City Council Study Session Agenda and Packet 2011 10 11 SP 2012 BUDGET

Home Browse Search

PAGE TWO SUBJECT: DISCUSSION /DIRECTION - 2012 PROPOSED BUDGET DATE: OCTOBER 11, 2011 At this time the procurement process is undetermined. The facility could be done through a design build or design, bid, build. It is thought the overall schedule for these activities related to initiating construction of the Shops will take 9 to 12 months. It is also noted the project is currently being handled by a management team. No one staff member has the time to devote full -time efforts to this project (CIP Manager O). This has, and will, result in a more extended project timeline. 9) Justification for the additional FTEs(Full Time Equivalent) /hours for Police Officer, 40- hour Permit Tech position to replace 20- hour Administrative Assistant position, additional 11 hours for the Museum Coordinator, a 32 -hour Head Lifeguard position (benefited), which is currently funded by Temporary Part -time allocations with no benefits and a Full -time CIP Manager. Justifications are provided below. Police Officer - In each of the years, 2009 and 2010, the Police Department was reduced one FTE police officer due to decreased municipal revenues and projected General Fund deficits. The elimination of the FTEs resulted from employee attrition, not from lay -offs. For both positions, the Police Department volunteered the reduction in staff in the spirit of cooperative budget balancing, and we discussed without guarantees the expectation that both positions would be reinstated when the City could again add FTEs. Each police officer meant the loss of 40 patrol hours per week. Before the reductions, the City had a lean force, but had some capacity to absorb staffing fluctuations caused by vacations, on -duty injuries, extended FMLA, court, training, etc. When personnel are absent for any reason, the decrease of 80 patrol hours per week has meant there is little ability to attain minimum staffing levels without reassignments, overtime, early call -ins and holding officers over after end of shift. Currently, the Police Department has two officers working part time in non - enforcement duties due to injuries. These types of unavoidable staffing reductions are not exceptional. The Police Department's biggest public safety concern is for the schools, but because of tight scheduling, the three school resource officers are spending less time in the schools because they are handling every day calls for service. The Police Department feels strongly that ultimately reinstating more than one FTE is critical, and that the City should have a plan to bring the department back to full strength, ultimately increasing the number of officers by an additional FTE (in addition to the one proposed in 2012) in the near future. A table is attached that compares Louisville's police staffing to Boulder County municipalities and other Colorado cities of similar populations (Attachment D). Permit Tech Position at 40 hours replacing 20 -hour Administrative Assistant Position — Due to the increase in workload and an anticipated sustained higher building activity, staff is recommending City Council approve a 2012 budget request for the Planning and Building Safety Department to fund a full -time benefited Permit Technician position that would replace the current vacant part-time (20 -hour) Administrative Assistant position. 3