|
Work Session Minutes of the Town of Town Council Chambers Mayor McAlister called the work session to order at Present:
Mayor Ernie McAlister, Mayor Pro Tem Jack Smith, Council Members Marla
Dorrel, Michael Joyce, Julie Robison and Nels Roseland Absent:
Council Member Jennifer Robinson Town Manager Bill Coleman gave a recap of the goals and purposes of the
work sessions (refer to the Copies of the Police Department Police Chief Windy Hunter provided an overview of Police
Department operations. Mr. Roseland asked when during the week animal control
coverage is available. Chief Hunter responded that coverage is available
seven-day a week but not 24 hours a day—the officers work specific hours
during those seven days. Mr. Joyce asked about the status of the dog program. Chief
Hunter stated that research has been completed on the program and meetings
are still ongoing. Mrs. Robison asked if the SPCA budget includes the capital
contribution made by the Town toward the new SPCA building. Chief Hunter
replied no. Mr. Coleman added that only the annual operating budget
contribution is represented. Mrs. Robison asked about the cost controls for the Local
Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) program and if the uncertainty of the
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program will negatively impact
the Town. Chief Hunter answered that although most of the grants were
phased out and the Town agreed to maintain positions. He stated that the
loss of the LLEBG funds is worrisome, but he is certain staff can
coordinate resource issues. The COPS program, where the federal government
pays for a young person’s education for four years, is still in effect.
COPS is similar to an ROTC program and provides a way for a young person
to get into a law enforcement career. Mrs. Robison asked about the Citizens Policy Academy (CPA)
and Citizens Assisting Police (CAP) programs. Chief Hunter stated that the
members of the 16th session of the CPA graduate on November 10th.
He said that the Police Department has had tremendous success with the two
programs; they provide a good way to share with citizens information about
Police Department operations. Mr. Joyce asked about federal funding. Chief Hunter stated
that the department received a laptop grant and federal funding will
continue to be a focus area for the department. Ms. Dorrel asked about the impact of homeland security requirements for
the Town. Chief Hunter stated that homeland security funds are coordinated
through the state and the counties, and that Ms. Dorrel asked about staffing issues and whether
establishing substations is part of the Town’s growth plan. Chief Hunter
responded that those opportunities are regularly explored and that
district offices exist at Crossroads and at Cardinal Woods Apartments.
There is also a temporary use office located at fire station five on
High House. He stated that the department has to meet certain Americans
with Disabilities Act requirements when looking at facilities, whether
they are restricted for Town staff use or open to the public. He said that
staffing issues are reviewed yearly. Ms. Dorrel asked about the department’s five minutes
response time for calls. Chief Hunter replied that the department is
currently able to maintain consistency of patrols even with a more
centralized location. He said that although patrol staffing depends on
varying issues, the Police Department maintains minimum staffing levels in
order to meet response time and other safety issues. Mayor Pro Tem Smith asked about the department’s focus
for crime and traffic. Chief Hunter responded that surveys show that the
largest single issue for community concerns is aggressive driving and
staff will continue to focus on traffic issues as they progress. He said
that citizen’s concerns for armed robberies, burglaries and other crimes
are lower on the list. He stated that cities across the country having
assertive traffic enforcement programs are able to maintain a balance with
other crimes. Mr. Roseland asked about the current status of gang activity in Mr. Roseland asked whether the crime trend line in the Mr. Roseland commended Chief Hunter and Mr. Coleman on the Mayor McAlister asked about the safelight program. Chief
Hunter stated that it is a red light camera enforcement program contracted
through Redflex, a company which has a number of contracts throughout the
country. He said it is too early to measure success of the program,
however at intersections where cameras exist there was an initial spike of
citations, which has since gone down. Chief Hunter stated that data across
the country indicates that intersections covered by cameras have a
decrease in the number of angled collisions—the most dangerous collision
at intersections; and early preliminary indicators are that the program
has a potential for successfully decreasing accident rates in the Town. He
said that education and public information also need to be considered. The
Town does not receive money from the program. State law requires that any
proceeds after the administrative expenses go to the Wake County Public
School System. Fire Department Fire Chief Allan Cain provided an overview of Fire
Department operations. Ms. Dorrel asked about trends with recruitment and
retention. Chief Cain responded that the Fire Department has just
completed an application process where 340 applications were received;
initial screening interviews of about 199 applicants have been completed;
and the department expects to hire 15 people. He said what is hard about
recruitment is selecting the best fit for the Town and the best qualified
person to do the job. The Fire Department’s turnover rate is down to 3
percent, which is the lowest it has been in 10 years, and that helps keep
recruitment and training costs down. The Fire Department is working with
Town staff to attract and retain the best people in the Fire Department. Ms. Dorrel asked what actions have been taken to reduce
turnover. Chief Cain replied that the classification and pay study, which
comes around every four years, has helped, as well as internal
reclassifications to address salary problems. He said that internal
communications and employee input into the management of the department
has also helped, along with having a clean work station with good
dependable equipment. Mr. Roseland asked about effective ways to manage costs and keep them
more in line with some of the other large cities. Chief Cain responded
that the Fire Department already works to manage costs. He said that the
Town’s fire incident and response rate is one-half the average of all of
the other project jurisdictions; when you have an incident rate that is
one-half the average of others, and you still have fixed costs to address
population and property valuation served, it is natural that a higher cost
for service exists. The cost per response measure is the highest in the
project because the Town has an abnormally low number of emergency
incidents. He said when looking at costs in other ways, Mr.
Coleman stated that incident calls are low because the structures in Mayor McAlister added that the cost per population is a
more accurate way to measure efficiency. Mr. Roseland stated that in addition to tax increase
proposals he wants to see some meaningful measures to better manage costs
for the budget next year. Mr. Joyce asked if the service call response objective has
changed from five to seven minutes. Chief Cain responded that the key
performance objective is five minutes for travel time, with the bigger
policy issue being Fire Department response to 90 percent of emergencies
within seven minutes (five minutes travel time, one minute dispatch
processing done by the Police Department, and one minute turnout to get to
the truck and leave the fire station). Mrs. Robison asked about the background and training for
new recruits and whether recruits already have a baseline of training.
Chief Cain responded one or two new recruits may have a baseline of
training, however, all recruits have to be trained to a minimum or basic
level of service for the Town. Mrs. Robison asked if it is common practice for Fire
Departments to independently train their employees. Chief Cain replied
yes, for the most part; however, there is a growing trend to participate
and build regional fire training academies where people interested in fire
service jobs would on their own attend a fire academy to train to the
necessary level for each organization. This would then create an applicant
pool from which organizations can recruit and select. He said that there
are only two or three geographic areas in the state currently
participating in that type of program. Mrs. Robison asked about advantages to in-house training.
Chief Cain said in-house training assures that everyone is trained and
certified to the Town’s level of expectation. He added that the Town has
its own set of operating procedures, which is unique to each Fire
Department organization. Mrs. Robison asked about the cost for apparatus
replacements, the expense for the recent acquisition of a third ladder
truck, and expectations for apparatus replacements from 2007 through 2012.
Chief Cain responded that the cost of the equipped vehicle was a little
over $800,000, although $850,000 had been budgeted. He said that over the
last 10 years an apparatus replacement program has been developed based on
historical use, maintenance, and repair, where new engines have been
identified for front line service after 15 years with a five year reserve
time period. He stated that in any particular year there will be one or
two pieces of equipment ranging from $300,000-$450,000 needing
replacement. Mr. Roseland asked about the different shifts. Chief Cain
stated that the department complies with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
in terms of the number of hours a fire fighter works. He said that the
Town has three shifts with each shift working a 24 hour cycle; each shift
is on 24 hours and then off for 48 hours. On any particular day one shift
is on a four-day break. Ms. Dorrel asked about the relationship between the Fire Department and
the Cary Emergency Medical Services (EMS), to what extent duplication
exists, and the benefits to the public for the duplication. Chief Cain
stated that Cary EMS is a county contracted service that exists upon
subscription service and billing practices. He said that their budget is
about $1 million, 95 percent of which is from Cary EMS generating their
own revenue. Cary EMS operates out of one facility on Mr. Coleman provided background on the Fire
Department/Cary EMS relationship, stating that the Fire Department took on
the additional responsibility of technical rescue services in 1994 when
Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and other
requirements placed a burden on the Cary EMS (known back then as the Cary
Rescue Squad) and they could no longer provide rescue services in the Cary
area. Mr. Coleman stated that a major issue existing each year with the Fire
Department budget is the balance between service and fixed costs. He said
that fixed costs consist primarily of staffing, facilities, and equipment
costs. Last year staff worked to reduce staffing levels resulting in the
elimination of six positions for ladder companies. He said that building
facilities also has a tremendous impact on the budget due to the costs of
the station, equipment, and staffing. Certain performance measures are
used when determining the need to build a fire station, and staff reviews
all of the factors and provides a recommendation for the location and
construction of any additional fire station. Mr. Coleman said that the
Town uses contracted services with outlying fire departments to provide
fire services in those areas where it may be too expensive to add a fire
station; that method will continue to be used to control the fixed costs.
The drivers with regard to fire costs are ISO, NFPA and OSHA standards,
fire incidences and, for the most part, the expectations of the citizens
of Mr. Joyce asked about reducing the staffing levels of a ladder company.
Chief Cain stated that Mayor McAlister thanked the staff who made presentations. Action: At The work session ended at
|