REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION

To: From: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Patrick Urich, City Manager

AGENDA DATE REQUESTED: April 8, 2013 ACTION REQUESTED: APPROVE THE RESTORATION OF THE POSITION OF ASSISTANT CHIEF OF POLICE IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND THE ELIMINATION OF THE BUDGETED POSITION OF DONT SHOOT COORDINATOR. BACKGROUND: The FY2013 budget for the Police Department included two (2) new Dont Shoot Coordinator positions. Both positions had the same title and salary ($60,000 ea.) but both were intended for different functions. One of the positions was necessary to coordinate community services for offenders as well as coordinating community involvement in the program. That position has been filled. The second coordinator position has not been filled and was designed to function at a much higher level in the strategy, coordinating the efforts of all of the involved agencies to include the Police Department, Peoria County Sheriffs Office, Peoria County States Attorneys Office, U.S. Attorneys Office, and the Office of the Mayor. This position was designed to have overall responsibility for the implementation and operation of Dont Shoot and would be the position most critical to the success of the strategy implementation. Beginning in the early stages of the implementation of Dont Shoot and prior to the approval of a budgeted position for a full-time overall coordinator, the heads of the aforementioned participating partner agencies formed a governance group and shared the leadership and coordination responsibilities. As the program has developed, it became apparent to the members of the governance group, in consultation with Director David Kennedy of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control (Author of Dont Shoot), that the overall leadership and coordination was a responsibility that was best suited for the Police Chief. This was determined to be particularly true in the first few formative years. The Chief is and has been intimately involved in both the creation and the operation of the program and already has the connection to and confidence of all the major players in the program and his continued oversight is advantageous over hiring on a new employee. While the overall coordination of Dont Shoot fits very well within the position responsibilities of the Chief, the additional workload does not. At the end of 2009 the position of Assistant Chief was eliminated from the Police Departments budget due to the recession. At that time the Chief and his Captains had to absorb the duties of the Assistant Chief. Even before the initiation of Dont Shoot, the management team Department had struggled with the workload at times. If approved, the budgeted position of Dont Shoot Coordinator will be eliminated and those funds will be used toward the restoration of the position of Assistant Chief, effective in mid-April. This will free up a sufficient amount of time for the Chief to be able to continue in both his traditional role as the Chief and the new responsibilities relative to Dont Shoot. The funding necessary for the remainder of 2013 ($95,000) shall come from the elimination of the Dont Shoot Coordinator ($60,000) combined with $35,000 in unspent salary from the unfilled Resident Officer position. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funding for the Assistant Chief position to be comprised of $60,000 from the salary account for the Dont Shoot Coordinator position and $35,000 from the salary account for Resident Officer. NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: The successful implementation and operation of Dont Shoot will have a direct impact on gun violence in the community. IMPACT IF APPROVED: The position of Assistant Chief will be restored within the Police Department and the Chief of Police will assume the responsibility of overall coordination of Dont Shoot.
Template Modified 3.27.13

IMPACT IF DENIED: A suitable candidate will have to be identified to coordinate Dont Shoot. ALTERNATIVES: N/A EEO CERTIFICATION NUMBER: N/A WHICH OF THE GOALS IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCILS 2011 2026 STRATEGIC PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION ADVANCE? 1. Responsive, Efficient City Organization WHICH CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S) FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENT? 1. Reduce crime. 2. Reinvest in neighborhoods. DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office