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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/22/1994 City Council005297 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON August 22, 1994 The Work Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 6:40 p.m. on the 22nd day of August, 1994 at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William Manning, Mayor Absent Mike Lynch, Mayor Pro-Tern Present Toby Pollard, Councilman Present Kay Hardin, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Present John Dillard, Councilman Present Lynda Tare, Councilman Present and with six present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS FOR THE PROPOSED MUNICIPAL BUDGET FY 1994-95 A. POLICE DEPARTMENT Police Chief Bruce Stewart summarized the Capital Expenditures. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the request for 10 police vehicles. Chief Stewart said he has 10 cars which currently have over 100,000 miles. He said vehicles have not been replaced on a regular basis and now there are many in need of replacement. He said they are working on a vehicle replacement plan. The request for 18 protective vests was questioned by Mayor Pro-tern Lynch. He asked if they are all worn. Chief Stewart advised that 18 vests were purchased at the same time and the warranty on them expires this next year, so they will need to be replaced. He went on to say that right now each officer is provided with a vest, but they are not required to wear them at all times, noting that they do have to sign a waiver if they choose not to wear them. Johnny Smith said if we are going to purchase them, then we need to require them to be worn while on patrol. He said administrative personnel would not be required to wear them at all times. Chief Stewart said if the officers are required to wear vests, then a more comfortable style should be purchased. Chief Stewart and Lt. Frank Mills addressed questions regarding the purchase of 2 mountain bikes, stating they will be used for special assignment patrol, such as parks, shopping centers, etc. They advised that this method of patrol has been used in some isolated instances in recent months and has been very well received. With regard to the request for 2 motorcycles, Chief Stewart said these would be used in school zones and other selective traffic enforcement. Lt. Mills advised that the officers assigned to the motorcycles would have to be trained, which at times is offered free of charge. Council requested a cost 2 005293 for training be brought back. Councilman Burchard returned discussion to police vehicles, stating that he is not a big fan of the take home car policy and would vote to do away with it. He asked Chief Stewart and Lt. Mills why we have it and stated that high visibility is not really a good enough reason. Chief Stewart said even if the take home policy is discontinued, we will still need to maintain the current fleet. He went on to say that soon, more officers will have to be hired and there wilt have to be enough vehicles. Lt. Mills said high visibility is very important and noted that marked units are not allowed to leave the city when off-duty which means there are not that many off-duty miles put on those cars. Councilman Burchard said there are too many miles put on the vehicles for non-city business. Chief Stewart said without the take home policy, about 55,000-60,000 miles per year will be put on the patrol vehicles and that when a vehicle has several drivers, the upkeep is not as good as with assigned vehicles. Councilman Burchard said if that is true, then maybe we need to question the professionalism of those officers. Councilman Burchard said that lots of cars are asked for every year and that he sees them being driven all over town on personal business, which he is not sure is beneficial to the city. Mayor Pro-tern Lynch agreed, stating that we have several officers that live ()tAt of town and suggested that this policy might cause friction between those officers who live in town and have a take home car and those who live ()ut of town and do not have a take home car. Mayor Pro-tern Lynch suggested allowing the marked vehicles to be taken home, but not the unmarked since those persons have no need for their vehicle except when on duty. Lt. Mills advised the unmarked cars are used by investigators and the equipment in the vehicle is needed when they respond to call. He said it would delay their response if they had to come to the station to pick up a car when they are called ()tAt. Councilman Burchard asked what cities in the area still have the take home policy and Chief Stewart said there are very many, but he went on to say the most important reason to continue the policy is because the cars last longer. Mr. Smith said there is no reason to conduct a survey of other cities because the situations are different. He said that staff and the council need to decide what is best for The Colony and go with that decision. Mr. Smith said that he thinks it is time to move away from the take home policy ()tAt of necessity. He said the city simply can't afford to replace all the vehicles that need to be replaced at this time. Mr. Smith said he would like to get with Chief Stewart and set up a 3 year program to replace vehicles so that we always have good equipment for our employees. Councilman Pollard questioned how many vehicles are still being paid for and asked if 3 vehicles a year would be sufficient. Chief Stewart said 4 vehicles would be needed each year. Mayor Pro-tern Lynch said he wants to see how these vehicles are used and how they are filtered down. Mr. Smith said the council needs to tell the police department what they can purchase and let them establish how the vehicles are used, going on to say we need to come back to council with a rolling stock requirement that includes vehicles, bikes and motorcycles. Mr. Smith noted that any items on the capital list that are related to the number of vehicles in the fleet will be reviewed and if necessary amended. He als() said he would like 005299 to think about giving the Chief a car allowance instead of a vehicle which would also help in reducing the fleet. Brief discussion regarding the Vide() patrol. Lt. Mills said this is used for evidence, training and other situations, noting they have ()ne old camera currently. Chief Stewart advised that the department had never purchased caps for every officer and that he is requesting to do so this year. Councilman Tate asked if officers would be required to wear them as part of their uniform. Chief Stewart said that could be done and Mr. Smith advised that the 25 caps should not be purchased if they are not going to be part of the required uniform. He said there is no problem with having some on hand for special occasions, but if one is purchased for every officer then they will be required to wear them. Chief Stewart advised the old frisbee golf course would be a good location for the proposed firing range, stating that with proper construction the noise would be minimal. Councilman Burchard asked if it would be open to the public and discussion followed regarding making it available to the public as long as a police employee was present. Mayor Pro-tern Lynch asked the Chief to look into that possibility. 8:20 p.m. Recess 8:40 p.m. Reconvene PERSONNEL REQUESTS Chief Stewart went over his requests for new personnel, noting that if there is a choice this year between new people and pay raises for the current people, that he would rather have the raises. Chief Stewart said that 90% of the time, there are enough people in the department to cover all situations, stating however, that in the near future we will have to add patrol officers to the force. Mayor Pro-tern Lynch said there is no point in looking at the personnel requests if the Chief would rather have raises than people. Councilman Pollard said he wants to see a 3-4 year impact if all these 7 people were added to the department. Johnny Smith asked the Chief to prioritize the personnel requests. Chief Stewart did so as follows:' 2 patrol officers, 1 investigator, 1 clerk, 1 patrol officer LINE ITEMS Councilman Pollard advised that he had done a work sheet on each department using the Consumer Price Index and that the line items track pretty well. He said the Council is getting into too much detail and should only look at large items, not every item. Councilman Pollard said each council member should have the detail book (Master Budget) to help answer questions. Councilman Pollard then questioned increases in the following line items: Worker's Compensation, Uniforms, Clothing Allowance, Education, Training and Travel, Contractual Services, Electric Service, General Insurance, Equipment Rental, Fuel & Lubricants, and Vehicle Maintenance. Councilman Pollard said that in many cases these proposed 1994-95 expenditures are twice what they were in the 1992-93 budget. 4 005800 Chief Stewart and Lt. Mills responded. We have very little control over worker's compensation or general insurance charges. The increase in contractual services is due to the new computer system and the 800 mHz radio system. The department often has money in education and training but runs out of travel money before the end of the year, so this account is being increased to prevent that from happening. The education and training accounts in every department are being increased at the direction of council during the 1993-94 budget process. Vehicle maintenance was increased in anticipation of keeping several of the older vehicles, which do require more maintenance to keep running. Councilman Pollard said the department had done a good job of tracking inflation. ANIMAL CONTROL (HEALTH) Ms. Lee Everest and Chief Stewart responded to questions regarding capital expenditures, projects, line items and personnel. Ms. Everest noted the washer and dryer had been deleted from the capital requests. The other items were discussed very briefly. Councilman Dillard asked about the request for one more person. Ms. Everest advised that it is hard to keep one person in the shelter at all times, when often they have to leave to answer calls. This person would help with cleaning, answering the phones and clerical duties. She said she would like to have the person go through the basic certification course so they could be of more benefit to the department. Ms. Tate said they definitely need a clerk at the shelter because she has heard people complain about not being able to contact anyone at the shelter. With no further business to address, Mayor Pro-rem Lynch adjourned the meeting at 9:55 p.m. APPROVED: Mike LyncfL Mayor Pro-tern ATI'EST: Patti A. Hicks,TRMC City Secretary 5