65B - PARK SECURITY UPDATE - Laserfiche WebLink

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Park Security Update and Staff Recommendation to Ensure Continued Security April 7, 2015 Page 2 The City Attorney, Risk Manager and City Manager have collectively reviewed and concluded that both the City and the appointed Park Rangers could be in violation of CalPERS rules prohibiting retiree annuitants from continuing to work for a CaIPERS agency while receiving PERS retirement benefits. The Park Rangers and /or their representatives have argued that the rules do not apply to them, but based on the City's research and the opinion of several attorneys who advise public agency's staff believe that the most prudent approach is to stop employing PERS retirees, unless they clearly fall within an exception for employment. The City's Personnel Services Agency has performed extensive outreach efforts to ensure the City receives a highly qualified pool of Park Ranger candidates. The outreach efforts include contacting law enforcement retiree associations, community colleges, police academies, criminal justice programs, former police recruit candidates, and law enforcement associations. As of the date of this item, the recruitment process for the new Park Rangers has resulted in the following: • 68 applications received thus far • 11 applicants passed initial screening and referred to the Police Department • The Police Department is scheduled to conduct oral interviews on April 2nd • Physical agility tests are scheduled for April 11th The recruitment for new Park Rangers will remain open and continuous with no scheduled closing date. Based on the Police Department's extensive background review process, it is estimated that the hiring of new Park Rangers may take between six to nine months to complete. As of the date of this item, no new Park Rangers have been hired. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Given that the City has not received a response from CalPERS and because the current Park Ranger separation notices (Exhibit 3) will take effect on April 18, City staff recommends the following measures to ensure continued public safety in City parks: • Provide 100 hour weekly coverage solely dedicated to public safety in the parks. The 100 hour weekly coverage will be as follows: • Full -time Police Dep. Park Liaison Officer' 40 hours • Non- CalPERS annuitant Park Ranger 20 hours • Police Overtime 40 hours • Continue to recruit and fill the Park Ranger positions • Patrol officers to cover off hours as they do now ' Prior to the Police Department creating a Park Liaison Officer, the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Agency provided 100 hours per week of Park Ranger coverage. 65B -2