Council Workshop Minutes

COUNCIL WORKSHOP A Council Workshop was held on December 2, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. with Council President Hare presiding. Council members present were Mr. Neil, Mr. Slavin, Mr. Cole, Mr. Polce, Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Lindell. Mr. Anderson and Mr. Sudler were absent. Staff members present were Acting Police Chief Stump, Mrs. Mitchell, and Mrs. McDowell. Mayor Christiansen was also present (departed at 6:45 p.m.). ADOPTION OF AGENDA Mr. Neil moved for adoption of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Taylor and unanimously carried. OVERVIEW OF CENTER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY MANAGEMENT, LLC (CPSM) OPERATIONS AND DATA ANALYSIS REPORT - DOVER POLICE DEPARTMENT Mrs. Donna Mitchell, City Manager, read the following into the record: “In July 2015, the Center for Public Safety Management, LLC (CPSM) was commissioned to perform a comprehensive analysis of Police, Fire and EMS Services as approved by City Council in June 2015 with an estimated cost of $96,300 +. The Fire and EMS report was presented to City Council in 2016 upon its completion. The Police Report was completed in June 2016, however not presented. Although, the report is dated, it provided a blueprint for the future of the City and the Dover Police Department that is worthy of discussion. While the analysis covered all aspects of the department's operations, particular areas of focus of this study included: identifying appropriate staffing of the department given the workload, community demographics, and crime levels; the effectiveness of the organization structure; and the efficiency of division/unit processes. CPSM analyzed the department workload using operations research methodology and compared that workload to staffing and deployment levels. They reviewed other performance indicators that enabled them to understand the implications of service demand on current staffing. The study involved data collection, interviews with key police and administration personnel, focus groups with department personnel and volunteers/community members, on-site observations of the job environment, data analysis, comparative analysis, SWOT analysis, and the development of alternatives and recommendations. All support data and information were provided by the Dover Police Department staff. Major recommendations are discussed in detail throughout the report. Included below are some areas that require clarification or update.” Mrs. Mitchell advised that the following were being provided to clarify the items where misinformation was provided to CPSM on some of the data: “Comparisons/Benchmarks Participating Departments 2014 - 2015 budgets averaged 28.5 percent of their cities total budget. Dover Police Department Budget of $15,603,100 inclusive of capital outlay was 35 percent of the total city budget of $44,597,300. (Correction to CPSM

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP OF DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 2 Report 11.4% - the consultant was provided the total city budget including utility funds). The budgeted cost per citizen equated to $417.69 per citizen, as compared to $233.10 per citizen (79.19 percent higher) in the benchmark study. Staffing - Benchmark City Survey indicates an average of 718.4 citizens per officer, or 1.45 officers per 1,000 citizens. In 2015, the Dover Police Department had an authorized strength of 101 sworn officers, which equates to 369.85 citizens per officer and 2.7 officers per 1,000 citizens (Clarification - During FY15 the City approved 10 additional sworn officers that took the total personnel from 124 persons to 134 persons. These officers are included in the 101 sworn officers above as well as the calculation for the per citizen cost.)” Mrs. Mitchell noted that the officers are included in CPSM's number when they did their calculation; however, those officers were not in the 2015 budget and were added during the year outside the budget. “Department's Financial Stability Incremental Yearly Increases demonstrates the City has provided consistent financial support to the department during a time period in which many police departments experienced a decrease in funding. • A 14.11% budget increase from FY12 through FY15 (An average of 3.5% per year). • Over the same period a 10.25% increase in total staffing Update - • FY16 the City increased total staffing to 134 positions. • The FY16 Budget increase over FY15 was 7% • The FY20 Budget staffing includes 101 sworn officers and 42 Civilians (including 9 part-time Cadets) • Budget at the time of the report FY15 $15,603,100 as compared to FY20 $18,602,900 or 19% (An average of 3% per year) • Budgeted cost per citizen equated to $461.84 Training Budgets CPSM was advised, that for several years, the department has utilized forfeiture funds to support the ongoing training of its personnel. This has proven quiet cost effective and resulted in relatively low training budget over the past several years (approximately $28,000 to $35,000 per year). Forfeiture funding has recently "dried up". This is a common experience for police departments across the county. The department will therefore need to immediately make provisions for maintaining both the quantity and quality of training that is provided to its employees.

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP OF DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 3 Mrs. Mitchell provided a history of training budgets as follows: Police Department Training Expenditures General Fund Grant Total Budget Actual Variance Expenditures Actual 2009 $21,200 $14,966 $6,234 Not Avail. 2010 $14,050 $9,878 $4,172 Not Avail. 2011 $19,450 $23,908 ($4,458) Not Avail. 2012 $12,000 $16,970 ($4,970) $21,120 $38,090 2013 $23,300 $19,493 $3,807 $21,045 $40,538 2014 $25,500 $30,404 ($4,904) $2,832 $33,236 2015 $27,700 $38,903 ($11,203) $22,018 $60,921 2016 $44,900 $49,769 ($4,869) $74,203 $123,972 2017 $7,100 $47,456 $23,544 $35,229 $82,685 2018 $50,000 $51,358 ($1,358) $1,550 $66,858 2019 $58,500 $49,480 $9,020 $19,516 $68,996 2020 $55,000 $5,643 $49,357 - $5,643 Mrs. Mitchell advised that the study talked about having a strategic plan and having it integrated with the City's strategic plan. Noting that the City does not have a strategic plan, she stated that one of her challenges will be to work with all departments to get a fully integrated strategic plan. Mrs. Mitchell cautioned that a strategic plan is not just a list of the items you want to do or things you want to accomplish, it is how you are going to get there, how you review it, how are you going to measure it and take action if it is not working out the way you thought it would be. She noted that it is something the City needs and there are areas of improvement that can be made throughout the City. Mayor Christiansen stated that the CPSM study that was done on the Fire Department and EMS contained a lot of flaws and misrepresentations. He also noted that he thought it was very important that the Police Department take advantage of all the training that they can get because they carry guns and the ultimate liability to the Mayor and Council, as well as the citizens. Mayor Christiansen stated that, ultimately, it will be a cost savings, as well as a lifesaving thing for the citizens. Mayor Christiansen stated that he thought the population numbers that the study used were a nighttime population of 38,500. The Chamber of Commerce provided information two years ago that indicated that, at any given time during the workday, the population plus the drive-through

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP OF DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 4 population swells to anywhere between 70,000 and 75,000. Although he disagreed with the formula that CPSM used, he thought that they were close on the number of authorized officers. Mrs. Mitchell clarified that the population numbers that they used would have been the same methods that they would have used for the benchmark. If the population swelled, those benchmarks may have reflected that. She noted that, while a lot of people did not agree with it, the fire and EMS study had a lot of good points. Mrs. Mitchell stated that she felt that the things that were perceived as inaccurate were the result of inaccurate information being provided. She agreed that training is very critical and noted that they went from an average of 70 hours per officer in training to 145 hours per officer in 2018. Mrs. Mitchell stated that the budget analyst compiled all of the training hours and the number of officers that are in training on a daily basis month after month could be a public safety issue and a managerial issue. She reiterated that she thinks that all the officers should be trained and noted that the City has very qualified officers. Mayor Christiansen stated that he respected the job that Mrs. Mitchell is doing; however, 145 hours worth of training in any given situation would be well worth the lives that it saves and the dollars that have been expended on it. Major Tim Stump, Acting Police Chief, reiterated the importance of training, for the safety of the officers and the citizens, and noted that both the training and the department would be looked at if something goes wrong. He also stated that training is one of the five pillars of a great police agency, which he believes they have. Major Stump advised members that the SORT team handles the highest risk complaints in the City and because they have to work together, they have to train together. He agreed that training has increased over the years and he believes that is a positive for the City of Dover and a positive for the department. Major Stump advised that he was the Administrative Division Commander during the study and he gathered the majority of the data for CPSM. He noted that it is extremely dated. Major Stump advised that they have already implemented a majority of the 100 recommendations from the study. Responding to Mr. Neil, Major Stump advised that the department purchased two Benelli semiautomatic shotguns, as recommended. With regard to the recommendation to "Consider purchasing software for internal affairs’ use, which is more user friendly and would have greater capabilities of analysis than Microsoft Word and Excel.", Major Stump advised that they have a grant currently for $19,000 and $18,000, some of which is going to a software system called IA Pro, which is exactly that. Mr. Neil, noting that the report compliments the Police Department’s response to all citizen calls and then recommends a Calls For Service (CFS) Committee to evaluate service demands in an attempt to reduce or eliminate non-emergency responses, stated that he felt that the Police Department’s response to citizens was the strength of that department. He stated that the several recommendations calling for non-sworn personnel, civilian employees, to take over duties held by officers had merit as it would free up an officer to concentrate on policing in the field at a cost savings to the taxpayers. Mr. Neil stated that he disagreed with the recommendation that the department should strongly consider the use of civilian volunteers to support the current record division staff, believing that it would best be served to have higher part-time employees if the record-keeping is overwhelming to

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP OF DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 5 the department. Major Stump stated that they have used volunteers in the past and, due to the sensitive material, he would prefer having a City employee. Major Stump advised that he was not in favor of the recommendation to have a civilian at the front desk given their situation at the Police Department. He noted that the desk officer is usually a supervisor who both deals with people that come in and make visual and physical checks on the prisoners in the cell block every 30 minutes. Major Stump advised that civilians are not permitted in the cell block. Mr. Taylor, noting that he is a huge supporter of training, stated that there has to be a fine line. For example, when the entire SORT team is away for training and then officers are on vacation or sick, a 10 or 12-man shift is reduced to a 7 or 8-man shift, which is not safe for the officer, nor is it safe for our citizens. Mr. Taylor asked where the balance was. Responding, Major Stump advised that they rely on the sergeants to make the decision to let their people off, noting that there is a mandatory staffing that they need to have to run their shifts. Major Stump stated that they have special units that are decimated, specifically for the fact that former Chief Mailey made a decision to keep patrol beefed up no matter what. He advised that years ago they had a seven man motorcycle unit that is down to two men. Major Stump advised that the only real revenue from the police department is traffic enforcement, and the motorcycle division does a large portion of that. He also noted that if there are seven officers writing tickets constantly, you can create an atmosphere of voluntary compliance by the citizens because they know the areas that are being enforced on a regular basis and they will eventually learn to do the speed limit or a safe speed. Major Stump advised that the street crimes unit has also been decimated by being reduced from six officers to one officer. He noted that those unit officers are all back in patrol. He noted that they have been playing catchup with manpower for his entire 29-year career. Mr. Taylor, noting the need to ease the pressure off of the taxpayer, stated that there has to be an avenue or matrix that can be used to collect these funds. He asked if Major Stump had any strategies or solutions in place, or pending, to assist in collecting money because the percentage of collection is going down each and every year. Responding, Major Stump stated that for several years they have had an outside vendor collect those funds. Mr. Taylor stated that he joined the Dover Police Department in 1990 and he was one of five African American officers. He noted that the department does not mirror the community and asked where they were with regard to diversity. Responding, Major Stump advised that they have made great strides over the past three to five years, noting that of the last 22 employees hired, 12 have been minorities. Mr. Polce, noting that they are losing officers, asked Major Stump to talk about the climate in the department and how they could foster retention. Responding, Major Stump stated that it used to be unheard of for an officer to work four or five years and them move on from the Dover Police Department unless there was a problem and they were forced to leave. Major Stump stated that recently officers have left to get into another line of work or because their spouse got a job in a different state. Another officer is in the process of moving to New Castle County where the salary is considerably higher. He stated that he believes there is good morale in the department and that people are generally happy.

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP OF DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 6 Mr. Polce asked Major Stump if the initial starting salary in New Castle County was higher and if he thought that as officers move up the rank the pay scale was equitable compared to other municipalities and other jurisdictions. Responding, Major Stump said that they do not typically compare themselves with New Castle County, which is more comparable to the Delaware State Police. Responding to Mr. Polce, Major Stump advised that the community policing division is down to a supervisor and two officers; however, he thought that one of them just went out with a shoulder surgery. He stated that he did not think they would ever reduce the numbers in the detective division, which handles the major crimes within the City, or the drugs, vice, and organized crime unit. Major Stump noted that the street crimes unit works hand in hand with the drug unit and, over the past three or four years, they have taken more stolen, illegal firearms off the street than in any three-year period in the history of the police department. He advised that they try to keep those units staffed at 11 or 12 with four 12-hour shifts. Major Stump stated that he went over personnel issues with the City Manager and he has requested five additional police officers because he did not want to handcuff the incoming Chief with staffing issues. He noted that the department was increased by ten officers in 2014 or 2015, which was the largest increase since the department went from 70 to 85 over a period of three years in the 1990's. Major Stump advised that 20 or 25 officer would make a real impact on the police department and be a tremendous boost for the citizens of Dover. He also noted that hiring 25 additional officers would mean and additional four or five civilian staff, more dispatchers, and 15 to 20 additional police cars. Mr. Slavin recalled that when 10 new officers were added in the middle of a budget year five years ago due to retirements, Council was told that was all the officers that they would need. He advised that the salaries, training, and vehicles for 10 new officers would cost $2 million. Responding to Mr. Slavin, Mrs. Mitchell stated that a tax increase of 6 to 7 cents would be necessary to cover those expenses, noting that each 1 cent increase would raise $300,000. She also advised that the four officers that the police department asked for the previous year were going to cost approximately $2 million over a five-year period. Mrs. Mitchell stated that adding vehicles raises the cost from $38,000 a year to $50,000 a year. Responding to Mr. Hare, Major Stump stated that he thought there were 19 officers, or 20% of the department, that were eligible to retire. Mr. Hare stated that he did not think 5 new officers was unreasonable due to the time it takes to get them on the street. Responding to Mr. Lindell, Major Stump reiterated that they hire the best candidates regardless of race or gender. Mr. Lindell stated that he thought reaching out and looking for other ways to increase that diverse pool of applicants should be a priority as well. Mr. Lindell, noting that he appreciates that training is important, especially for law enforcement officers, asked how much training the Chief or top line officers received in managing the workforce and the budgets as they progressed through the ranks. Responding, Major Stump advised that there is very little budget training until they reach the staff level, at which point they are sent to a leadership school at either the FBI National Academy or Northwestern where they are trained in budgeting. Noting that Major Stump had been acting chief for a few months and was dealing with both the police side and the non-police side, such as budget and manpower issues, Mr. Lindell asked if he

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP OF DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 7 thought one distracted from the other and if he though it would be helpful to have someone, perhaps a civilian, that might have that experience work in concert with the incoming Chief to deal with those issues and to utilize the officers efficiently. Responding, Major Stump stated that being able to deal with grants and budgets and to get money for your agency is an absolute benefit. He noted that the department currently has a civilian police administrator position that handles the majority of the budget. Mr. Lindell asked if that position would be aware of manpower issues and voluntary extra duty to advise the Chief that the officers are doing a lot of extra work and it might be straining their time or impacting their normal duties. Responding, Major Stump advised that they periodically look at that to see if anything needs to be addressed. He also noted that they have rules and policies in place regarding the maximum amount of hours that they are allowed to work over a certain period. Major Stump stated that occasionally they will find violations and they keep an eye on it. Mr. Neil suggested that installing LED lighting in the downtown area would be beneficial to the police department. Mr. Polce advised that Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide initiative that demonstrates how to maximize community opportunities creatively by using community navigators who are culturally competent individuals from the neighborhood rolling up their sleeves and trying to really detract drug use, misuse, and then they might stumble on a individual in active addiction and get them to recovery and they are doing a lot of great work in tandem with the patrolmen. He stated that he thought that the program has demonstrated efficacy because it shows that they are able to work collaboratively with nonprofits and other providers. Major Stump stated that they are participating in Project Safe Neighborhoods and that the problem solvers have been attending every quarterly meeting and they are extremely effective and they have a lot of respect from the people in the neighborhoods they are working with. Responding to Mr. Polce, Major Stump stated that he felt that they were distributing officers appropriately and that the solution to maintaining both 11 or 12 officers per shift for patrol and the special units was manpower. He stated that the five officers that are currently being requested would alleviate some of that deficit in those critical divisions. Responding to Mr. Hare, Major Stump stated that the police department is utilizing social media by tracking, making arrests, and seizing weapons as a result of people posting things. Mr. Slavin moved for adjournment, seconded by Mr. Neil and unanimously carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:27 p.m. TRACI A. McDOWELL CITY CLERK

CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP OF DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 8 All ordinances, resolutions, motions, and orders adopted by City Council during their Regular Meeting of December 2, 2019 are hereby approved. ROBIN R. CHRISTIANSEN MAYOR /TM S:\AGENDAS-MINUTES-PACKETS-PRESENTATIONS-ATT&EXH\Council-Minutes\2019\12-02-2019 Council Workshop Minutes.wpd