|
020851
| 0 | 2) | Budget | Communication from the Mayor transmitting the 2003 City Budget.
Minutes note: ALSO PRESENT: Laura Engan – DOA – Budget Director, Marianne Walsh – Fiscal Manager, Cassandra Patterson – Special Assistant Finance and Personnel, Wally Morics – City Comptroller
LIBRARY
Kathleen Huston, Taj Schoening, Judith Zemke, William Lenski, Jennifer Gonda, Angelyn Ward appeared.
Ms. Gonda provided a brief budget overview, and Ms. Ward then presented the fiscal narrative also stating that the department has 64 vacant positions and the Proposed Budget decreases Milwaukee Public Library's direct labor hours by 56,232. Total operating expenses are $2,121,904 and increase of $70,606. Funding for equipment in the Proposed Budget is $2,384,810 and $1,130,000 is the estimated Reciprocal Borrowing costs. The Proposed Budget indicates that Milwaukee Public Library anticipates receiving $1,731,941, in total grant funding. In the 2003 Proposed Budget, the Comptroller's Office projects Milwaukee Public Library will generate $2,259,000 in Revenues. The Proposed Budget also provides the Library with $990,000 for capital improvement projects. The Library consists of the Central Library, twelve neighborhood libraries, and Mobile and Outreach Services. The Central Library serves as the resource library for the Milwaukee County Federated Library System.
Ms. Huston stated Milwaukeeans clearly love their libraries. Their circulation as well as their patron counts are up. They have about 350 computers for use by the public. They began construction of the Washington Park library this year and look forward to opening it in Spring. The library foundation raised more than $800,000 this year to date. They are renovating the Wells Street entrance of the main library. She thanked the staff of the MPL including the Board, Jennifer Gonda and Angelyn Ward and Friends of the Library for their hard work this past year. There will be an emphasis on computers in the Library. They will be adding 25 more computers to the Center Street Library. They will provide additional computer training, expand literacy, career and job initiatives and continue to provide access to the current system through the catalogue. Ald. Murphy complimented the Library on their great work and what a great service it is. He asked about the theft rate at the libraries. Ms. Huston stated she thinks the theft rate isn't as high as people that check out books and don't bring them back. He asked about CD's and movies and whether that is pretty common to have them in the libraries. Ms. Huston stated they are careful to purchase movies at a rate that is good, as this is a very popular service and this is what people want to check out. Ald. Murphy stated he's not sure that should be a major function of the Library as that is strictly entertainment. Ms. Huston stated in response to reciprocal borrowing they have to get into the game if they want to compete. Ms. Gonda stated these videos bring lots of people to the library and many people that take out videos also take out books. Ms. Engan stated the issue of the role of that type of media is an issue that they did look at. Milwaukee spends lot less than lots of other libraries. They continue to work with the library on this issue. Ald. Murphy also asked about the changes in the bookmobile and what will be different. Ms. Huston stated the main thing is they will now have computers on the bookmobiles and will go into the community and serve the community in a different way. He asked about the hrs. of operation and which libraries were open longer hours. Dawn Malberg, extension services coordinator stated that they have 2 libraries, Capitol and Zablocki that are open 7 days a week, April through October (see exhibit A). Ald. Murphy asked what have they been able to do with the competitiveness of the suburban Libraries? Ms. Gonda stated the cost is going down due to the agreements. Our patron used is going up. Our users are borrowing more books.
Recess: 9:40 A.M.
Reconvene: 10:30 A.M.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Acting Chief Dennis Michalowski, Acting Assistant Chief Jerry Frank, Deputy Chief Gloria Murawsky, Gregory Gracz, Robert Stedman, Sandra Rotar, Ald. Nardelli & Emma Stamps appeared.
Ms. Rotar gave a brief overview of this budget, whereupon Ms. Stamps read from her fiscal highlights reporting the proposed budget provides $77,977,700 for the operating budget. It creates one Administrative Lieutenant to serve as an aide to the Fire Chief. The Fire Budget and Finance Manager and Administrative Captain positions are reintroduced in the budget. In 2003, 159 members of the fire department will be eligible to retire. Proposed overtime compensated decreases to $4,807,737. It provides funds to implement a Quint pilot program and create 2 Quint companies that will be located on the city's north and south sides. In the 2003 city budget , $462,000 was appropriated from CDBG reprogramming funds for the FOCUS program. The Milwaukee Fire Department expects to apply to receive $5,047,428 from grant sources in 2003. Minorities comprised 23% of the sworn personnel in the fire department. Women have represented between 4% and 5% of the sworn ranks. Pending Brotherhood of Firefighters litigation delayed a second planned firefighter recruit class in 2002.
Acting Chief Dennis Michalowski stated they can be successful in implementing their proposed plan and will continue to have very good response time and will not hamper fire fighter safety in any means. Response of big vehicles to EMS runs, will allow them to respond to EMS runs in a manner that is different than they do now.
Ald. Gordon asked about the 2002 budget eliminating a proposed Fire Budget and Finance Manager position. He asked them to discuss any changes in circumstance that warrant this matter being reintroduced in 2003. The acting chief stated they feel they need this area of expertise in their office. They feel if they had someone on board to do this who is very familiar with the working of the fire department they would be able to apply for grants for them and help them in streamlining. Ms. Engan stated the City will reap more rewards if they approve this position by bringing resources into that department. They do not presently have an expert in that field in their office. Ald. Gordon stated a new chief will be appointed before the end of the year and he feels the new chief should deal with this
Ald. Murphy asked about the 2002 budget eliminating a proposed EMS Bureau Restructure that would have reclassified 3 Paramedic Lieutenant and 1 proposed Fire Budget and Fire Manager. The Committee recalls opposition from Local 215 on this matter. He asked them to discuss all changes in circumstance that warrant this matter to be reintroduced in 2003. The acting chief stated the paramedic response has improved. They have more paramedics in the field. The paramedics have been put at engine companies. One of the key elements is the time the paramedic arrives at the person. They feel this will improve the response time and ideally they would like to see a paramedic on every shift, every day. BLS is basic life support. ALS is advanced life support. Ald. Murphy stated it used to be that the MPD transported people to the hospitals and has the fire department looked at transporting people to the hospital. Should we look at buying ambulances instead of SUVs. The acting chief stated the department would support any amount of ELS transports they could have. When the current contract expires at the end of 2003, he feels this is something they should look at. If it is a BLS call, they call in a private ambulance to do the transport and the Fire Department gets nothing for that. He would very much support BLS transport, when the contract expires, by the Fire department. Ald. Murphy asked Ms. Engan about the possibility of buying some ambulances. Ms. Engan stated the whole issue of paramedic/ambulance service is a issue that will be looked at when the contract expires. She stated the answer is not yet known whether the City will take on the conveyance or they'll have all transports issued out. She does not feel it will hurt us by buying SUVs this year. No matter what happens with the study, the SUVs will be put to good use by the Fire department. In the August 27th memo of Acting Chief Dennis Michalowski, (Exhibit C) Ald. D'Amato asked if all of those position changes have been made. Ms. Rotar told him they have. Ald. D'Amato asked if the savings did take place. Ms. Rotar stated there is $3,000,000 being charged back to that budget. Ald. D'Amato asked about the reduction of 3 to 2 people on paramedic units. Ms. Engan stated they got a waiver from Milwaukee County to be able to do that. The Total Saving for Fourth Quarter of 2002 is $641,700. The acting chief stated basically it dropped the minimum amount of staff required for the day The proposal that they made in September for Car 15 is the position of paramedic supervisor, if that person was out or sick they would have anyone in that position for that day. The acting chief stated this Car 15, is a position that when it was instituted was a necessary position but at this time could be used in a more efficient manner. They feel they have enough managers on scene to handle that activity. They see the CAR 15 being an upgraded position to Administrative Captain on a 40 hour week which is cost-saving which coincides with the tasks that need to be done in administration is necessary. Ald. D'Amato asked how many times they have not filled Car 15 when the person filling that position was out sick or on vacation. Acting Chief Jerry Frank stated 68 benefit days till the end of the year. Ald. D'Amato talked about the significant change in the amount of the budget. He asked if we have seen any complaints in EMS dropping it from 3 persons to 2 persons. They have tracked the instances (exhibit B) and basically they have subsided and gone away. They have an opportunity because of people on the scene, they can take someone with them from the Fire department to help them out. In the County system, there are EMS teams in the suburbs that make the responses on the bordering areas (Wauwatosa, West Allis). They could see some changes next week when they meet. This is all in the discussion stages right now. Ald. D'Amato asked if in other suburbs do most of EMS teams run 3 members. The Acting Chief stated he couldn't find any other teams that have 3 members on the EMS team per unit. Ald. D'Amato asked Ms. Rooter about her memo from July, 2002, stating that perhaps more of these calls could go out to privates leaving more people available for truck and ladder teams. Ms. Rotar stated when you are dealing with critical patients the earlier you can get to them, the better their outcome. The dispatchers are reviewed by Milwaukee County, by the medical director. They do ask if they are doing things appropriately or could they do things differently. They will negotiating a contract with the county for ALS services. What services we will provide and what services they will provide. Ms. Engan stated the change in funding levels, the largest drivers behind that change are the way we fund capital funds. In addition when we fund fringe benefits, in 2002 a higher percentage was added. Ald. D'Amato stated a constituent asked him if he knew what a QUINT was. One of the things he thought was interesting was one of the things the committee asked about was using ladder trucks to EMS calls due to wear and tear on the vehicle. The Acting Chief stated they can have a 15 year old piece of apparatus that doesn't have many miles on it because it is in a station where it hasn't had that much use. It gets to a point where it isn't cost effective to use this equipment because you no longer can get parts for it. Ald. D'Amato stated however increased wear and tear does not reduce the life of the vehicle. The change with the SUV is not one that will provide a lot of cost savings. Ald. D'Amato stated he was told the minimum amount of people you should put in QUINT was 7 and we are contemplating 6. The acting chief stated he looked at 3 for engine work, 3 for ladder work. If you don't have 6 people on board because 2 of them are doing an EMS call, then the apparatus can only be used as a truck or a ladder. He stated the number is arbitrary. He feels 6 would be an acceptable number but no less. Ald. D'Amato stated if they had 7 or 8 on board, and two of them were on a EMS call, couldn't they always operate as both a truck and ladder. The acting chief stated he would not say never relative to this question. He stated the vehicles are being built so much bigger. The vehicle itself is not a major obstacle, it's developing the Quint operation. The two they have now (QUINT means five recognized activities that can be done)were bought because they were QUINT vehicles but were only used for ladder companies. They are aerial ladders they have buckets on the end. The third piece is used as a spare, the vehicle is old and is not acceptable to be used as a dual piece of equipment. He stated we have not wasted our money on these. They would function as ladder companies. Ald. D'Amato stated they would ask the new chief to work with North Shore to see if they could share some fire services. Ald. Hines asked about overtime. It is recorded under special duty time and why? The acting chief stated the overtime issue is depending on the minimum amount of daily staffing they need to run the department (family leave, vacancies, sick leave, vacations) are issues that contribute to overtime. It may be in the budget listed that way but they are the same thing. Vacancies play a big part in overtime dollars. Ms. Engan stated there is money for two classes next year. You are not doubling up on benefit costs by using overtime. The Acting Chief stated they were held up on starting their classes due to the lawsuit. As soon as the lawsuit was settled the class was started. They use history to gauge how many people they are going to lose due to retirements etc. Once the new list is established they can get in as many classes as they need to bring their numbers up. The CAD system is going on 12 or 13 years old. They originally expected 7 years out of it. After many meetings and discussions it was realized that a new CAD system would be appropriate. An installation takes 6 to 9 months, once a vendor is selected. Ald. Murphy asked how it inter relates with the MPD system. The acting chief stated they can exchange information. Ald. Henningsen stated 911 from a cellphone goes to the county and they only have 2 people to dispatch. The acting chief stated he doesn't know if it can be corrected. If you're on the freeway going 60 miles an hour, by that time you went through three cities. Ald. Henningsen asked if we have evaluated the system to see if our residents are at risk. The acting chief said he can not evaluate the county system. Ald. Henningsen stated we have lots of changes purposed and we appreciate those efforts as they do lot to hold the line on costs. He stated this is a $70 million budget and our total tax levy is $190 million. A pumper is an engine and a ladder is a truck. In 2001 we recovered about $500,000. We recover about 4% because that is our share. The county gives us the grant and then they do the billing. In 2001 they (county) billed $8 million in charges, the payment they received back was about $3.9 million (Exhibit D). In 2004, the county would pay each municipality only what they receive for their transports. Ald. Henningsen stated he was at the county in 1997 when this was started and he has said for a number of years this system can no longer be a Cadillac. He stated the inner city gets no sleep. He has a lady down the sleep where they gave her a case of inhalers because she called 911 whenever she ran out of inhalers. Ald. Henningsen wants to know what they are going to do to bring efficiencies to the fire department. The acting chief stated dispatchers can only dispatch according to priority by whatever information they receive. If they are going to error, they error on the side of safety. Initial training period is six months and they get continuous training. Part of the argument to this entire thing is you call your doctor and your doctor knows you, he will give you a prescription over the phone because no one wants to take the chance of lawsuits. Could we put paramedics on our first response ladder trucks. That way the paramedic could make the determination if this is going to be an EMS situation. The acting chief stated they have 9 paramedic first responders. Ideally, they'd like one at every engine company for every shift. We have 37 engine companies. A firefighter gets a 5% increase if he also becomes a paramedic. The acting chief stated he would be in favor of any incentive to get more paramedics. Ald. Henningsen asked for a budget AMENDMENT prepared to put first responders on the ladder trucks. Ald. Henningsen stated we could have a dispatch system in place that tells how many times you have been there in the last year. Ald. Henningsen asked how do they track the use of equipment during the day. The acting chief stated they track by station, location call etc. Ald. Henningsen asked if the department has ever considered not staffing some of the Fire stations during the day. The Acting Chief stated they have looked at this continually since the CAD system information became available. Most of the time you are looking at a average or a trend and not a reality. You start short circuiting the number of people you have on a rig, you start compromising the safety of firefighters. He stated if you wanted to do that, it would be more appropriate to close down a station. We have 281 firefighters working during the day. Ald. Henningsen asked if we could look at that again. The station houses were located historically and not much to do with efficient location. What would the impact be on the 16 ladder companies being cut by one ladder company? The acting chief stated they can do whatever and argue whatever you are starting to compromise and for every dollar cut you are also starting to impact and is not necessarily good for the fire fighter doing the job. If you remove one piece of equipment, it's a reduction in response time.
Ald. Gordon asked about the Budget and Management office proposing eliminating 1 Deputy Chief position. What will happen to the person currently holding the position? What personnel will perform those duties, should the 2003 budget include the elimination of 1 Deputy Chief position? What current duties should not be performed by non-sworn personnel and why? The acting chief stated when the new chief is promoted there will possibly be a vacancy for deputy chief. If that didn't happen, the new chief would be able to appoint who they want.
Mr. Gracz (Local 215) stated both the department and budget office are confused with the numbers. He stated one reason we were successful at the Capital in continuing shared revenue was because of the Fire department and the 9/11. They are a service organization and they provide good service. When you are waiting, a minute could seem like a month. You want the person in the field that is delivering the service in the field. Local 215's position is all this money should be kept in the budget as it is needed to provide good service. There is no logic to any cuts. It was just a way to eliminate money from the budget. Car 3 in the field is a very important function. A deputy chief relies on car 15 to do the triage or flight for life. In the spirit of cooperation, they have a service that is charging. The costs have been going up and the amount collected has basically been half. They have to satisfy Local 215 concerns; what they are going to do with the people in those positions. What they are going to do to satisfy members that the functions of Car 15 will be performed in the field. The only way they can get out of this is if the municipality submits a written request to be waived from the request and submits a letter of support from the bargaining unit that supports this. Another portion of 1710 states every chief should have a driver. None of the chiefs have a driver right now. If you are going to look at 1710, they want 27 positions added to this budget. The Quint idea is a reduction in service. If you are going to cut service, tell the citizens and tell them you are going to take out this truck or this truck. Don't try to tell them you are not going to cut service because you are. Delafield has a volunteer fire department. A Quint is perfect for something like that, getting a cat out of tree or a garbage fire. The only place you can get an argument for a Quint is from a Quint salesman. Fire service hasn't changed in years because you still have to put out a fire. It is a labor intensive job. If you eliminate people you reduce service. Quints are not functional. If they are going to be an engine, they'll be an engine. If they are going to be a truck, they'll be a truck. The more runs you get, the more maintenance you'll need. As far as paramedic staffing, we're running with 3 on a paramedic rig. If you don't have that 3rd person on the rig, you'll need to get that 3rd body from somewhere. They already cut 8 positions a day. Those eight positions save you $1,831,142.
Ald. Nardelli stated when you start looking at the ALS contract beyond 2003, he hopes he will be included (Chair on Public Safety/Ambulance Service Board) and make sure they get the most for their buck. It doesn't make any difference what type of vehicle they are driving. Sometimes dollars drive our train, but when we it comes to EMS, Fire and Police, he hopes we look at these very carefully before we make any kind of cuts. He feels we should wait until we get a new chief before we decide how we staff the Milwaukee Fire Department. Ald. Nardelli asked about Quints with only 4 people. The acting chief said they would be expected to act as an engine and a ladder with only 4 people. They would do the same thing as any other 4 person crew did when they arrived at a fire. He stated he had a concern about the Quints, that the maintenance of one of these vehicles would be so expensive that you would be better off with 2 pieces of equipment. He believes Quints are strictly for reducing staffing levels. We have to provide the service people deserve and people are willing to pay for police and fire services every single time. Ald. Murphy asked if the Milwaukee Fire Department takes over more responsibilities and asked what the medical director thinks about privatizing the service. The medical examiner, Ronald Pirrallo, stated in regard to triage, the first link is to be able to provide help. The response the citizen needs is what is taken by the dispatcher. That is why they send in the first engine company very quickly. The first people that can get to the scene in every area of the City is the fire department. There's always a question as to who should do the transporting. The one that does the transporting receives the fee. Having one provider makes sure there is continuity of care. The reason we got out of transport with the fire department was the cost of BLS equipment needs on the rig and the cost. It is very expensive and the city could not afford it. You have to look if it is best provided by the privates or the fire department. Ald. Murphy stated it is not accurate that it would cost the City more to provide the service. He stated it has to be looked at. We don't know that. There is a lot of money out there being made. If there wasn't we wouldn't have so many private ambulance companies.
Recess: 12:50 PM
Reconvened: 1:40 P.M.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Chief Arthur Jones, Asst. Chief Edward Stenzel, Dep. Insp. Sucik, Barbara Butler, Philip Blank, David Schroeder & Mark Ramion appeared.
Mr. Schroeder read from his budget highlights. Mr. Ramion then gave his fiscal overview stating that the 2003 proposed police budget is $169,072,418, which includes 2,952 positions, the same number of positions as the 2002 budget. The Capital Expenditures in the proposed budget are $4,571,793 and overtime for 2003 is increased by 24%. 162 officers have graduated from the Safety Academy, to date in 2002. They are budgeted for two police classes in 2003. In 2003, 172 sworn members will be eligible for retirement. MPD anticipates receiving $400,000 in CDBG reprogramming funds to pay for officers' overtime when patrolling in A Neighborhood Strategic Planning Area. MPD is estimating that $11.1 million will be received from various grant sources in 2003, funding 30 positions, in whole or in part.
The Chief read from his report relative to overtime. As he managed to save money the Council kept cutting his budget. 2002 court decision increased the court overtime amounts. $9.2 million was spent on overtime in 1996 by the previous Chief. The Chief has received numerous requests for police officers. The officers in the academy will not be ready for the street till February 2003. The Police Department did not create the City of Milwaukee's fiscal problems. In 2002, this will be the first time the Chief will request a contingency fund transfer. Car maintenance fund is over budget. The council decreased the amount in the 2002 budget available for new autos. Both citizens and alderman have expressed satisfaction with the Chief's efforts. The Police Department. has been able to increase funds available to the Police Department. Parking citations have increased 24%. This will translate into a city revenue increase of between $2 and $3 million over last year. The Council refused to pass an ordinance that would allow the Police Department to charge for its services (Bradley Center). DPW has credited MPD with $86,000 of over charges year to date. Every year since Chief Jones became Chief, he tried to do more with less. Ald. Henningsen asked in the year 1992 did they have as many filled positions as they do right now. We have as many filled now as we did ten years ago. How many officers are working all day long. The Chief replied approximately 1/3rd. The Chief replied if they want to sustain any given beat with one officer, it is calculated that you need 2.8 officers. You have to factor in comp. time, vacation and sick time. Ald. Henningsen stated you have to continuously look at the data to see where the additional time is going. Most officers are scheduled for a 5 –2, 4-2 schedule biweekly, which means 5 days on, 2 days off, 4 days on 2 days off. Ald. Henningsen asked if there was a way the Comptroller could get this information. The Chief replied yes. They all have codes, however, he feels they can better deal this and better judge it on any given time with their new system. Ald. Henningsen asked how they use the CAD system to judge. The Chief replied the system is 15 years old and every time they make an inquiry it slows down the system. They determine the amount of time it takes to respond to calls 1 through 4. They are purchasing a brand new CAD system that hopefully will be in place by June, 2003. Ald. Henningsen asked if it will be able to tell how many calls they get for any one given address in a certain period. The Chief replied they can get them now, and that is how they get their nuisance reports. When more than 2 cars or more than 4 officers are sent to any one location, a sergeant is automatically sent to that location. The $73,000 is used for SAS fees and maintenance for hardware and software fees that they are charged for using their systems. Ald. Henningsen stated we allocated money for the COMPASS program and now there is a dispute going on because they have exchanged letters with you and you've written back that you won't address it. The Chief states he has looked the data and his command staff has decided that he should not divulge address information on crimes. If COMPASS wants the information, they should ask for a open records request. The Chief doesn't know what is going to happen with the information after he disseminates it. Ald. Henningsen asked the Chief if he can't edit out the information he doesn't feel should be given out. The Chief applied for and received the COMPASS grant and the Mayor's office took the program and the police budget director into his office. Ms. Engan stated the Grantor wanted to make sure the grant had a high level of visibility and that's why they moved it to the Mayor's office. Ald. Gordon asked about the recent tragedy with the Charles Young Jr. family and making residents feel sure and commended the Chief for the decrease in crime in the Metcalfe Park neighborhod. Some of the residents expressed a concern with the lack of police presence. They see the police officers, they see the squad cars, but in many instances where you see the kids, past curfew, in large numbers and the squad cars drive by. Sometimes when they stop as soon as they leave the kids re-assemble themselves. The Chief replied that he told the Captains at the last command staff that if they don't pay attention to curfew violators, parental responsibility citations and truants, the command staff will hit the street. 26 curfew citations were issued yesterday and 40 truants were cited yesterday. Ald. Gordon asked about parental responsibility. The Chief stated there is an ordinance for parental responsibility, basically, do you know where your child is? They are going to take that extra step to see if that parent should be cited for parental responsibility. Ald. Gordon asked if the Chief could give some totals in year to date enforcement of these citations.
The Chief stated he is a member of the Mayor's Commission on crime and after it made it's report, it no longer exist. They have meetings that are similar to town hall meetings, where other City forces are also there. After the meeting takes place, the Chief gets a report back on the following Wednesday. If something immediately needs to be addressed, he is informed right away. They have a Safety Coalition meeting once a month also and they set goals and programs. Their goal for next year is try to find a job for every young person in Milwaukee that wants to work. Ald. Gordon stated there seems to be a interest in the faith based coalition to provide safety for young people. The Chief stated he welcomes, begs and pleads to get anyone that is interested to attend (more than 1,000 people participated) with no media in attendance. They are working very hard to get a response unit that will be able to work with the people and still maintain the integrity of the Police Department. Mr. Schroeder stated the department has $3.2 million in grant funding. The Chief praised Senator Kohl for all his help in getting federal funding. Ald. Hines asked if two classes were sufficient for all the vacancies and anticipated retirements. The Chief replied no. He feels they need at least 3 classes. They have a close to 40% decrease in members leaving the Milwaukee Police Department. Ms. Engan stated the Mayor previously stated that once we saw what was happening with State Shared revenue, it may be possible to have a 3rd police class. There is no money in the budget for it at this time. Arrests are up significantly this year. Last year at this time we had 100 homicides and this year we have 88, and he strongly feels that is nothing to brag about. Ald. Hines asked about custodial services being eliminated at the police academy. The Chief stated they had 7 maintenance employees and now in this budget there will be 4. The building has not gotten smaller and the Chief wonders why they should be responsible for cleaning a building that not only is used by the Police Department, but the Fire Department as well with only 4 maintenance employees. The Chief feels that whoever did the analysis is comparing apples with oranges, because they are also a regional training academy. This building has lots of traffic. It is used in the evenings by fire personnel, police personnel, community groups and if it took 7 people to clean it before, how can we clean it with 4.
Ald. Breier stated she used to have bike police in her area and she hasn't seen any. She wanted to know if there is anyway they can have at least one bicycle police officer in each of these locations. The Chief stated yes on a part time basis and perhaps one on a full time basis. The captain makes those decisions. He allows the captains on any given day as to how well they performed and how they deployed their officers. The Chief asked Ald. Breier to address this with the captain and he would also address it with the Captain. She also asked about possibly having more block watches in the area. The Chief stated he will have an officer give her a call and do whatever they can to help out in the area. The Chief stated they have done outreach with Father Dulick. They will get in touch with Ald. Breier, stating this is a citywide coalition and not a north side coalition. Ald. Murphy stated one of the concerns from the Public Policy Forum is that clearance rates have dropped for the City. The Chief stated that is not an accurate statement. The Assistant Chief stated in 2001 they were at 26%, in June 2002, they were at 17.5%. The Chief stated they had a 20% increase in their clearance rate for violent crimes. The Chief stated today he was briefed on burglaries on the southside. The person indicated that because of their drug habit they were responsible for 10 burglaries a day. Ald. Murphy asked what we have been doing to decrease drugs in the City. The Chief replied HIDTA concentrates on high level investigations (wire tapes) and what is effecting the quality of life is street level drug dealers. They have seized drugs and money and have been extremely successful. Their arrests are up. However drug dealing is extremely profitable. It will take all of us and a mind set of the people that live in the neighborhood. The Chief feels that people can not sell drugs or have prostitution in the neighborhood without having the neighbors know about it. People have to not want that activity in their neighborhood. Ald. Murphy asked if the criminals are getting the message that if I rob a grocery shop with a gun, I'm going to be sitting in a federal penitentiary. The Chief replied they have. Ald. Murphy stated he wrote the Chief a letter and asked if he will be getting a response. The Chief replied he has the responses and is prepared to answer them. Ald. Murphy asked if they have any plans for the 3rd street station. The Chief replied that over time they probably will not have any use for that building. As to whether or not it can be used for storage for the Police Department or some other unit, maybe it could be used for storing some documents. Ald. Murphy asked the Chief to talk to HIDTA. The Chief replied it's an old building that needs lots of work. Ald. Henningsen asked if any rules of the Fire and Police Commission the Chief would like to have rescinded. The Milwaukee Police Department Rules and Procedures says any rules of the Fire and Police Commission, can be rescinded by the Common Council. The Chief replied he would have to look at them, but can't think of any at the time. Ald. Henningsen asked if we started a gun buy back program, the Police Department would have to check them out and see if they were used in a crime. The Chief said they would. Ald. Henningsen stated that during the next year we should look into designing the best buy back program we can. Ministers are saying grandmas, aunts etc. are willing to turn in guns, but they do not know if it was involved in a crime and do not want to get the grandchild or nephew/niece. The Chief replied he'd certainly encourage them to turn in the guns. Ald. Henningsen asked about the Chief's directives to the captains about neighborhood foot and bicycle patrol. The Chief replied he asked the captains were they are effective and what is the most efficient. Ald. Henningsen asked how they measure. The Chief replied to some extent they can tell by the area of satisfaction but they also have to be effective. If an officer is walking down the street, he can not respond as quickly as an officer on a bike or in a car to something happening several blocks away. Ald. Henningsen stated he doesn't have a problem with 27th and Kilbourn when there is a police officer there. They go home. The Chief replied "he'd like to think they went home, but they probably went some place else". He asked the Chief why he needs a printing shop. The Chief replied he uses more documents and more forms then the rest of the City combined. They print everything in house, other than ticket books. Ald. D'Amato asked about the COMPASS issue. Is the information that is requested available through open records request? The Chief replied it is. Ald. D'Amato asked if this is an Open Records Request why we can't give this information out. The Chief replied they want this information instantly. He is not prepared to give this information instantly. The Chief stated that IF COMPASS is not happy with the response time, they could ask for it in an Open Records request. Section 62.50 states the Chief is the Custodian of the records. The Chief feels that the records of the Health Department would not be released without the Commissioner looking at the records to see if they should be released. The Chief feels its his responsibility to look at any information released by the Police Department. The Chief stated he has to do what he has to do as the Chief of the Police. The aldermen can ask the Fire and Police Commission for whatever information or whatever directives they want. Ald. D'Amato asked about overtime over the years. Ms. Engan stated they do not keep in department budgets money they do not feel will be spent. When it comes to 2003, the Budget office took the number, $9.3 million the department requested and the Chief indicated it was a number he could live with. The Chief stated he had to use the overtime to put the officers on the street to police the City of Milwaukee. The Chief stated he has to respond to what people are making demands for. For example, cruising, he spent a lot of officer time and money dealing with that problem. When the president came to town and the All Star game, the police had to provide service. Ald. D'Amato asked if we double of the amount of officers will we increase the crime by 50%. The Chief said he could try that. Ald. D'Amato asked how we justify overtime if we can't tell people what is happening? The Chief said it could have had an impact. We don't know. The Chief said Ald. D'Amato can tell his constituents that the officers where out on the street doing the duties the Chief asked them to. They do not work for free. They are improving the quality of life. In 2001, we had 395 disciplines and it continues to grow each year. Ald. D'Amato stated he is concerned about this. The Chief stated he investigates every complaint that is lodged against a police officer. The Chief stated he doesn't have the information. He stated if you ask him for the information, he will provide the information. Every officer has the obligation to familiarize themselves if the rules and procedures of the department. The Chief stated he will provide the information. Ald. Murphy asked the Chief what conclusions the general public should draw from all the disciplines in the Fire & Police Commission. The Chief stated there was no internal procedures in the past. The Chief makes a determination whether he should discipline those officers. Rarely does a complaint come from an officer in internal affairs. Possibly, maybe the command staff is making sure the police officers are doing their job. Ald. Murphy states he hears from the police officers on the street they feel they are being micro managed and will not take any initiative for fear of being written up. The Chief said he should ask his friend and buddies the specifications.
(Ald. D'Amato excused at 4:15 P.M.)(Ald. D'Amato returned at 4:30 PM)
Commander Meyer read his answer to the questions asked by Ald. Murphy.
Parts of the CAD system is running now. They have had extremely good results with what is up and running. They have an established time schedule of June of 2003 to have the CAD up. The total budget to implement this thus far is $17 million, much of which is grant funded. Ald. Murphy asked if we have enough money in the budget to complete this system. Commander Meyer stated they do. They have not asked for any money for this project in this budget. They get a break for a year while they are under warranty. Ald. Murphy asked if they are coordinating with the Fire Department. Commander Meyer stated they have had a lot of communication with the Fire Department. Ald. Murphy asked how many officers would be transferred for this project this year. The new 911 equipment they have is not compatible with the CAD.
Ald. Henningsen stated he asked during the Fire Department's budget will there system disconnect when you call 911 on a Cell phone and it goes to the county where they only have two people answering those calls and half the time you get a busy system. Commander Meyer stated once there system is completely up they will be able to take these calls. The system they are putting in place will be able to handle these calls. The system is capable of receiving these calls and mapping them. Ald. Henningsen asked how long it will take ten years. Commander Meyer stated no. The County wants to continue to handle this.
Ald. Sanchez asked about the 911 service and he understands there is a high turnover and many of them work 12 hrs. a day and are gone in a few months. The telecommunicators, other than from cell phones, take the 911 calls. The Chief stated it was not a problem he or Commander Meyer are aware of. Ald. Sanchez asked if 911 handles Police, Fire and County. The Police dispatchers handles all the calls except those made from cell phones. If it is a Fire emergency, it is transferred over to the Fire Department with the Police Department operator still on the line. Ald. Sanchez asked about speeding tickets. He said he saw an officer issuing speeding tickets. He said he was told that was because the people in his area do not pay speeding tickets. The Chief replied he'd like to know who that officer was because those are the matters he may issue disciplines for. The Chief replied he has an officer in every district with radar everyday. Ald. Sanchez stated he talked to a tactical officer and the officer stated that they are told not to respond to gun shots for ½ hour. The Chief replied this is not true and no officer in the City has ever been told that especially a tactical officer. The Chief stated any call for shots fired or any crime in progress is a priority one call. They try to make a determination as to where they deploy officers. District 2 and 6 would not amount to the same number as district 3, 4 and 5. Lot of these cars are staffed with one person. The Chief replied in the Cad system they pre determine what type of call should be a 1 or 2, 3 or 4 person response. Ald. Sanchez stated he has been going to meetings in Ald. Gordon's district and things he hears there he hears in his district. Lots of people wonder where are the police. Ald. Sanchez asked what they tell the citizens. The Chief replied depending on who is there and who is making the complaints and when he asks them to remain there and give him more information after the meeting is over, they are not there at the end of the meeting. Sometimes he finds out that information he is being given is true and that's how he decides how to deploy officers in those cases. Ald. Sanchez stated the problem he is having is he is on his 3rd Captain. Currently he has Captain Williams and he wonders how often these changes are going to take place. One Captain was promoted and Capt Clark wanted to be sheriff. Capt. Fuente wanted to fill the vacancy in criminal intelligence agency. The Chief stated he has no current plans to transfer Capt. Williams. Ald. Sanchez asked if we are doing anything to retain officers in the Police Department. The Chief replied he doesn't see officers leaving the MPD at a great rate. We are a younger Police Department. Ald. Sanchez feels that we are the university of police and after the officers get trained, they leave the Police Department after 3 or 4 years. The Chief replied that is not the case. The Chief handed out a Median Squad Response Time for August 2002 (see exhibit B).
Priority 1 – most serious, crimes in progress, death or great bodily harm
Priority 2 – family trouble where there is no violence
Priority 3 – criminal damage to property, some thefts
Priority 4 – came home and lawn furniture was stolen.
Ald. Henningsen asked about cameras in the transport vans and what are the costs. The Chief stated there should be an officer in the back of the van. Ald. Henningsen asked what they are doing in the training of officers to reduce the number of lawsuits on occasion by police conduct. The Chief said that would fall into the failure to learn the rules and procedures of the department. The Chief stated wrongful death is almost always filed when someone dies in police custody. Ald. Henningsen asked about officers that speak Hmong or Lathonian. He asked if we could hire some civilians that could speak that language. The Chief replied they pay over $10,000 a year for a service and the Chief stated they are trying to recruit officers. The Chief replied if they want to hire a civilian to sit there waiting for a call from a Hmong or Lathonian speaking person that is okay with him. The Chief stated the items he has in his budget he needs to run the Police Department.
Mr. Garland stated he has an issue at the police academy and he understands they are proposing 4 custodians in the Police Department budget as custodians. The Chief stated that is not what he asked for and he did not ask for those positions to be transferred from the Department of Public Works. This came out of the Budget office. Ms. Engan stated the reduction from 7 positions to 4 positions was looked at from industry and the size of the building. The Chief asked that they look at usage. Mr. Garland stated this is changing of established work. No notification was given which is a violation of the contract. They should be given an opportunity to sit down and discuss this with the department and the impact. He understands how in these hard times we have to work together. He finds it difficult to understand how 4 people can do the work that it took 7 to do previously. They contract and sub contract out but do this knowingly with all parties involved. Ms. Engan stated this was discussed before Mr. Garland. The Chief stated they have not been getting the bang for their buck from the municipal garage. They have not been efficient. They have constantly talked to the managers at the garage on how quickly they can get those squads back on the road. There is some routine maintenance that can be done cheaper on the outside than having them done at the municipal garage. Mr. Garland stated he has been working with the Chief, so they can sit down and remedy this situation. Those conversations continue.
| HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR | Pass | 5:0 |
Action details
|
Not available
|