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Meet and Confer Minutes - 07/30/2008 MEET AND CONFER CITY OF WICHITA FALLS & WICHITA FALLS POLICE OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION JULY 30, 2008 PRESENT: Darron J. Leiker, City Manager § Julia Vasquez, First Assistant City Attorney § Dennis Bachman, Police Chief § Gerald Todd, Deputy Chief § Jim Dockery, Asst. City Manager/CFO § City Administration Matt Benoit, Assistant City Manager § Tammy Guerra, Human Resources Manager/ § Civil Service Director § R. Kinley Hegglund, Jr., § Senior Assistant City Attorney § Linda Merrill, Recording Secretary § Kevin Folmar, Officer § Larry Hogan, Officer § Wichita Falls Mike Wheat, Jr., Officer § Police Officers' Association Dale Rosdahl, Officer § Dwight Tiller, Sr. Field Representative § CLEAT I. CALL TO ORDER. Darron Leiker called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. II. CITY MEET AND CONFER DISCUSSIONS WITH THE WICHITA FALLS POLICE OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION, AS AUTHORIZED BY CHAPTER 142 OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. . Follow-Up on Previous Discussions Held During March 2008 Meeting Officer Mike Wheat asked if City staff had questions on any of the topics discussed at the last meeting. Mr. Leiker had no questions. The discussions regarding the budget still apply. He will submit a draft budget to the City Council on August 12, and budget hearings will begin the following week. Nothing is yet set in stone. Officer Wheat asked if any items had been cut. Mr. Leiker said no decisions had been made. He reiterated that it will be a tough budget year. MEET & CONFER—CWF & WFPOA JULY 30, 2008 2 . Association Dues/Leave Three Levels of Membership Dues Officer Wheat said the Association is presenting non-economic, low-impact type suggestions at today's meeting. The Association had previously approached the Finance department with the proposal to allow for levels of membership to the Association, with the dues payments handled through payroll deduction (as is the current practice for the single level of membership to the local association' and to CLEAT2). The Association wants to offer its members increased benefits at higher levels of membership. This would be voluntary. Finance was not interested in performing this function. If this is not allowed through payroll deduction, the option is to go to a bill payer, or make a trip to the credit union. Mr. Leiker asked what benefits are proposed. Officer Wheat said they are still in the discussion phase. As an example, Fort Worth's Level 2 membership provides its members discounts on cell phones. Chief Bachman asked if he is proposing that the City show three different deductions on the pay stub, or if it could be grouped into one line item deduction. Officer Wheat said one deduction would be fine, but Finance could best answer this query. Mr. Leiker noted the concern would be administrative headaches, with too many selections to oversee. Staff will give this idea some thought. Officer Wheat commended the City for the seamless transition between payroll employees, Rosie Nauman and Jenny Barton. He noted that Ms. Barton is easily able to modify the database when there are changes in membership dues. Julia Vasquez asked how often current members would be allowed to move between membership levels. Officer Wheat said perhaps once a quarter, or once a year. In his experience, members do not typically change enrollments, unless there is an economic change, or they get disgruntled about something. Jim Dockery noted that City employees are allowed to change benefit status only once a year, unless there is a life change. It would be administratively burdensome to allow for frequent changes. Officer What agreed, adding that whatever administrative issues the City staff would face, he would also face (as the Association's secretary/treasurer). Association Business Leave Association board members travel to various training events, State Board meetings, and Texas legislative functions on their own time. This recommendation is a voluntary (and revocable) program, whereby Association members could donate time to an Association "leave bank" for use by the board members to attend these functions, 1 $9.23 per pay period 2 $13.23 per pay period MEET & CONFER—CWF & WFPOA JULY 30, 2008 3 so that they do not have to use their personal time. Donations would be made annually, preferably at the beginning of the fiscal year, with a four-hour minimum donation (drawn from members' sick leave, vacation, or alternative time). If all Association members donated the minimum four hours per year, it would accrue to 640 hours available for members to attend Association-related events. The Association President would make application to the Chief of Police to use such leave. Requests would be granted except in cases of emergency, or if the granting of the leave would impair the operation of the department or the welfare of the citizens. The Association would supply the City with the names of the members (updated quarterly) who would be authorized to use the leave in this bank. This bank would allow more opportunity for Association members to attend meetings and/or training without having to sacrifice their personal time in order to do so. Mr. Dockery stated the request is similar to the City's current sick leave pool policy. Officer Wheat agreed, adding that only Association members would be able to donate to this bank. Ms. Vasquez asked who would decide who would be provided the time, and how much time they would be provided. Officer Wheat said the Chief would decide whether the officers would be allowed to use the time. Mr. Leiker said he would give the matter some thought. He asked Chief Bachman if he had any initial thoughts on the program. Chief Bachman said he did not. . Administration Administration Days Off for Third-Shift Officers Officer Wheat noted that Sgt. Wiggins, third shift supervisor, had a conflict with the rescheduling of today's meeting. Officer Larry Hogan would present this item in his absence. Officer Hogan said that, when a third shift officer gets off work, but has to attend training that morning, he is not allowed any opportunity for sleep. As such, it is harder to pay attention during training. There can be safety issues involved, such as during munitions training. An officer would have to take a personal day off before such scheduled training in order to have the opportunity to rest. Some time ago, officers were afforded the time off to get the sleep they need. Ms. Vasquez stated that practice ended due to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); officers were getting paid for time worked when they were not actually on duty. Chief Bachman added that in the past, if an officer had to attend training, he would be let off work early, perhaps at midnight or 3:00 a.m., but would still get paid. However, (then City Manager) Jim Berzina and (then Personnel Officer) Jan Stricklin said that was wrong under the FLSA. Officers had to be at work 40 hours in order to get paid for 40 hours. There has been discussion about this item, and perhaps doing some shift adjustments. If an officer has to attend training, he would work second shift hours, or start in the middle of second shift, to afford him the opportunity to work the required hours, yet still have time to sleep before the training. Ms. Vasquez said that would allow for compliance with the FLSA. Mr. Leiker asked Officer Wheat how the Association felt about a shift modification. He deferred to Officer Hogan, who said MEET & CONFER—CWF & WFPOA JULY 30, 2008 4 he could not speak for the other officers. However, any change that allows officers to get some rest would be beneficial. Mr. Leiker directed Chief Bachman to work with the Association to form a proposal. He believes this may be a solution. . Benefits Sick Leave Conversion Officer Rosdahl said that he was unable to speak with anyone from the City of Amarillo regarding its implementation of this program. It consists of police officers donating so many days' worth of sick leave to the City in exchange for one month's payment of insurance. He does not know how many hours are donated to equal one month of insurance. Officer Wheat said that some officers retire with as many as 2,000 hours of sick leave accrued. This program could help them offset some of the costs of benefits. Ms. Vasquez noted that police officers have unlimited accrual of sick leave; however, when they retire, they are only entitled to payment for 90 days' accrual. Officer Rosdahl said he has 164 days of sick leave on the books. He will get paid upon retirement for 90 days, and the remaining balance will disappear. As it is now, an officer would start being "sick" occasionally once they know when they are going to retire (in order to use, rather than lose, any sick leave over the 90 days). Ms. Vasquez said she was glad the police were finally admitting that they do that; it has been suspected all along. Officer Wheat said things like that happen, but there are also those who turn in a lot of sick time. Officer Rosdahl said that most officers do. Mr. Leiker said he was not too warm to the idea. Sick leave is a type of insurance; it is there to use if an employee is sick, but an employee should not benefit from it if he is healthy and does not use it. He understands there are two sides to the issue. Administration continually battles arguments from non-civil service employees, as they do not get paid for any unused sick leave. To do as the Association suggests would fuel that fire even more. He did ask that the Association get more details on the program and he will take a look at it. However, if folks are abusing their sick leave, the City may need to start requiring doctors' notes. Officer Wheat said they saw this program as a potential way to offset some of the heartache over the cost of insurance. Ms. Vasquez said it sounded like the Association was promising that the officers would not abuse sick leave when they get close to retirement if they are allowed to apply the leave toward their post-retirement insurance. Chief Bachman said an officer recently retired who went through the Academy with him. Her accrued sick leave was almost zero hours at the time of her retirement, while he has over 2,000 hours accrued. She did not use her sick leave toward the end of her career; rather, she used it throughout her career in lieu of vacation days. He said it is not a problem to get a slip from a lot of doctors these days. He wants the Association to remember that they at least get paid for some of their sick leave. He also MEET & CONFER-CWF & WFPOA JULY 30, 2008 5 understands their point of view — there are officers who will come in to work even when they are sick, while there are others who take extra time every couple of weeks and charge it to their sick leave. Officer Kevin Folmar noted the folks who use their sick leave are compensated not only by their paycheck, but by their retirement, as well. When Officer Rosdahl retires with 70 hours of unused sick leave given back to the City, he is not compensated in his retirement, as those are who use their sick leave. Ms. Vasquez said it does not work that way. Officer Folmar pointed out that if he is sick for two weeks, he will still get paid, and a portion of that goes into retirement. Ms. Vasquez noted that is the same for those who are at work. Officer Rosdahl said the officer who is on sick leave is getting paid for not working, the same as the officer who is working. Ms. Vasquez said that is an issue of sick leave abuse. Management always wrestles with the problem of abuse of sick leave. She pointed out that civilian employees can accumulate 720 hours, and at retirement, they do not get paid for any of it. A bank of sick leave is not like vacation. Vacation time has to be funded by the City. Sick leave is not an entitlement; it is there to use if an employee is sick. Beyond the civil service entitlement to payment for up to 90 days of accrued sick leave upon retirement, there is no entitlement to such leave. Mr. Leiker encouraged the members to let the Chief know if they suspect someone is abusing sick leave. There are ways to stop that, to some degree. Officer Wheat said the discussion had veered into one dealing simply with sick leave abuse; the idea was brought up as a potential benefit to the retirees. Ms. Vasquez asked if by retirees, he was referring to all City retirees, or just police retirees? Officer Wheat said he could not speak for anyone other than the Association. . Individually Assigned Vehicles Discussion to Cover Fuel Concerns with the Program Officer Wheat said that the Association is aware of the fuel crisis, and that the City has a committee in place to look at ways to save fuel. The Association wants to be a party to that conversation. Mr. Leiker said that Jim Dockery heads the task force, and Chief Bachman is one of its members. He chose representatives from the largest fuel consuming departments to serve on the task force: Police, Fire, Public Works, Parks, and Traffic & Transportation. He anticipates receiving recommendations in two to three weeks. He encouraged the Association to communicate with Chief Bachman. He directed the task force members to talk with their employees up and down the chain; those on the front line may see things that could positively impact the situation. Chief Bachman asked the Association members if they had been told to send their suggestions to him. Officer Wheat said no one said directly to talk with him, but the topic has been discussed. Chief Bachman said he put out a memo and received only two responses from the entire department. Officer Wheat said this is a public forum that MEET & CONFER—CWF & WFPOA JULY 30, 2008 6 allows the Association to express its interest in trying to help. They hope to maintain the IAV program, as they believe it is beneficial to the City. Chief Bachman said it would be helpful for the officers to run a log of their time. He would like to know their starting and ending mileage, the mileage spent off duty riding around, the mileage spent off duty responding to a call, as well as the amount of time spent with the patrol car idling while the officer is writing a report. He wants all that written down, so that they can get some idea where the fuel is being consumed. Officer Wheat noted the Auto Vehicle Locator should make a difference in shortening response times, and the mileage could be tracked through the GPS. Chief Bachman said that those modules will not be running until after January; something needs to be done before then. Officer Wheat said he did not disagree. He hoped comments he has heard about the reduction in fuel prices by 25 cents before Labor Day are true. Officer Wheat said the City provides a police function for a reason; there is a need to determine what it is willing to spend. Wichita Falls runs one of the lower per capita rate of officers throughout the State. It has less officers working larger beats. University, the second largest beat, could involve driving from Maplewood to the stadium, then back to Maplewood, then to the South side. A suggestion to get out of the car more often sounds great, but is it possible? Some cities have their officers out of the vehicles for 10 minutes at a time. However, they cannot get too far away from the vehicle due to emergency calls. There has been discussion about writing reports at a satellite location. That could be done. The Association is willing to offer its building on the North side of town. Chief Bachman pointed out that officers could write their narrative away from the vehicle, but nothing else, unless they are connected to the car. Officer Wheat asked if dispatch could still reach officers by the portable radio. Chief Bachman replied affirmatively, but added that it won't be possible to use the computer outside the docking station for anything but writing the report. Chief Bachman expressed his disappointment that this discussion had not occurred earlier. He talked about this some time ago with his lieutenants. The two suggestions he received came from one civilian and one officer. Officer Wheat said getting a Meet and Confer meeting scheduled is tough; they knew they would have the opportunity at this meeting to express ideas. Chief Bachman said it would be more beneficial to have these discussions at the Police Department. Civilians do not understand some of the problems officers could face being outside of their patrol car. Mr. Leiker asked if the Association's stance regarding the IAV program is that it is a "sacred cow," or would they be open to suggestions to modify the program? Officer Wheat said that, although Wichita Falls cannot offer everything that other cities may have to offer, the IAV program can be used as a recruitment tool. He believes other ideas, such as making sure the vehicles are tuned up, and operating with the correct tire pressure, should be investigated. Another thing to consider are the types of beats each MEET & CONFER-CWF & WFPOA JULY 30, 2008 7 officer patrols: some drive the North side, which is nothing but freeway; others drive downtown, which is stoplight to stoplight; his beat is a mixture of the two. If the City goes back to the pool car system, the cars would be treated as such. There is a benefit to the feeling of ownership, in that the officers take better care of the vehicles. In addition, there is a sense there are more officers when the vehicles are seen in the neighborhoods. If certain officers are using the vehicles to excess, they could be approached on an individual basis and told to curtail their driving. Mr. Leiker urged the Association to develop ideas and submit them to the Chief. He will be provided a list of recommendations from the task force, from which he will accept some, omit others, and add a few of his own. He will appreciate their suggestions. Fuel consumption is a major problem for this year's budget; fuel may take precedence over pay raises. Anything that can reasonably be done to reduce consumption needs to be done. That is why the City is asking for everyone's help on this issue. Chief Bachman encouraged the Association members to be diligent about keeping track of mileage. Officer Rosdahl noted that there has been an off-duty IAV waiting at the scenes of the last three accidents he has worked. Officer Wheat added that those officers do work traffic control, change flat tires, etc., while off duty in their IAV. Ms. Vasquez noted the problem is that it is difficult to justify a program without statistics. Some City employees drive City vehicles to and from work, or portal-to-portal. However, once they get the vehicle home, it sits there until they are ready to go back to work; they do not drive the vehicle on their personal time. The true question is, what is the fuel consumption of officers using patrol cars off duty? It is more of an issue with gas costing upwards of $4 per gallon. Ms. Vasquez declared that there is a value to individually assigned vehicles. The City does not want officers to have to drive to the station to get a pool car. However, she does not necessarily see benefit in the pool cars being a presence in the community. From her perspective, when she sees an officer dressed in plainclothes, and with his family, she knows he is off duty. It does not mean anything to her that he is in a patrol car. She acknowledges the report that Chief Bachman is requesting will be cumbersome to do by hand, but until the City knows where the fuel is being consumed, it will be difficult to make the appropriate adjustments. Officer Wheat said the police would see things from a different perspective than would an attorney. He believes the bulk of the taxpayers would see things the same way. Liability is always there for a police department; a shooting can occur at any moment. Ms. Vasquez said that sometimes the public perception is different from reality, as the public may not have all the facts. As gas prices rise, the question remains: does the City want to continue to subsidize the off-duty driving of a patrol vehicle? Chief Bachman acknowledged there were benefits to officers driving their patrol vehicles off duty. They can have a better chance to catch a burglar in a neighborhood than can a patrol vehicle. MEET & CONFER—CWF & WFPOA JULY 30, 2008 8 Mr. Leiker asked if the Association would put forth much resistance to being required to be in uniform if they are in the patrol car. Officer Wheat said he was not sure the outcry would be substantial, but he does question having to be outfitted in his uniform if he simply needed to run to the training center. Mr. Leiker said details would obviously need to be ironed out. Officer Hogan opined that no matter what is done, someone will complain. Chief Bachman said that changes will be made, but he was not sure what those changes will be at present. The City does want the officers' input. Officer Wheat suggested the City take a group of officers, have them fuel up at the beginning and end of the day, and that would show their mileage. It would be a logistics nightmare if too many officers were involved, however. Chief Bachman said the City knows what the cars burn; the miles per gallon can be figured. Mr. Leiker said this matter will not be solved today. He told them to forward ideas to the task force or to Chief Bachman. Mr. Dockery said any ideas need to be brought to him fairly quickly — short-term ideas, within the next week or two. They would have a bit longer on any ideas that would take longer to implement. Mr. Leiker thanked everyone for attending. He apologized for having to reschedule the meeting. Officer Wheat said the Association had to reschedule the last time; now they're even. III. ADJOURN. The meeting was adjourned at 3:02 p.m.