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. " . " - - above the industry standard, and they have been validated by the DMG Report. He agreed with Mr. Heiss that Patrol is clearly the priority. Chief Bolanos said he supported the position of the investigators and Captain Switzer that Investigations - could utilize another investigator. He said out of the volume of calls he receives from the people of Redwood City, traffic is the number one complaint. "Redwood City has four officers now, and the study indicates that another position would bring us up to the high end of the range, and I support that." Chief Bolanos said the Department is actually budgeted at eleven (not twelve as noted in the Report) and an additional 1.75 positions would be needed to reach the recommendation of the Report. City Manager Everett said that adding more Patrol officers would allow them to devote at least 35% of their time to proactive issues in the community, and one of the big issues in the community is traffic. He said, therefore, adding the recommended Patrol officers should have some impact on traffic concerns. Councilman Claire cited the recent sad incident that happened on 18th Avenue last week, and noted that that neighborhood had put together some very good traffic mitigation measures that the Council should look at during budget time. He said most of the 20 calls per day he receives concem traffic, and there are lots of ways to address this serious issue, in addition to more Traffic officers. 4. Public comment; Mayor Hartnett called on those people in the audience who had completed speaker's - cards. Redwood City Police Officer Pettit, 15 year veteran, addressed several of the issues in the Report. He said the three twelve plan was not acceptable to the officers, as they would not see their children for days on end. He spoke in favor of the four ten plan. Officer Pettit described the history of traffic enforcement in the City, and the growth of traffic in general and especially on side streets. Officer Pettit said the data used to compare Redwood City's citations using the TEl was incorrect, due to the inclusion of non-moving violations which make up 40% of the tickets written. Officer Pettit said the employee surveys were incomplete and showed a high level of fÌ'Ustration. He said the organization's commitment to customer service and satisfaction is taken very seriously by the Police Department personnel, and the community's concerns need to be addressed. Officer Pettit said the possible savings by going to other shifts shouldn't be the determining factor of any decision, but customer service and satisfaction should. He said traffic problems have increased, especially in Redwood Shores, and the Department needs help. Officer Pettit said the 35% level of Patrol Officer's proactive time should not be spent with a radar gun, but should be spent playing ball with the kids and helping out in the community. - SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MrNUr!¡ BöOK NO. 55 OCTOBER 13, 1997 MINUTES Page No. 577 PAGE 16