Tomorrow we will vote on adding 3 Police Officers specifically to work at Mayo Clinic. There are a number of reasons why this is smart, not the least of which is that we see a ton of calls at St. Marys. What makes this deal better is that, while these are City of Rochester Police Officers, Mayo Clinic will be paying the costs. We do something similar to this with Resource Officers in our Public Schools. That said, this is new to me so I had some questions and received some others.
I sent some questions to Chief Franklin on the topic. The answers addressed my concerns and I thought that they were worth sharing as well.
I think the contract covers my concerns but wanted to check on a couple of things.
1) In the event that the program ends I assume that they officers that are union members with vested rights for which the city is responsible.
There is a provision for one hundred twenty (120) day written notice of termination to the other party. While working with Mayo for the last several months we believe that if either party wanted to end the contract we would know in advance of the 120 day written notice and could work together to separate without any negative impact to either Organization. Over the course of the last couple of years, we have been averaging an attrition rate of about 3-4 cops per year. Based on the demographics of RPD’s workforce, I fully expect that this attrition rate will hold steady if not increase. In fact, we currently have 10 job offers extended for a Feb 2020 new recruit academy start. These 10 job offers, do not account for the three Mayo Liaison cops. Thus, if the program was started up and either party wanted to discontinue, I believe, it would not take long for the PD”s attrition rate to catch up, assuming that we were actually fully staffed-which has not happened in my tenure thus far.
2) The $500k seem reasonable for 3 officers, but wanted to check what the typical salary / benefits / allocated overhead is for these officers.
This salary rate actually covers more that 100% of total salary, fringe, medical, etc… this dollar value actually has OT money built into it to cover days off, sick time, vacation, training. In addition, this contract also calls for Mayo paying for the initial uniform and equipment costs and a fully outfitted squad car.
3) Chain of command – all formal direction comes from city policy / command staff correct?
Yes.
They will be supervised by the Community Services Division, much like the School Resource Officers currently are. They will report to a Sergeant, who will have daily contact with the HRO Staff. Additionally Lt. Thompson has recently been reassigned to Community Services. Lt. Thompson has been meeting with Mayo for well over a year to improve our ability to meet community, Department and Mayo needs. This contract is the culmination of that collaborative work and he will remain the project lead, as well as the second line supervisor for HRO staff. He will continue to work with Mayo and it is anticipated he will need to spend additional time on site at Mayo to make sure we work through any issues while this program is in it’s infancy.
4) Would be be comfortable extending this same offer to any other private party wishing to enter into the same agreement?
Yes, we would entertain this model based on the totality of circumstances. In this case, we have done an analysis of calls for service, had multiple discussions with ED staff (assaults and incidents are grossly under reported), and done a comparative analysis of similar programs across the country. Again, we would examine the feasibility and cost/benefit to RPD and the city on a case-by-case basis.
Barring some new information I am likely to support this. Basically this is more & better public services for no additional tax dollars.
Another note was sent that covered similar questions, here that one is:
1. How long will it take to hire 3 more people?
We are currently hiring 10 new Officers in February to fill vacancies, many of which have been open for several months. We will begin a process to hire additional officers in the coming months, both to fill the HRO position, if approved, and account for normal attrition we are anticipation this year. This will take several months. This doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t try to get Officers in place before the 3 new positions are hired. We are currently staffing it with Overtime Paid by Mayo.
2. Who will be supervising these employees? and how?
They will be supervised by the Community Services Division, much like the School Resource Officers currently are. They will report to a Sergeant, who will have daily contact with the HRO Staff. Additionally Lt. Thompson has recently been reassigned to Community Services. Lt. Thompson has been meeting with Mayo for well over a year to improve our ability to meet community, Department and Mayo needs. This contract is the culmination of that collaborative work and he will remain the project lead, as well as the second line supervisor for HRO staff. He will continue to work with Mayo and it is anticipated he will need to spend additional time on site at Mayo to make sure we work through any issues while this program is in it’s infancy.
3. Is there a notice to end this contract?
There is a provision for one hundred twenty (120) day written notice of termination to the other party. While working with Mayo for the last several months we believe that if either party wanted to end the contract we would know in advance of the 120 day written notice and could work together to separate without any negative impact to either Organization.
4. What do we do with the 3 people who are laid off? Who pays the un-employment? Who do they really work for?
Based on current Department demographics, we don’t believe we would have to lay off Staff. We are currently losing about 5 staff members a year and anticipate a similar attrition rate for the next several years as our workforce ages. With our current hiring process and our working relationship with Mayo it is our belief that if the agreement was ended, we would be able to integrate Officers back into our normal staffing as vacancies occur. The City maintains full control over the peace officers it employs and is solely responsible for all employment and administrative functions related to its employees, including, but not limited to, supervision and evaluation, payroll and deductions, maintenance of all required insurance (e.g. workers’ compensation insurance, unemployment insurance, liability insurance), and any labor disputes or grievances.
Tks for the background. Appreciate clarification.