr. Christiansen said that would be decided by the Councils. Council Member Gates referred to Page 5, Appendix 4 and said there would be some increase in fees to Grover Beach business people and some individuals. Council Member Arnoldsen he was not in favor of the consolidation at this point. He said there were too many inaccuracies in the study and the notices that were given. Council Member Burke said he was concerned about stalemates with there being two Council Members from each city on the board. He said it might be difficult to get the JPA moving. He said he would like to see some assurance that the labor contract was worked out before going forward. He questioned the figures in the study and the actual savings to the cities. Mr. Christiansen said the figures were the most accurate the committee could come up with, and that if massive changes take place, those changes also would affect the organizations as they exist today. Council Member Burke said, with regard to capital asset valuation and transfer, the public needs to know what each city puts into the consolidation. Council Member Keith questioned the high costs of consolidation and said it would cost $500,000.00 to put four additional officers on the street. He said he did not want to see another bureaucracy develope and twice remove the police, through consolidation, from the grass roots citizens who want protection. He said more community spirit is exercised by having police officers who are directly answerable to their city councils. He suggested that the study could be looked at later for possible consolidation in the future. There was a discussion about start-up costs and cash flow as listed on Page 55, Appendix E. Council Member Keith said the repayment of start-up costs would not be coming back to the city for a long time unless there was a savings of two percent a year. Mr. Johnson said that was correct, but a new business has to have 3 j~ . 259 JOINT CITY COUNCILS MEETING MINUTES MARCH 31, 1994 start-up funds and repayment would take at least five years. He said what is envisioned is that the cities' general funds would advance cash flow for one month's worth of expenses to run the agency. Mayor Munroe said this is not a new expense for the cities, it is just ~he amount of cash flow needed to run a police department, or a loan from the cities to the agency. Mr. Johnson said the loan would impact Grover Beach, but the City could manage and deal with it. Dr. Culbreth-Graft said the money is for payroll and right now the city does not spend its payroll money for other things. She said it would be the same for the JPA. She said there are a lot of ways to set up the cash flow, and the cities would have to seek legal advice on it. She said the committee did not see it as a drain on either city, but that it would have to be managed very carefully and capital payments would have to be timed around when cash flow comes in. Council Member Gates said the two city councils had not been together in 18 years, and he had enjoyed the good spirit of cooperation. Mayor Gallagher thanked the staff for producing a quality report. He said this is a significant issue in both communities, and the report is a strategy to deliver a series of benefits to both cities. He said it would provide a police presence that the cities are currently not able to provide. He said other cities in California have requested the document as source material. He expressed appreciation to Chiefs Brown and TerBorch, city Administrator Culbreth-Graft, City Manager Christiansen and Finance Director Johnson. 5. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. 6. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Arnoldsen/Burke, passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at .( ATTEST: ~ a. ~ NANCY A. DAVIS, CITY CLERK 4 I