BEVERLY HILLS STAFF REPORT Meeting Date: November21, 2017 To: From: Honorable Mayor & City Council Peter Brown, Labor Negotiator Subject: First Public Meeting on Amendments to the Memoranda of Understanding with the Safety Support and Police Officers Associations INTRODUCTION Several operational changes within the Police Department have resulted in a need for negotiating amendments to the Memoranda of Understanding (MOU s) with the Police Officers Association (POA) and the Safety Support Association. Due to the fact that these changes will amend the MOU s, the approval of these items are required to go through the Labor Negotiations Ordinance process specified in Municipal Code section 2-5. Within the past year, the Police Department has undergone several reorganizations in order to more effectively align services and provide enhanced safety, security, and traffic control to the community. Specifically, in October of 2016, the Parking Enforcement group transitioned from the Public Works Department to the Police Department. Subsequently, the City and the Safety Support Association entered into an agreement regarding the reclassification of Parking Enforcement Officers to Traffic Control Officers in order to provide more flexibility and expanded staffing for traffic control for major construction projects, such as Santa Monica Boulevard reconstruction and the Metro Purple Line expansion. Additionally, in April of 2017, the City Council approved a Crime Impact Team (CIT), which added one Police Sergeant and six Police Officers, and expanded the duties of other police personnel assigned to special tactics and crime suppression. Additionally, the department has expanded the role of the School Liaison Officer to provide additional support to investigate juvenile crimes. Page 1 of5
DISCUSSION In December 2013, the City Council adopted a Labor Negotiations Ordinance which specifies the procedure for adopting or amending a memorandum of understanding between the City and an exclusively recognized employee organization, often referred to as the COIN (Civic Openness in Negotiations) Ordinance, which includes the following provisions: 1. The Lead Negotiator on behalf of the City shall not be an employee of the City 2. A fiscal analysis of the proposed or amended MOU conducted by an independentfirm 3. Adoption of the MOU or Amendment only after the item is agendized at a minimum of two public meetings 4. The MOU or MOU amendment and fiscal analysis posted on the City s website at least 2 weeks before the Council meeting at which the proposed MOU or amendment is considered Based upon operational changes, reorganizations, and additional clarification needed, there are several items that Staff is proposing be amended in the MOU s with the POA and Safety Support Association. This agenda item describes in detail the operational changes made and the corresponding amendments to the MOU s which Council will consider for approval at an upcoming meeting. Crime Impact Team: At the Study Session on April 4th, the City Council approved the provision of a Crime Impact Team, which included the addition of one (1) Police Sergeant and six (6) Police Officers. The April 4th report to Council included staffing recommendations from 7WorksCenter, the firm commissioned to review Police Department staffing levels and complete a comprehensive staffing study. The current MOU provides the authority for one (1) Sergeant and four (4) Officer to be assigned to the Special Tactics Unit (STU). At the time the Crime Impact Team (CIT) was approved, there were one (1) Sergeant and two (2) Officers assigned to STU. These employees will be joined with the recently approved positions to form the Crime Impact Team. As stated in the April 4th staff report, the CIT will have responsibility for crime suppression, special enforcement of ABC crimes, narcotics, DEA Task Force, dignitary protection, investigative follow up on major crimes, warrant development and service, and will also include the SWAT Team. Accordingly, the CIT will have a higher degree of investigatory responsibilities as it compares to a traditional Crime Suppression unit, including developing cases, furthering the investigation, suspect development and potentially interviewing subjects. Additionally, assigned Officers will have responsibility for crime analysis and trend identification. The CIT will be assigned to the newly established Special Investigations Bureau. In relation to the Crime Impact Team, the following MOU amendments to the POA MOU are proposed: Add a special assignment pay type for assignment to the Crime Impact Team at the level of 8.25% of base salary (equivalent to the detective assignment). Page 2 of 5
Sunset the current assignments that will be converted to Crime Impact Team assignments. These include the assignment pay for Special Tactics Unit (STU) of 5.5% (of base salary) and the assignment pay for Crime Suppression Unit (CSU) of $435.11 per month. Youth Services Detail The Police Department has proposed a Youth Services Detail, which will consist of two (2) Detectives assigned to juvenile crimes as well as the provision of an additional School Liaison Officer. This addition of one (1) School Liaison Officer to the existing one (1) School Liaison Officer is consistent with the staffing recommendation from 7WorksCenter. The School Liaison Officers will have the traditional school resource responsibilities including providing education and liaising with the teachers and students. Additionally, the role of the School Liaison Officer (SLO) will be expanded to include investigatory responsibilities, including investigating juvenile crime and crimes against children. The School Liaison Officers will closely assist the detectives in investigations, particularly as it relates to any suspects or victims who are within the school district. In accordance with the requested changes regarding the Youth Services Detail, the following MOU amendments are proposed to the POA MOU: Increase the special assignment pay for School Liaison Officer from $435.11 per month to 8.25% (of base salary), consistent with the assignment pay provided to Detectives. Rotation of Assignments and Assignment Duration In the POA MOU approved in February 2017, the City negotiated the rotation of special assignments for the first time. The final agreement was a compromise in which some of the assignments are rotational and some are non-rotational, and each assignment specifies the number of positions designated as rotational. Additionally, employees already in special assignments were grandfathered into their positions. Specifically, for the above changes to the Crime Impact Team, half of the assignments (one (1) Sergeant and four (4) Officers) will be rotational and the other half (four (4) Officers and one (1) Sergeant) will be non-rotational. The term of each rotational assignment will be three (3) years, with an option for the assignment to be extended for up to seven (7) years in additional one-year increments at the Chief s discretion. Both School Liaison Officer assignments will be rotational, and the assignment term will be the same as for the CIT (three (3) years with a maximum of seven (7) years). Additionally, the rotation of assignments provision of the MOU requires employees to return to patrol for one year before moving into a new assignment. In further discussions regarding the application of this provision, it has been determined that the one-year patrol requirement is only necessary if an employee vacates a special assignment prior to the identified special assignment duration. Removing this requirement will still accomplish the overall goal of promoting rotation within special assignments. Modifications to the special assignment pay and rotation of assignment provisions within the POA MOU are proposed as follows: Page 3 of 5
Modify the patrol requirement following a special assignment to only require one year in patrol in the case an employee does not fulfill his/her assignment term. Specify the number of rotational and non-rotational positions in the SLO and CIT assignments, and the duration of each. Lead Traffic Control Officers: In evaluating the structure and function of the Parking Enforcement group, it was determined that a move to the Police Department and a reclassification of the positions would increase the operational efficiency and revenue potential for parking enforcement. These changes would also expand the City s ability to provide the needed traffic control in support of the major construction projects (including Santa Monica Boulevard and Metro) and improve the alignment, oversight and supervision of the parking enforcement and traffic control personnel. In order to accomplish this realignment, the City has already made several organizational changes, including the reclassification of the existing Parking Enforcement personnel to the existing classification of Traffic Control Officer (TCO), the elimination of vacant positions, and the reorganization of supervisory and management positions. These changes have provided mote flexibility in assigning duties related to parking control, parking enforcement, and traffic mitigation and control to the newly reclassified incumbents. As the reorganization has reduced the number of civilian supervisor positions, the Safety Support Association has an interest in maintaining opportunities for their members to serve in a lead capacity, which aligns with the Police Department s interest in having designated roles performed by a civilian lead position that the Sergeants will oversee. Examples of these duties include leading and training other Traffic Control Officers, scheduling assignments or routes, responding to and resolving escalated customer complaints, conducting field checks related to valet enforcement and issuance of taxi and valet permit exams. Traffic Control Officers assigned as a Lead would receive a 10% assignment increase (of base salary). The current MOU only includes a 6% Special Assignment or Training increase. The Lead TCO assignments will be for one year, with the option for an extension for two additional one-year terms at the Chief s discretion. In relation to the Lead Traffic Control Officer, the following amendments to the Safety Support MOU are proposed: Add a provision regarding the parameters for the Lead Traffic Control Officer assignment, with a corresponding 10% increase. FISCAL IMPACT The budget authority for the Crime Impact Team was approved on April 4th and is included in the current budget. Any additional authority to complete the negotiations for these changes was obtained by the Council in closed session. Page 4 of 5
Per the City s Labor Negotiations Ordinance, the City s costing of the proposed changes are being reviewed by an independent consultant. Additionally, per the Ordinance, the outcome of the fiscal analysis will be posted on the City s website two (2) weeks in advance of the Council Meeting in which the amendments will be considered for adoption. The verified fiscal impact information will be included in the agenda report and presented at the meeting in which the City Council will consider adoption of the MOU amendments. RECOMMENDATION The City s Labor Negotiator seeks input, questions and feedback from the City Council and Public regarding the proposed changes to the Memoranda of Understanding with the Police Officers Association and the Safety Support Association. n Rho ds Approved By Page 5 of S