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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996.1119.TCWSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE WORK/STUDY SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL NOVEMBER 19, 1996 A public meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Miles at 6:30 P.M., Tuesday, November 19, 1996, in the Fountain Hills Town Hall Council Chambers, located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd., Building B,Fountain Hills, Arizona. Present were Mayor Jerry Miles, Vice Mayor Don Lawrence, Councilmen Bill O'Brien, Sid Apps, Al Poma, Pen Mower and Councilwoman Marianne Wiggishoff. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Town Clerk Cassie Hansen and Marshal Steve Gendler. AGENDA ITEM #2 - DISCUSSION WITH VISITING POLICE CHIEFS ON THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MUNICIPALLY OPERATED POLICE DEPARTMENTS. Marshal Steve Gendler introduced Werner Wolff from Oro Valley, John Wintersteen from Paradise Valley and Robert Irish from Sedona as the three police chiefs in attendance. Chief Werner Wolff- Town of Oro Valley Chief Wolff, who has 13+years experience with Oro Valley, a 28 square-mile town of 21,763 people, stated he had 40 sworn officers and 23 civilian employees. His full-service police department had the ability to perform every function that a larger city police department could with the exception of lab testing. The lab testing was performed at no charge by the DPS office. He said his 3.25 million dollar budget is largely supplemented by grants($300,000) and membership in a multi-agency county narcotic task force. He pointed out that monies collected through narcotic seizures had been given to his department and used for the $1.2 million police facility as well as furnishing the department's radio room. He said Oro Valley experienced a very low crime rate with a total of 26 burglaries last year, 60% of which were solved. He said with a smaller department, he had a better ability to communicate with the public, had performed pro-active police work, and that he had total control of his department. He explained that his dark house program provided for drive-by inspections by a Posse ten hours per day. The Posse would report suspicious elements to the department by cellular phone and/or radio and the officers would respond accordingly. He said the theft rate was approximately 150 per year, there were no homicides and there were only three armed robberies, all of which were solved. He said the Council had supported his efforts to increase police presence on the streets. He stated six officers worked per shift with overlapping shifts during peak periods of the day and night. Chief John Wintersteen - Town of Paradise Valley Chief Wintersteen said his town contained 16 square miles with 12,500 in population. He stated the 2200 resort rooms accommodated about 3,000 additional people so the actual population figure could reach up to 20,000-21,000 in the winter time. He pointed out similarities to Fountain Hills in that the town also wanted to preserve the desert lifestyle, prohibit street lights and respond to quality of life matters. He said his affluent community wanted aggressive traffic enforcement using photo radar equipment, immediate response to noise and water runoff complaints, and sign control. He stated the Council and residents mandated strict enforcement of the parking area for mountain hikers. He indicated his area had heavy crime incidents because of the changing neighborhoods in locations between the cities of Phoenix and Scottsdale and that the residents had mandated strict enforcement of teens with no tolerance for alcohol and drugs. The Chief said his department responded to requests for controlling scams and credit card fraud issues. He said his title of Town Marshal still remained according to state statutes and included the duties of animal control officer. His department, which consisted of 33 sworn officers and 11 civilians, had a budget of 3.65 million dollars that included replacement of aging equipment and completion of furnishings for the police department. He admitted past significant problems with graffiti, car burglaries, antique furniture scams, and 4'111., Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 11/19/96 Page 1 of 4 burglary rings. According to Chief Wintersteen, his department ran an alarm operation program with 500 customers and had a strong neighborhood watch program. Chief Bob Irish - City of Sedona Chief Irish said he had been the chief for 8 1/2 years and that Sedona had a 9,000 population with three to five million visitors per year. He stated 100-120 thefts per year as well with 50 burglaries were normal for Sedona. He had figured three employees per 1,000 population and used a large amount of volunteers for animal control and code enforcement assistance. He pointed out that upon incorporation in 1988, the Council and citizens were mainly concerned about quality development issues and insufficient police protection. He said his department participated in many programs including a drug task force and that Phoenix DPS had assisted when requested for homicide investigations and lab services. He stated his budget averaged between$915,000 to$1.2 million and that his Council had supported his efforts to provide the staff with complete equipment and clothing needs. He said his department had been required to back up the Sheriff's Department many more times when compared to the number of times they had requested assistance. Vice Mayor Lawrence asked the chiefs what they did to attract and retain quality officers. Chief Wolff said his department required 60 college credits for officer candidates and that the department depended on the maintenance of fringe benefits and adjusted salaries to retain officers. He noted a recent recruitment had resulted in 400 applications being submitted for one job. Chief Wintersteen stated the problem in his department was that there was not much room for upward mobility because his department would not be increasing in the number of police officers. He stated the candidates for police officer were carefully screened, 3+ years experience as an active patrol officer was required and that his department hired persons with rural sheriff experience or a former metro police officer. He said the starting salary of$32,000 was attractive to applicants. Chief Irish stated that since most employees could not afford to live in Sedona and that his department tried to maintain their pay rates in the top one-third of the League salary survey. Vice Mayor Lawrence asked them about their needs for special services and response time from other departments. Chief Wolff stated his department had used bomb squads from the Sheriff's Department and the Tucson Police Department as well as backup from DPS and had experienced a short response time. He said their department has their own SWAT team and canine unit. Chief Wintersteen said his department contracted with the Sheriff's Dept. for forensic lab services and crime scene investigators for$20,000 per year. He said assistance from Scottsdale and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department had been excellent. Chief Irish said helicopters, lab services and bomb squad technicians came from Flagstaff to assist his department. Councilman Apps asked the chiefs if their city had residency requirements for police officers. Both Oro Valley and Paradise Valley had no residency requirements but Chief Irish said his men were required to live close enough to Sedona to provide a 30-minute response time when being called. Councilman Apps asked about the dispatcher setups for each department. Chief Wolff stated there were 11 full time civilian dispatchers in his department and that he had two stations which required a budget of$100,000 per year. Chief Wintersteen said his department had 6 full time dispatchers with one dispatch station and an alternate 911 answering area to enable inactive dispatchers to complete reports and paperwork. He estimated salaries and benefits to cost$175,000 per year. Chief Irish said he had a records supervisor,five dispatchers and a part-time records clerk in his department which cost around $175,000 per year. Marshal Gendler pointed out that money obtained from drug seizure activities was released only to departments who participated in.drug task forces or special investigation teams and based upon the number of work hours spent on cases. Councilman O'Brien asked the chiefs what surprises they had experienced in forming their departments. Chief Irish said he was amazed at the large amounts of trivial complaints. He said he tried to make police jobs interesting enough to keep the officers from becoming bored. Chief Wolff said he rotated jobs on a yearly basis. He stated Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 11/19/96 Page 2 of 4 when the Oro Valley's Council for annexation had been completed, a more officers were required and more money was needed to maintain the same quality of service. Councilman Lawrence asked whether Marshal Gendler's setup costs had been reasonably projected. Chief Wolff said he thought the estimations were reasonable . Chief Irish stated that the Arizona State Police Chiefs Association had assisted him in forming his department. Chief Wintersteen commented that leadership qualities in a police chief could determine the effectiveness of organizing a police department. Councilman Apps asked the chiefs about code enforcement. Chief Wolff said Oro Valley had recently hired a zoning inspector to assist in the enforcement of town codes dealing with signs and building regulations. Chief Wintersteen stated numerous activities in 13 different categories of code enforcement kept his officers busy even though Paradise Valley had a zoning administrator. Chief Irish said his department got assistance from the Community Development Department for enforcement of zoning and building issues. Councilman Poma asked the chiefs if a large evidence room was needed. Chief Wintersteen said a large property room as well as a garage was used by his department for holding evidence. Chief Wolff stated a 2000 square foot room was used as well as a mobile unit for additional storage. Chief Irish said he only had 120 square feet available with an extra storage rental unit. He said additional space in a future building was planned. Councilman Poma asked the chiefs to discuss who they called for assistance for bomb threat situations. Chief Wolff said he had asked DPS, the Sheriff's Department and Tucson P.D. for assistance and considered their response time generally good. Chief Irish said he had used only DPS but that the response time was dependent upon the time of day or night the request was made. Since assistance came from Phoenix or Flagstaff, a response time of 30-40 minutes was normal. Chief Wintersteen said the schools were the only areas of concern for bomb threat matters since the resorts in Paradise Valley were equipped with trained security personnel. Jim Joslin, a new resident,offered his experience in police enforcement services. Nancy Puffer asked if future work sessions of the Council would allow questions from the public. Mayor Miles stated several sessions were being planned and public input would be appreciated. Town Manager Paul Nordin suggested the Council listen to representatives from larger contract cities such as Los Angeles County regarding benefits of continuing as a contract city with the Sheriff's Department. He stated the Town could pay for travel and related experiences. The Council concurred that additional information would be beneficial. AGENDA ITEM #3 - ADJOURNMENT. Councilman Apps MOVED to adjourn the meeting. Councilman Mower SECONDED the motion which CARRIED unanimously. Mayor Miles adjourned the meeting at 8:21 p.m. Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 11/19/96 Page 3 of 4 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS 4009 By: 7les ' ayor A1'I'EST: (1'LLi '-4,6 Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk PREPARED BY: Linda D. Lemm n, Administrative Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 19th day of November, 1996. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 5th day of December, 1996. Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk LMinutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 11/19/96 Page 4 of 4