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<br />7C <br />Staffing requirements will be reexamined when the uses for Courthouse Square are Page 4 <br />announced and that portion of the project opens. <br /> <br />Alternatives <br /> <br />1. Council could elect not to have additional law enforcement personnel downtown <br />during the weekdays. This would save approximately $12,500 in overtime during the <br />first month the theater opens with a total annual savings of $65,000 (the cost of the one <br />thousand overtime hours estimated to police the area during the weekdays). Less <br />activity is expected during the weekdays. However, not dedicating staffing to the area <br />during the opening may result in a delayed police response to a call for service and <br />considerably reduce the crime deterrence effect of a high profile police presence. <br /> <br />2. Weekend coverage could be accomplished with two rather than three officers saving <br />$150,000 annually. Staffing absences are not uncommon, however, and could result in <br />a single officer attending to the area requiring the regular beat officer to leave their <br />designated patrol area to support the downtown officer on most enforcement efforts. <br /> <br />3. Council could direct the Police Department to address the development with existing <br />resources. This would result in the reassignment of officers currently in specialty police <br />positions such as detectives. motorcycle traffic enforcement, Community Coordinating <br />Activities Team (CCAT) Officers as well as Street Crime Suppression Team (SCST) <br />members currently charged with gang abatement. <br /> <br />4. Council could direct the department to police the area relying exclusively on <br />overtime at a cost of $430,000. Overtime expenditures do not include paying additional <br />benefits to employees thereby saving the City approximately $85,000. Reliance solely <br />on overtime, however, has certain drawbacks. On occasion officers fail to fill these <br />volunteer shifts. Unfilled positions would require the regular beat officer to police the <br />area on a call for service basis thereby eliminating the crime prevention benefits of <br />uniformed personnel being present during peak hours. Exclusive use of overtime would <br />also limit continuity of service as each downtown shift could conceivably be staffed with <br />different officers. <br /> <br />Fiscal Impact <br /> <br />The annual cost of three additional police officer positions assigned to work downtown <br />on a full time basis Friday Saturday and Sunday is $450,000. Staffing the detail during <br />the weekdays on an overtime basis as required is expected not to exceed $65.000. The <br />combined cost is $515,000. Adding three Parking Enforcement Officers will increase <br />our casual labor costs by $54,420 each year. The total annual staffing cost of the <br />proposed policing plan is $569,420. The precise cost of a video surveillance system has <br />not been determined but will not exceed $20,000. The combined cost of staffing and <br />equipment is $589,420. <br /> <br />If approved, it may take as long as twelve months to recruit hire and train the three <br />additional officers. The suggested staffing levels will be maintained with overtime as <br />necessary until the positions are filled. Overtime costs will clearly not exceed those of <br />the proposed full time positions, but the precise costs will vary depending on the hire <br />dates of the new employees. <br />