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Orono, !Norma From: Tim Johnson < Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 12:20 PM To: eComment; Sarmiento, Vicente; Solorio, Jose; Villegas, Juan; Penaloza, David; Reyna, Roman; Iglesias, Cecilia; Pulido, Miguel Subject: Agenda Item 65D: SAPD MOU I am writing you today to voice concern about agenda item regarding agenda item 65D, Agreement with the Santa Ana Police Officers Association (SAPOA). I hope that you have time to read and consider the below thoughts. I also hope that each of you will ask the needed questions of city staff to determine how you should vote with the best interest of the city, both today and tomorrow, in mind. First, some background. I believe that having a strong and robust police department is imperative for our city. I believe that we should support our officers. I also believe that we need to pay them appropriately in comparison to the surrounding areas. I want to have more officers hired which I believe will ultimately improve response time. I want to hire officers who will be here for a long time so that they can know the communities and neighborhood that they are serving which I believe will increase the safety of our city. I want our officers to make more money, but I feel that the process and data analysis is equally as important outside of extreme circumstances. I have to believe that in order to consider these raises, there is belief that this will result in improved ability to attract and return police officers (Goal #7, Objective #4 of the strategic plan). Additionally, I would have to believe that since there is reference to Measure X as to the funding of these increases, and any other increases by labor groups, that there likely is belief that these increases may also address homelessness and improve neighborhood safety. From the staff report, it is unclear as to how these increases will achieve the desired results and there definitely seems to be unresolved questions which should help you in making a good determination on this item. Improve SAPOA Recruiting Comments: In general, I would say that compensation is a considering factor in hiring, and as such, I am not on the face opposed to paying at or above market to attract recruits. However, there does not seem to be any indication as to where SAPOA is in relation to other cities in the area. We must consider all forms of compensation when comparing city by city by the way and not just with base compensation. Additionally, there does not seem to be any indication as to whether past raises have actually resulted in additional hiring success. I would expect that if we believe that these raises are expected to fill our current vacancies, that there would be an explicit goal stated in the MOU and having the data to not only show how this has worked in the past but also the expectation and tracking process in the future. Questions: I believe that there are certainly questions that should be asked and answered prior to determining whether these raises will improve officer recruiting such as: 1. How many officers were recruited and hired in the past few years, by year? 2. What is the timing of these hires in comparison to raise periods? 3. Does staff show any correlation between past raises and hiring successes? 4. What is the compensation for SAPOA officers in comparison to other cities in the area? When comparing, please make sure we are comparing apples to apples including all areas of compensation which should include not only the base salary, but also OT, health insurance, longevity pay, health insurance, contributions to employee share of pension, and any other components of salary. 5. How is the SAPOA going to measure success in recruiting and tie it to these raises? Is there an expectation of improvement from the past? If this does not happen, is there any ramifications or corrections? 6. Are there more effective ways to improve recruiting such as hiring bonuses which may be paid out over a period of time? Have these other measures been considered? They are utilized quite often in the private sector. Improve SAPOA Retention N