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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/24/1994 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON October 24, 1994 The Work Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on the 24th day of October, 1994 at City Hail with the following Council roll call: William Manning, Mayor Absent Mike Lynch, Mayor Pro-Tem Present Toby Pollard, Councilman Present Kay Hardin, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Absent John Dillard, Councilman Present Lynda Tate, Councilman Absent and with four present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 2. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE VEHICLE TAKE HOME POLICY FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND POSSIBI.E ALTERNATIVES Mayor Pro-tem LynCh said that normaily there is no citizen input during work sessions, but due to the crowd it will be ailowed later in the meeting. Mr. Smith noted that the correct mileage on page 5 of the hand out was 328,500. He said staff had prepared documentation showing the impact of the take home policy versus the fleet policy according to maintenance records and according to information from other cities. Mr. Smith said that the police department had requested 11 vehicles to be purchased in the 1994-95 year and that after discussion and deliberation, council had approved the purchase of 5 new vehicles. Mr. Smith said there had been some problems in the past and noted that in some years no vehicles had been purchased which has caused maintenance to go up on the older vehicles. Mr. Smith said currently the police department is using the fleet policy and only CID and administrative personnel are taking cars home. He said if we continue with the fleet policy we can reduce the fleet in the first year. Mr. Smith then referred to a comparison sheet which takes the projection of vehicles and their use out to the year 2006 based on 4 years usage with a take home policy. He said the benefits of the take home policy outlined in the memorandum are 1) promotion of positive moraie among officers, 2) high visibility promotes security in citizens and is believed to deter crime, 3) quick response from off-duty officers, 4) vehicles last longer, 5) maintenance costs are lower, 6) vehicles are kept cleaner. Mr. Smith said with the fleet policy the number of cars will be reduced by 7 or 8, but the perception of patrol is gone and response times increase by off-duty officers. He did state that most departments are using the fleet policy but that he has found that the take home policy is as good as the public perceives it to be. At this time, Mr. Don Owens, Vehicle Maintenance Superintendent, addressed the council and reminded them that they need to consider keeping the vehicles clean. He said 2 right now, vehicles assigned to one officer are kept clean by that officer. Mr. Owens said if the city stays with the fleet policy, the Vehicle Maintenance will have to take over washing and cleaning the vehicles. He said the City does not have the facilities to handle that function nor enough people to perform that function. Mr. Owens said this will be costly and will present a coordination problem. He said the coordination of getting the vehicles repaired and cleaned will be difficult. Councilman Pollard asked at what mileage level are problems expected to increase and Mr. Owens said cars with anywhere from 80,000 to 100,000 miles will begin to require numerous repairs. Mr. Owens said a record of the odometer reading is kept along with a full history of each car. He said the history is reviewed before beginning work on a vehicle. Councilman Pollard asked if staff could provide a cost history on each vehicle and Mr. Owens said it can be done, although it will have to be done manually. Councilman Pollard asked the average yearly mileage and Mr. Owens said around 25,000. Councilman Pollard said with the take home policy cars might last 3 - 4 years before requiring major repairs. Councilman Lynch noted that maintenance costs go up at about 80,000 but if we stay with the fleet policy, those cars will be removed from service earlier and may be gone before they reach 80,000. Councilman Pollard said if cars run 24,000 miles a year at one shift per day, that is about 75,000 to 80,000 per year for three shifts. Chief Stewart said if the cars are used all 3 shifts, every day of the year, the mileage will accumulate faster than that, noting that with the take home car policy, assigned vehicles are not driven every day of the year. Chief Stewart said if the city goes with the fleet and buys 4 cars every year and there are no major problems and no more personnel are added, the fleet policy will work. The Chief reminded council that with the fleet policy when 2 persons are added, one car will have to be added. Councilman Hardin said the perception of security has been discussed and said that she would rather have an officer actually on patrol. She continued stating that if the officer is assumed to be on patrol, that could give the wrong idea when that officer doesn't respond to an on-sight offense. Councilman Hardin asked what the city needs and does the city need more officers. Chief Stewart said we are maintaining with what we have. The Chief said perception cannot say what all the benefits really are because those benefits can't be documented. He said he believes that marked units deter crime, although that cannot be documented. Chief Stewart said The Colony has less than the national average for officers at less than 1 per thousand. Councilman Hardin asked Chief Stewart who a citizen should call if they live next door to an officer and have a problem. Continuing, she asked if that citizen should call the neighbor or the station. She asked if that officer could respond as a police officer. Chief Stewart said a police officer will always respond when called, whether they are on duty or not. He said depending on the nature of the call, the officer may call the station for the neighbor and ask the station to send an on-duty officer, but they will always help. Chief Stewart said officers are going to respond whether they take a car home or not. Councilman Hardin asked why the officers would not want the take home policy to be a business use only policy. Chief Stewart explained that would reduce the benefit of the vehicle to the officers because some of them would have to buy another vehicle to drive around town. He said that with the take home policy as it has been, the officers can drive 005435 the vehicles in town on personal business and that is a benefit to them. Councilman Hardin said the packet includes TML salary surveys and asked if the salary for The Colony includes ~ the $300.00 benefit from the take home cars. Chief Stewart stated the $300.00 is not in cash, it is the estimated benefit amount from having a take home car. He further explained the salary in the survey is the actual salary and does not include this $300.00. Mr. Smith again explained the benefits of the take home car policy. Councilman Hardin said she does not believe security for the citizens is considered the number one benefit from the take home car policy and that it should be. Chief Stewart said The Colony has always operated with less personnel than the national average and we have a low crime rate. He said there is some reason why we have a lower crime rate and he believes it is due to the take home car policy and the high visibility of those vehicles. Chief Stewart said this system works, it is not broken and asked the council not to break it. Councilman Pollard said he has heard about officers taking cars out of the city on personal use, specifically loading "sack-crete" into the trunk, and that he does not think the city needs to be in that business. Councilman Pollard continued, stating that he believes allowing the officers to drive the vehicles in the city could definitely benefit us, citing the per capita number of officers in The Colony. He said he believes quick response is a very big benefit. Chief Stewart said there is no question about that, stating that people can respond 10 times faster if the vehicle is at their home and went on to say that ff an off-duty officer is in their vehicle, they will respond, no matter what the situation. Councilman Pollard said there are two issues; 1) take home cars and 2) level of personal use allowed. Chief Stewart said he would like to know who had taken a car out .". of the city on personal use, because that has never been allowed. Councilman Pollard said he thinks we need to allow the officers to use the car within the city, and that he thinks the take home car policy can be run with fewer cars than the fleet. Chief Stewart agreed, stating he does not think the fleet policy will ultimately save the city money. He said it might save money the first two years, but overall it will not save money. Councilman Dillard said the Denton Sheriffs Office has a take home policy and they have more officers than we do. He said he has bounced back and forth about what is best, but that he believes with security work (when officers work security at banks, etc.) the car parked in front of the building is a deterrent. Councilman Dillard said the crime rate is low and we have gotten by with less people, but noted that the city will grow and we will have to add more officers. Chief Stewart agreed, stating that at some point, crime will increase, especially with development. Councilman Dillard dted Tulsa, Oklahoma's take home car policy, stating they have over 1000 employees and 600 of them take a car home under a very stringent policy. He said in Tulsa, if the employee drives the car on personal business, they must wear a cap and a badge. Chief Stewart said we will live with whatever the Council decides,but that he believes the department will do better to keep the take home car policy rather than the fleet policy. Coundlman Dillard asked Councilman Pollard to explain his hand out and Councilman Pollard said he did some calculations and the bottom line is that we cannot do worse with the take home car policy and we may do better. Mayor Pro-tem Lynch said during the budget sessions mention was made of lots of -- 4 equipment kept in the car and now the equipment is taken in the house. The Councilman asked if a take home car is "ready to rolU, and can an officer respond. Chief Stewart stated that a take home car is fully equipped for response. Councilman Lynch asked how that differs from a fleet policy and the Chief said the person responding would have to come into the station to get keys and a portable radio. Discussion regarding the shot guns in vehicles. Chief Stewart said some officers use their own shot gun, not all officers want a shot gun in their car and that there is not a shot gun in every car. He said if there is a shot gun in a vehicle it is supposed to be in the trunk. Mr. Smith said his projection for vehicle usage and Councilman Pollard's projections both prove that we will buy less vehicles with the take home car policy than with the fleet policy. He said the common element is reduced response time and that should be the main issue. Mr. Smith said he has had a lot of store and business owners state they like the marked cars in the parking lots. He said he would hate to change the policy at this point and then later have to pay to put it (take home car policy) back in place. Mr. Smith said the city is growing in the perimeter, not the center of town, and the patrol area is expanding, which will add to response time. Mr. Smith asked the council to consider staying with the take home car policy. He noted the costs are not prohibitive to allow personal use within the city and suggested stringent guidelines and better record keeping. Mayor Pro-rem Lynch said the same number of cars will be purchased in the next two years no matter how we decide. He said he has some concern with families being allowed in the cars and said if we stay with the take home car policy families should not be allowed in the vehicles. Mayor Pro-rem Lynch said during the budget sessions, the chief said he would rather have raises for his people than new cars and now that the raises are in place, he is asking for cars also. Mayor Pro-rem Lynch said whatever decision is made, we need to stick with it. He said he thinks we need more officers. He continued, stating there is more information to absorb and said each city has to determine what is best for their particular situation. Mayor Pro-rem Lynch again said he would like to see more officers. Councilman Hardin referred to Mr. Smith's projection of 4-5 year life for vehicles and Mr. Smith said that is an assumption. Councilman Hardin referred to Councilman Pollard's projection of 6 years and asked if that was possible. Chief Stewart said with a vehicle assigned to one person, a vehicle could last that long. Councilman Hardin said she hears complaints that cars are old and that we are not replacing them and asked why we would keep them 6 years. Mr. Smith said staff has presented a program to replace them in 4 - 5 years, not 6. Chief Stewart said he wants to see the city on a program where 4 cars are purchased every year, noting that historically, cars have been replaced every 6 years, but ideally they should be replaced every 4 years. Councilman Pollard said he used 6 years because he thought that would be equal to 2 years in a fleet policy. Chief Stewart said the ideal time to get rid of a vehicle is between 65,000 and 85,000 miles. Councilman Hardin asked if now we are saying to replace vehicles every 3 - 4 years. Chief Stewart said no, that the city needs to get on a program where a certain number of vehicles are purchased each year. Karen Reeves, 4821 Caldwell, said she has been a victim of crime 3 times in the last 6 months and that is a major concern to her. She said she has noticed without being told that fewer police cars are on the street. She said she likes the marked vehicles on the street 5 00543!,:' and in the parking lots. She said the families should be allowed in the cars and noted that taking kids to school in a marked vehicle is a good idea because it seems police cars at schools would help. Ms. Reeves said it appears that even with replacing 4 cars a year, we will still be behind. She said it is not a good idea to do away with the take home car policy. Scott Killiam. 5124 Avery_. said he did not believe taking away the take home car policy would be less a deterrent to crime than leaving it in place. Mr. Killlarn said since the patrol car is gone from his street, the alley has been vandalized twice and his wife is ready to move. Mr. Killiam asked the Council to please keep the take home car policy. An~Ir~w Longo. 4905 Middleton. a 12 year veteran of The Colony Police Department asked the council to keep the take home car policy. Mr. Longo said he cannot address finances, but he can tell them what happens on the street. He said patrol officers rely heavily on back-up and that if an off-duty officer has to come to the station to pick up a car, that back-up response is severely hampered. Mr. Longo said all the patrol officers take care of each other and urged the Council to keep the take home car policy. Bill Bausticker. 5841 Carroll Drive. said the senior citizens feel more secure when they see the cars at the businesses, especially at night. He said whether the officers are on duty or not, they still respond when needed and urged the council to keep the take home car policy. Craie Sloan. 5416 Baker. said you can't place a monetary value on perception and said Councilman Hardin's suggestion to wait and see if something happens is not a good idea and shouldn't be considered. Mr. Sloan referred to Councilman Lynch's statement that this is not the final decision and stated that if it is (the final decision) then the Council should let the marina come in and use the money to buy more cars. Mr. Sloan said the security of the citizens should be top priority and urged the council to keep the take home car policy, noting it is worth it no matter what the cost. Joyce Fulco, 4712 Clover Valley. said she is open to whatever is decided and then asked two questions. 1) When dependents are riding in a police car, does the city insurance cover them? Chief Stewart said officers have to provide their own insurance. Ms. Fulco asked what an officer would do with a child being taken to school if the officer received a call. Chief Stewart said if it was an emergency call, the officer would leave the child at a safe place and respond. Ms. Fulco asked if officers are on duty all the time and if they just stay at home and wait for calls. Chief Stewart said they do not. Ms. Fulco said she thinks if Chief Stewart and Johnny Smith had done their homework to begin with instead of stating at the August 22, 1994 meeting that it was time to do away with the policy, the city would not be torn apart. Mr. Smith stated that Ms. Fulco had mis-quoted him twice and taken what was said out of context. He went on to say that what was really said was the take home car policy cannot be afforded if it means purchasing 11 new vehicle in this budget year. Drucilla Secor, 5212 Hawse. cited 2 examples of immediate response by an off-duty officer and encouraged the Council to keep the take home car policy. Ms. Secor said the council should keep those cars in view, because it is important to the city and to the officer's families. Bill Long9, 5212 Middleton Cir., said in the past few weeks the council has read the pros and cons of this important issue and thanked the council for taking the time to discuss 6 00543 it again. He said he hopes they make the right decision- Mayor Pro-tern Lynch said the decision can't be made tonight, but that the council will review all the information presented. He said the council has to consider the financial aspect, response time and the procedure for personal use. Mayor Pro-tem Lynch said the next regular session is November 7 and the coundl may place it on that agenda for action. He asked the City Manager to refine the information presented. 8:40 p.m. Recess 9:00 p.m. Reconvene 1. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CREATED TO FACILITATE THE FINANCING AND CONSTRUCTION OF A GOLF COURSE ON WYNNEWOOD PENINSUI.~ A. BY-LAWS B. ARTICI.ES OF INCORPORATION C. APPOINTMENTS TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS D. OTHER ITEMS PERTAINING TO THE CORPORATION Mr. Smith said Leroy Grawunder had provided dean copies of the Articles of Incorporation and By-laws for council review. He said the Council needs to give direction tonight regarding appointment of board members. Mr. Smith said he believes all the amendments council requested have been included in these documents and ff the council is satisfied, they will be placed on the November 7 agenda for approval. After a brief discussion, Mayor Pro-tern Lynch directed the City Secretary to set up interviews for those persons interested in serving on the Board for November 1, prior to the scheduled work session. Councilman Dillard said there are two different types of corporations and it appears that the section 4B type corporation is much more attractive and allows much more to be accomplished. With no further business to be addressed Mayor Pro-tern Lynch adjourned the meeting at 9:10 p.m. APPROVED: M~e Lynch, M~yor Pro-tern ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks,TRMC, CMC/AAE 7