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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE - 65DQ snq� , City Council Meeting Correspondence IIID F 19C Item 65D No. AGREEMENT WITH THE SANTA ANA POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION (SAPOA) *RA - Recommended Action Friday, March 01, 2019 Page 1 of 1 Date of Name Representative of In Favor of In opposition Comment Correspondence RA*. of RA*. 1 2/4/2019 Michele Martinez Yes 2 2/5/2019 Jennifer Borges Yes 3 2/5/2019 Pete Yes 4 2/5/2019 Scott Davidson Santa Ana Resident Yes 5 2/5/2019 Tim Johnson Yes 6 2/5/2019 Leonel Velasquez Orange County Congregation Yes Rodriguez Community Organization 7 2/5/2019 Jose Gutierrez Santa Ana Resident Yes g 2/5/2019 Claudia Morales Santa Ana Resident Yes 9 2/13/2019 Paul Gonzales Santa Ana Resident Yes 10 2/6/2019 Mayor Pro Tem Juan Yes Villegas 11 2/7/2019 Gerry Serrano Santa Ana Police Officers Association Yes *RA - Recommended Action Friday, March 01, 2019 Page 1 of 1 Orozco, Norma From: Michele Martinez< Sent: Monday, February 04, 2019 5:44 PM To: eComment Subject: Re: 65D My apologies I sent the wrong document. Please disregard other email. Dear Clerk of the Council, City Manager and City Attorney, I would like to include the following questions below for the record and I would like to ask the, Staff, Mayor and City Council to respond to these questions before the deliberations and vote is taken for item 65D. The public deserves to have all these questions answered before the city council meeting tomorrow or before the city council votes on this big fiscal item that can possibly lead the city into insolvency 18-24 months. , 1100070 Tentative Agreement Questions: The POA membership and city council recently reached a tentative agreement over wages and benefits. On Tuesday, the city council is expected to vote on the MOU. Can the city council reconsider this tentative agreement? -Is this tentative agreement set in stone? -Does the city council have to approve the MOU in public? -How many votes does the city council need to appropriate funds for this contract? - What funding sources will the city use to pay for the MOU contract? Will it dip into the vacancy savings, measure x funds? If the city is using these revenue sources to fund the raises, how does it plan on funding and filling the current police officer funded vacancies(61)and the (50)unfunded vacancies ? -How does this contract help the SAPD retain or recruit police officers? -If the city council does not get a majority vote (5 votes) to authorize the expenditures for this agreed upon contract what happens with the tentative agreement? Recommended Action/ Staff Report Questions: Is this a staff recommended action? Is this a city council directed action ? Would the city council be giving this directive if Measure X failed ? How many raises has the POA received since 2011? -Are the proposed raises only for 3 years ? -The figures in the staff report only project out the costs of these raises through the 20/21 fiscal year. -Has staff put together what the on-going costs are of these raises beyond 6/30/21 including pension costs and compared those to the deficit projections previously provided during prior budget meetings? -Is it wise to utilize one time officer vacancy savings as justification for entering into a contract that will result in perpetual expense? -How exactly will providing raises improve safety, prevent -homelessness, and support our parks? Is it solely because we believe that by offering higher salary, we will result in increased hiring results? —Each time that we have given raises previously, have we seen a spike in hiring success? -If the last time that the police received raises was January 1, 2018 why would we have a July 1, 2018 retroactive raise period? -If the city moves into insolvency, will our current officer pensions be at risk? -How many other bargaining units have received raises since the last police union raises were implemented? -Since the city's payroll system is antiquated, is allocating 288 hours of payroll/HR staff time solely to determine retroactive pay for officers an appropriate use of city resources? Police Vacancies: -How many funded police positions do we have in the current budget? How many unfunded police positions do we have in the current budget? -Currently how does the police department pay for the exceeded over -time budget ? -What is the current budget for the police officer vacancies? -How many police officers will we hire by June 30, 2019, that are in the pipeline? -Have any adjustments been requested to fund non -sworn police officers or police officers ? If so , how will that impact the vacancy savings and what would be the remaining balance? SAPD Turnover Questions: -Will these raises actually result in some officers wanting to retire earlier than they may otherwise had planned? -How many police new hires has the city had in the past 5 years? -How many police officer retirements has the city had since 2013? -How many police officers quit since 2013? -How many police officers got fired since 2013? -How many police officers have left to another police agency over the past 5 years? Measure X (1.5% sales tax) questions: -Before the city council spends any of these funds it should move towards approving the oversight committee, creating a public and transparent process that is co-authored by the community since the majority of the members of this council were not in favor of Measure X. -Does Measure X have and sunset or end date? - If so, when do we stop collecting these funds? -Is it appropriate for the city council to allocate measure x funds which start on April 1st for retroactive increases? -If the raise is approved will the city have enough money to do what is needed and what was said to the voters( neighborhood safety, support parks, homeless prevention, city service enhancements ,etc., is we approve this size of raise now to one employee group? -Has the staff provided an overall plan for use of Measure X funds? -The majority of this council either voted no on Measure X or publicly voiced opposition, so now are we willing to allocate funds prior to even coming up with a comprehensive plan to achieve the stated goals of Measure X AND receiving the first dollar of additional sales tax? -Is there a problem in waiting to allocate and utilize Measure X funds until the additional sales tax is received? -Should we wait to spend those funds until a comprehensive plan is developed, reviewed and agreed upon that will accomplish the goals of Measure X? -Are any of the Measure X funds to be set aside to shore up the city's reserves or pension obligations ? -Will the Measure X citizens oversight committee be allowed to recommend use of funds? Other Employee Unions: How many employee bargaining units does the city have ? And when are these contracts up? Impact to Pensions Questions: -How will these increases impact pension cost for the city? -How many retired employees or beneficiaries do we have receiving pension benefits for entire city and how many for Police/Fire? -How many employees entitled to but not eligible to receive benefits? -How many employees currently paying into the pension system? -How many employees do we have paying into the old pension formula and how many do we have under PEPRA? Insolvency: -If the recommended raises and benefits are approved how soon before the city moves towards insolvency? Best, Michele Martinez Michele Martinez Sent from my iPhone On Feb 4, 2019, at 5:10 PM, Michele Martinez< wrote: Dear Clerk of the Council, City Manager and City Attorney, I would like to include the following questions below for the record and I would like to ask the, Staff, Mayor and city council to respond to these questions before the deliberations and vote is taken for item 65D. The public deserves to have all these questions answered before the council meeting tomorrow or before the council votes on this big fiscal item that can lead the city to insolvency. 65 D. MOU with SAPOA Tentative Agreement Questions: The POA membership and city council recently reached a tentative agreement over wages and benefits. On Tuesday, the city council is expected to vote on the MOU. Can the city council reconsider this tentative agreement? -Is this tentative agreement set in stone? -Does the city council have to approve the MOU in public? -How many votes does the city council need to appropriate funds for this contract? • How are we paying for this contract? Vacancy savings, measure x? If so, does the city not plan on filling the police officer funded vacancies(61)and (50)unfunded vacancies ? • How does this contract help the SAPD retain or recruit police officers? -If the city council does not get the majority vote (5 votes) to authorize the expenditures for this agreed upon contract what happens with the tentative agreement? Recommended Action/ Staff Report Questions: • Is this a staff recommended action? • Is this a city council directed action ? • Would the city council be giving this directive if Measure X failed • How many raises has the POA received since 2011? • Are these raises only for 3 years ? • The figures in the staff report only project out the costs of these raises through the 20/21 fiscal year. Has staff put together what the on-going costs are of these raises beyond 6/30/21 including pension costs and compared those to the deficit projections previously provided during prior budget meetings? • Is it wise to utilize one time officer vacancy savings as justification for entering into a contract that will result in perpetual expense? • How exactly will providing raises improve safety, prevent -homelessness, and support our parks? Is it solely because we believe that by offering higher salary, we will result in increased hiring results? Each time that we have given raises previously, have we seen a spike in hiring success? • If the last time that the police received raises was January 1, 2018 why would we have a July 1, 2018 retroactive raise period? • If the city moves into insolvency, will our current officer pensions be at risk? • How many other bargaining units have received raises since the last police union raises were implemented? • Since the city's payroll system is antiquated, is allocating 288 hours of payroll/HR staff time solely to determine retroactive pay for officers an appropriate use of city resources? Police Vacancies: How many funded police positions do we have in the current budget? How many unfunded police positions do we have in the current budget? Currently how does the police department pay for the exceeded over -time budget ? vacancy savings -the police department currently uses the vacancy salary savings to fund the exceeded over -time budget. What is the current budget for the police officer vacancies? How many police officers will we hire by June 30, 2019, that are in the pipeline? Have any adjustments been requested to fund non -sworn police officers or police officers ? If so, how will that impact the vacancy savings and what would be the remaining balance? SAPD Turnover Questions: • Will these raises actually result in some officers wanting to retire earlier than they may otherwise had planned? • How many police new hires has the city had in the past 5 years? • How many police officer retirements has the city had since 2013? • How many police officers quit since 2013? • How many police officers got fired since 2013? • How many police officers have left to another police agency over the past 5 years? Measure X (1.5% sales tax) questions: Before the city council spends any of these funds it should move towards approving the oversight committee, creating a public and transparent process that is co-authored by the community since the majority of the members of this council were not in favor of Measure X. -Does Measure X have and sunset or end date? - If so, when do we stop collecting these funds? -Is it appropriate for the city council to allocate measure x funds which start on April I st for retroactive increases? If the raise is approved will the city have enough money to do what is needed and what was said to the voters( neighborhood safety, support parks, homeless prevention , city service enhancements ,etc., is we approve this size of raise now to one employee group? -Has the staff provided an overall plan for use of Measure X funds? -The majority of this council either voted no on Measure X or publicly voiced opposition, so now are we willing to allocate funds prior to even coming up with a comprehensive plan to achieve the stated goals of Measure X AND receiving the first dollar of additional sales tax? -Is there a problem in waiting to allocate and utilize Measure X funds until the additional sales tax is received? -Should we wait to spend those funds until a comprehensive plan is developed, reviewed and agreed upon that will accomplish the goals of Measure X? -Are any of the Measure X funds to be set aside to shore up the city's reserves or pension obligations ? -Will the Measure X citizens oversight committee be allowed to recommend use of funds? Other Employee Unions: How many employee bargaining units does the city have ? And when are these contracts up? Impact to Pensions Questions: • How will these increases impact pension cost for the city? • How many retired employees or beneficiaries do we have receiving pension benefits for entire city and how many for Police/Fire? • How many employees entitled to but not eligible to receive benefits? • How many employees currently paying into the pension system? • How many employees do we have paying into the old pension formula and how many do we have under PEPRA? Insolvency: • the recommended raises and benefits are approved, how soon before the city move towards insolvency? Best, Michele Martinez Michele Martinez Sent from my iPhone On Feb 4, 2019, at 5:27 PM, Michele Martinez< wrote: Dear Clerk of the Council, City Manager and City Attorney, I would like to include the following questions below for the record and I would like to ask the , Staff , Mayor and city council to respond to these questions before the deliberations and vote is taken for item 65D. The public deserves to have all these questions answered before the council meeting tomorrow or before the council votes on this big fiscal item that can lead the city into insolvency. 65 D. MOU with SAPOA Tentative Agreement Questions: The POA membership and city council recently reached a tentative agreement over wages and benefits. On Tuesday, the city council is expected to vote on the MOU. Can the city council reconsider this tentative agreement? -Is this tentative agreement set in stone? -Does the city council have to approve the MOU in public? -How many votes does the city council need to appropriate funds for this contract? How are we paying for this contract? Vacancy savings, measure x? If so, does the city not plan on filling the police officer funded vacancies(61)and (50)unfunded vacancies ? How does this contract help the SAPID retain or recruit police officers? -If the city council does not get the majority vote (5 votes) to authorize the expenditures for this agreed upon contract what happens with the tentative agreement? Recommended Action/ Staff Report Questions: Is this a staff recommended action? Is this a city council directed action ? Would the city council be giving this directive if Measure X failed ? How many raises has the POA received since 2011? Are these raises only for 3 years ? The figures in the staff report only project out the costs of these raises through the 20/21 fiscal year. Has staff put together what the on-going costs are of these raises beyond 6/30/21 including pension costs and compared those to the deficit projections previously provided during prior budget meetings? Is it wise to utilize one time officer vacancy savings as justification for entering into a contract that will result in perpetual expense? How exactly will providing raises improve safety, prevent -homelessness, and support our parks? Is it solely because we believe that by offering higher salary, we will result in increased hiring results? Each time that we have given raises previously, have we seen a spike in hiring success? If the last time that the police received raises was January 1, 2018 why would we have a July 1, 2018 retroactive raise period? If the city moves into insolvency, will our current officer pensions be at risk? How many other bargaining units have received raises since the last police union raises were implemented? Since the city's payroll system is antiquated, is allocating 288 hours of payroll/HR staff time solely to determine retroactive pay for officers an appropriate use of city resources? Police Vacancies: How many funded police positions do we have in the current budget? How many unfunded police positions do we have in the current budget? Currently how does the police department pay for the exceeded over -time budget ? vacancy savings -the police department currently uses the vacancy salary savings to fund the exceeded over -time budget. What is the current budget for the police officer vacancies? How many police officers will we hire by June 30, 2019, that are in the pipeline? Have any adjustments been requested to fund non -sworn police officers or police officers ? If so , how will that impact the vacancy savings and what would be the remaining balance? SAPID Turnover Questions: Will these raises actually result in some officers wanting to retire earlier than they may otherwise had planned? How many police new hires has the city had in the past 5 years? How many police officer retirements has the city had since 2013? How many police officers quit since 2013? How many police officers got fired since 2013? How many police officers have left to another police agency over the past 5 years? Measure X (1.5% sales tax) questions: Before the city council spends any of these funds it should move towards approving the oversight committee, creating a public and transparent process that is co-authored by the community since the majority of the members of this council were not in favor of Measure X. -Does Measure X have and sunset or end date? - If so, when do we stop collecting these funds? -Is it appropriate for the city council to allocate measure x funds which start on April 1 st for retroactive increases? If the raise is approved will the city have enough money to do what is needed and what was said to the voters( neighborhood safety, support parks, homeless prevention , city service enhancements ,etc., is we approve this size of raise now to one employee group? -Has the staff provided an overall plan for use of Measure X funds? -The majority of this council either voted no on Measure X or publicly voiced opposition, so now are we willing to allocate funds prior to even coming up with a comprehensive plan to achieve the stated goals of Measure X AND receiving the first dollar of additional sales tax? -Is there a problem in waiting to allocate and utilize Measure X funds until the additional sales tax is received? -Should we wait to spend those funds until a comprehensive plan is developed, reviewed and agreed upon that will accomplish the goals of Measure X? -Are any of the Measure X funds to be set aside to shore up the city's reserves or pension obligations ? -Will the Measure X citizens oversight committee be allowed to recommend use of funds? Other Employee Unions: How many employee bargaining units does the city have ? And when are these contracts up? Impact to Pensions Questions: How will these increases impact pension cost for the city? How many retired employees or beneficiaries do we have receiving pension benefits for entire city and how many for Police/Fire? How many employees entitled to but not eligible to receive benefits? How many employees currently paying into the pension system? How many employees do we have paying into the old pension formula and how many do we have under PEPRA? Insolvency: the recommended raises and benefits are approved , how soon before the city move towards insolvency? Best, Michele Martinez Michele Martinez Sent from my Whone Orozco, Norma From: Houston, Nicole Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 10:19 AM To: eComment Subject: FW: Police pay raises - not appropriate now Kind Regards, Nicole Houston [ Executive Assistant City Manager's Officel nhouston@santa-ana.ora 714.647.5200 120 Civic Center Plaza I Santa Ana, CA 92701 This email and any files or attachments transmitted with it may contain privileged or otherwise confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you may have received this communication in error, please advise the sender via reply email and immediately delete the email you received. From: Jennifer Borges[ Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 10:18 AM To: City Council <CityCouncil@santa-ana.org> Subject: Police pay raises - not appropriate now I would like to let the council know that I do not support a pay raise for the SAPD at this time. We have other, more pressing issues in Santa Ana that need investment. Also, this proposal plans on taking funds intended for the hiring and training of new officers to pay for the raises, and that is unconscionable. I do not support this fiscally irresponsible proposal considering the current state of city finances. Thank you, Jennifer Borges FJ Orozco, Norma From: Houston, Nicole Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 10:49 AM To: eComment Subject: FW: Council meeting tonight Kind Regards, Nicole Houston [ Executive Assistant City Manager's Office) nhouston@santa-ana.or� 714.647.5200 120 Civic Center Plaza [Santa Ana, CA 92701 This email and any files or attachments transmitted with it may contain privileged or otherwise confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you may have received this communication in error, please advise the sender via reply email and immediately delete the email you received. From: pjl [ Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 10:06 AM To: Pulido, Miguel <MPulido@santa-ana.org>; Sarmiento, Vicente <VSarmiento@santa-ana.org>; Penaloza, David <DPenaloza@santa-ana.org>; Solorio, Jose <JSolorio@santa-ana.org>; Reyna, Roman <RReyna@santa-ana.org>; Villegas, Juan <JVillegas@santa-ana.org>; Iglesias, Cecilia <Clglesias@santa-ana.org> Subject: Council meeting tonight I am astonished that the Council would even think about such an egregious increase, especially on top of the last increase. No other group gets such increases. This is an order of magnitude over inflation. There is no comparable rate or increase in the State, much less the County. No other group is less accountable to the public. (destroying records to cover their own misdeeds, reinstatement of rouge officers) The sales tax increase was a misdirection to the public; with the funds to shore up bloated pensions and help us avoid bankruptcy. Now, those funds too are swallowed by the money pit that is the SAPOA. And the citizens are still underserved. Santa Ana sets the bar at overpaying for mediocre results. Where is your dedication to the citizens? Have you lost all moral compass? Any semblance of fiscal responsibility? https://voiceofoc.or/2019/02/25-million-in-santa-ana-police-raises-up-for-city council -approval/ They spend $450,000 on an election, and get $25,000,000 in return? Not to mention the ongoing pension and benefits that suck us dry for decades to come. I Orozco, Norma From: Castro -Cardenas, Julie Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 12:01 PM To: !City Clerk Cc: !City Manager Subject: FW: SAPID MOU For the record Respectfully, Julie Castro -Cardenas Acting Assistant to the City Manager City Manager's Office 20 Civic Center Plaza I Santa Ana, CA 92701 Mobile: 714.673-3619(jcastro-cardenas(d�santa-ana.org City Hall is closed every other Friday, click here for dates. This email (and attachments, if any) maybe subject to the California Public Records Act, and as such, may therefore be subject to public disclosure unless otherwise exempt under the Act. From: Scott Davidson [ Sent: Tuesday, February 5, 2019 12:00 PM To: City Council <CityCouncil@santa-ana.org> Subject: SAPID MOU I would like to let the council know that I do not support the SAPD POA MOU for pay raises at this time. While I can appreciate the hard work that the police officers perform, our focus should be on recruitment efforts not eliminating the funding budget for new police officers. Given our current financial situation it is not in good faith to the residents of Santa Ana to put us into bankruptcy by increasing our obligations without addressing how to fund them and keep our city safe. The POA must return to the drawing board and return with a proposal that is fiscally responsible and sound. This is not it. Thank you, Scott Davidson Santa Ana Resident Ward 2 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 Comments: Generally, compensation is a good sized component of retaining employees including officers. I am not on the face opposed at all to utilize pay to improve retention, but it has to be evaluated as part of an overall program. However, at the same time due to our pension system, it can also be a determining factor as to when an officer may actually retire thereby higher pay, or an increase in pay, may actually spur on retirement. This is a concern of mine. It is also a concerns me that we may see laterally hired officers come onto the police force only to retire a few years later after they have had their spike in income. An experienced hire who shortly retires does not allow the officer to get to know the community that they are providing services to as compared to someone who will be serving the city for a number of years into the future. Questions: In order to properly assess whether these raises will help in retaining officers, a number of questions need to be asked: 1. What has been the rate of retirements for the police force over the past few years? 2. What is the composition of our current police force including age, number of years of service, and year of retirement eligibility with a pension? 3. Has there been a determination of what the likely retirements look like based on our existing police force? 4. Has there been a determination as to the expected number of years that experienced officers will remain beyond what they would have remained without these raises? 5. Has there been a determination as to what an officer's retirement pay will be compared to their compensation when working so as to determine likelihood of retaining them on the police force versus retiring? 6. How will hiring laterally from other police departments impact retention in the next few years? 7. Will these compensation changes improve overall net officers on the police force when comparing officers retiring versus those who are hired? 8. How will success be measured in terms of the goal of improving retention of officers? 9. If the retention goals are not achieved, are there any corrections that will be made? Improve Neighborhood Safety Comments: We all want a safe city. A safe city is good not only for its residents, visitors, and businesses but also for its police officers. Some would say that safer streets may be one of the highest retention and hiring tools that a city may have even beyond compensation for officers. It concerns me that these raises, although well intentioned, may not result in increased safety in our city unless part of an overallplan. I am concerned that officer response times may not improve unless we fill all the vacancies we have. I am concerned that police pay is just one component of improving safety in our parks, streets, and neighborhoods. Questions: In order to properly assess this area, I feel we need to know: 1. Does the city have an overall strategy for utilizing Measure X funds to achieve the public safety improvements desired and how do these raises fit into that strategy? 2. If the city does have an overall strategy, where is it and has it been publicized? 3. If the city has not put out an overall strategy for utilizing Measure X funds, would it be prudent to incorporate police raises into that overall plan? 4. How will these pay increases reduce response times? Is it purely based upon being able to attract more hires? 5. How will these pay increases improve safety in our streets, parks and neighborhoods? 6. How is improving neighborhood safety measured? What data do we analyze? Measure X Strategy Comments: The voters approved the sales tax increase with passing of Measure X, the "Santa Ana Neighborhood Safety, Homeless Prevention and Essential City Services Enhancement Measure". This sales tax increase appears to have wide latitude as to uses in our city. I am afraid that we are putting the cart before the horse by approving these raises without an overall plan for the use of Measure X funds. Even though 5 out of 7 of the councilmembers either voted no while on council or publicly voiced opposition to the sales tax increase during campaigns, we have a great opportunity to shore up the city financially and put safety in the forefront. I am concerned that if we approve of this large of a increase now, we may not be able to make the best choices in the future. I have to imagine that any future Measure X safety strategy plan would include police officer raises, but we need to do it together and comprehensively. Questions: I would like to know: 1. Has the city put together an overall strategy for improving safety, prevent homelessness, improve city streets, improve essential city services from the funds provided by Measure X? a. If so, where is this plan? b. If not, when should we expect it? c. If not, would it seem prudent to incorporate into that plan police officer raises at that time instead of now? 2. What other items is the city looking to utilize Measure X funds for? 3. Is it wise to spend/commit future Measure X sales tax which we will not have come into the city until April before we even know what the true financial impact will be? 4. Can we wait to approve this MOU until after a strategy for improving safety, prevent homelessness, and provide for enhancements to essential city services are fully evaluated and a strategy is developed? Fiscal Impacts Comments: Again, I want our police officers to make more. They are a critical factor to the safety of our communities. I want faster response times. I want more officers hired and helping our community. I want a safe community for our officers to work in. I want experienced officers who know the community that they keep safe. I want them to receive more money each year. I want the best for them and their families. I also want to make sure that we have a city that can honor its commitments into the future. I feel that we need to analyze data and make good decisions. I feel that if a city is insolvent and on its way to bankruptcy, which our city may be on that trajectory, this is bad for officers- now and in the future. A broken promise is worse than a realistic promise. We need to analyze and project the fiscal impact of decisions. We all know that our city is in a structural deficit before Measure X but I am concerned we do not know what the financial picture looks like into the future, and not just in the next 2 and a half years but beyond that into 4 and 5 and 10 years. I am also concerned that there may be additional needs that there may not be the necessary funding for in the future. I am concerned that by analyzing only short term data through fiscal 20/21, that we may not have the information to make good long term decisions especially considering the dire trajectory that has been discussed further into the future. Being a CPA, the financial side of things may be more important to me than most, but regardless of someone's background, it likely is an evaluating component for everyone. Questions: There seem to be a number of financial questions which need to be answered including: 1. What is the impact of these raises if we actually fill all of the vacancies we need to actually improve safety for our community instead of just those on the police force on March 31, 2018? 2. Why are we using hiring data as of March 31, 2018 (almost a year ago) for determining the financial impact of these increases? a. How does the data change if we utilize current data? 3. Is it wise to provide a retroactive raise when the last SAPOA raise was in January 2018, which is 6 -months before the retroactive period? Is this standard for other cities to provide raises in 6 -month increments? With a January 2019 raise, that will be double 6 -month raises. 4. What is the impact of these raises beyond the 3 year period illustrated in the staff report? 5. What is the impact of these raises on our long term pension liabilities- especially beyond the 20/21 period? 6. What is the impact of these increases on the city's overall structural deficit? 7. What does the city's long term deficit look like when incorporating the additional Measure X revenue, the additional compensation to the police officers proposed, filling vacant police officer positions, and funding other safety needs of the city mentioned in the Measure X ballot proposal along with normal budgetary items into the future? Not just fiscal 20/21 but into the future beyond that. a. If this analysis has not been done, when can it be done? b. Can we wait to vote on the MOU until after the analysis is completed and discussed? 8. What is the impact of these increases once the Measure X sales tax decreases and expires? 9. Will overtime decrease with the hiring of more officers? Has that been incorporated into the analysis? 10. Is it wise to approve retroactive pay raises when our payroll system is so antiquated that it is a manual process to calculate backpay and pension obligations instead of implementing move forward pay increases? 11. What are the other financial needs of the city to hit the goals of Measure X? 12. Should the Measure X citizens advisory committee be up and running prior to allocating Measure X funds? 12. Can we wait to approve this MOU until we have full and transparent financial information? Conclusion I want our officers to have raises. I am not sure that we have been provided the necessary data and information to be able to determine if that is fiscally responsible to do though. I know that our officers need raises in the future. I am not sure that we have been provided the necessary data to determine what appropriate raises should be though. I know that we all want a safer community. I am not sure that we have been provided the necessary data & information in order to determine if the raises in the MOU are in line with achieving the goals. I support our police officers, but I am not sure that I can support this MOU under the current circumstances and information provided. No it is entirely possible that you have the answers to the above information and it has simply not been communicated to the public and in which case, you likely are able to make an informed decision based upon complete and accurate information. However, if you feel like there are unanswered questions, it seems like it would be appropriate to slow the process down until we have and understand the impact of the proposal. I wish you all a wonderful day and am praying for our officers, our community, and your leadership. Orozco, !Norma From: Leonel Velasquez Rodriguez < Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 1:01 PM To: eComment Subject: No more Increases to the budget of the police department. No Increases to the budget of the police department. The community has great needs as is the youth, support in education for parents to support their student children, improvement of parks, affordable housing and infrastructure in general, that is why we recommend to the council of the city of Santa Ana that Take those needs into account as a priority. Thank you very much God bless you Leonel Velazquez Rodriguez Immigration and Education Community Coordinator El Orozco, Norma From: Houston, Nicole Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 2:00 PM To: eComment Subject: FW: POA salary incrases Kind Regards, Nicole Houston ] Executive Assistant City Manager's Offices nhouston(asanta-ana.ore 714.647.5200 120 Civic Center Plaza I Santa Ana, CA 92701 This email and any files or attachments transmitted with it may contain privileged or otherwise confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you may have received this communication in error, please advise the sender via reply email and immediately delete the email you received. From: chenequel@aol. [ Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 12:57 PM To: City Council <CityCouncil@santa-ana.org> Subject: POA salary incrases To City Council members, I would like to let the city council members know that I do not support a pay raise for the SAPD at the time. We have other, more pressing issues in the city of Santa Ana that need investment. Also this proposal plans on taking funds intended for the hiring and training of new officers to pay for the raises, and that is not acceptable. I do not support this fiscally irresponsible proposal considering the current state of city finances. You all have the responsibility to ensure that the city is in a good state financially. We are already dealing with employee payouts that were not necessary. Do not cause more financial problems for the city. The POA should not have their way with the city. It is up to you to take a stand and say no. Jose I Gutierrez Mitre -Ramirez, Norma From: Houston, Nicole Sent: Tuesday, February 5, 2019 3:48 PM To: eComment Subject: FW: No on Todays Vote Kind Regards, Nicole Houston I Executive Assistant City Manager's Offices nhouston@santa-ana.ore 714.647.5200 120 Civic Center Plaza I Santa Ana, CA 92701 This email and any files or attachments transmitted with it may contain privileged or otherwise confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you may have received this communication in error, please advise the sender via reply email and immediately delete the email you received. From: Claudia Morales[ Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2019 3:46 PM To: City Council <CityCouncil@santa-ana.org> Subject: No on Todays Vote Hello City council, As a resident of this city, I do not support SAPD getting the $25.6 increase. It's irresponsible, it's ludicrous to put more burden on the pension plans that as it is, it's already taking a toll on the city resources. We need accountability and transparency. More bandwidth of resources -- adding this huge compensation will not solve the problem. Thank you, Claudia Morales Orozco, Norma From: Houston, Nicole Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 9:21 AM To: eComment Subject: FW: Comments for Council Consideration Attachments: Letter to Council 02-13-19.pdf Kind Regards, Nicole Houston [ Executive Assistant City Manager's Offices nhoustonftsanta-ana.org 714.647.5200 120 Civic Center Plaza I Santa Ana, CA 92701 This email and any files or attachments transmitted with it may contain privileged or otherwise confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you may have received this communication in error, please advise the sender via reply email and immediately delete the email you received. From: Paul Gonzales [ Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 9:10 AM To: City Council <CityCouncil@santa-ana.org> Subject: Comments for Council Consideration Good morning, Please see that the attached letter is delivered to members of City Council. Thank you Paul Gonzales February 13, 2019 To the Honorable Members of the Santa Ana City Council, On Tuesday, February 5, 2019, the Council narrowly approved a Memo of Understanding (MOU) agreeing to a pay increase for officers in the Santa Ana Police Department amounting to more than $25 million over the course of three years. At that meeting, you were implored by members of the community to reject this MOU given uncertainty over Santa Ana's current financial health; however, the majority of the Council disregarded the public's input and moved forward with approving the MOU. As justification for approving this agreement, members of the Council majority offered explanations that ranged from incomprehensible to downright untruthful. Mayor Pulido was characteristically dismissive of members of the public and his colleagues. Councilmember Sarmiento spoke many words without making a cogent point or offering an explanation for why he felt that such a generous pay increase is warranted at this time or a legitimate use of Measure X revenue. Councilmember Solorio assured residents that these raises will not leverage Measure X tax revenue, despite the fact that the Staff Report accompanying the agenda item specifically identified this revenue as a source of funding. And Councilmember Penaloza was primarily concerned with where Santa Ana Police Department salaries will fall when ranked against other municipalities after the pay increase, indicating he is comfortable with the mark of distinction for our police department being how highly officers are paid rather than how well they serve our community. Given the lack of thoughtful discussion and public debate on this issue, residents of Santa Ana are rightfully displeased with the outcome of your decision to approve this MOU. We are also concerned that this decision was made without the benefit of an accurate understanding of our city's current fiscal situation. The fact that the Council recently dismissed our City Manager, whose responsibility it was to provide an objective and fact -based assessment of our finances to enable the Council to make prudent and sustainable fiscal decisions, further erodes the public's confidence that this MOU was approved based on a comprehensive understanding of its short- and long-term impacts to Santa Ana's finances. Given the concerns that residents have expressed to the Council regarding this MOU, I am writing to encourage you to do the following: Rescind your approval of this MOU, thereby relieving the City of its obligation to pay the increased salary and benefit packages committed to therein. Commission an independent forensic audit of the City's finances in order to ascertain an objective and unbiased assessment of the City's financial foundation. Since funds for such an audit were allocated when Council passed its current budget, initiating such an audit should be possible within short order. Re-enter contract negotiations with employee unions in a truly transparent manner after a comprehensive audit has been completed. This will help the public feel confident that such contracts are entered into with a clear-eyed understanding of our City's finances. As Santa Ana's elected officials, you have an obligation to act in a manner that is aligned with the needs and values of the community you serve. Execution of the MOU to increase officer pay was not consistent with your obligations to our community, but you have an opportunity to make that right. For the sake of Santa Ana's financial health and the well-being of its residents, I hope you will demonstrate humility and move to restore the public's trust by going back to the drawing board on this agreement. Thank you,, Paul Gonzales Santa Ana Resident February 6, 2019 To the Men and Women of the Santa Ana Police Department: It is an honor to serve as the Mayor Pro Tem for the Council of Santa Ana and I stand in support of all City employees, residents, and businesses. I am committed to serving the City of Santa Ana's best interest. As member of public safety, I know first-hand the sacrifice and dedication it takes to protect others in a community. The Santa Ana Police Department has exceptional Police Officers and staff who I have a high regard for. Since my election into the City Council, I have been an avid supporter of law enforcement and I will always support the Santa Ana Police Department. Over the course of my tenure with the Council, I prioritized public safety, ensured that a Chief of Police was selected and have advocated for public safety funds at the State and Federal level. My role as the Mayor Pro Tem requires that I make decisions that are sustainable and financially feasible for the City. At yesterday's City Council meeting, I made the comment that based on law enforcement integrity that If you do the right thing, then you don't have to worry about anything. That statement was based on thoughtful consideration and principal; leading to my comments and decision about to the Police Officer's Association Memorandum of Understanding (POA MOU). The Santa Ana Police Department team deserves a raise and an increase of capacity. However, the POA MOU that was presented at yesterday's Council meeting needs to be financially feasible and sustainable for the Santa Ana Police Department and for the City. The POA MOU was approved by the majority of the Council without the vote of the funding appropriations, essentially an unfunded agreement, which is unjustified. In an effort to eliminate confusion and unnecessary rhetoric, I would like to encourage you to watch the City Council meeting's video, specifically my comments about the POA MOU, so that misunderstandings are clarified. My commitment to the devoted men and women of the Santa Ana Police Department will not falter. I have an open door policy should you want to speak with me directly. Respectfully, ayor Pro Tem Juan Villegas Link to Cid Council Recording - Item 65D - Agreement with SAPOA (Fast forward to 1:28:50) ,0 February 7, 2019 SANTA ANA POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION 1607 NORTH SYCAMORE SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA 92701.3513 [7141836.1211 FAX 17141 836.6108 ESTEEMED BRETHREN, I have received countless calls and massages of disbelief, for lack of better terms, from our membership and public, especially after everyone received a letter from Mayor Pro Tem Villegas at your place of employment. In response to the many (memberships requests, the following is a'factual response. On the February 5, 2019, council meeting our Tentative Agreement (contract] with the city was approved by the council ma or by a vote of 4-2. it is always an honor to have the support of those council members that value public safety and eppraciste die professional service you provide to our community 2A/7, The community we serve bas spoken that public safety is a priority and their actions were heard at the ballot by the passing of a Public Safety Measure. Please take the time to view the council meeting and see for yourself who supports our public safety professionals. There are always a handful of members of the community that will never support public safety and theft there are certain palit'cians, (some that termed out and returned to speak at the hearing), that Profess they support our, police off lost,% but never make a vote in support of them when it counts, it takes courage to do the right thing and take the time to research and press for accurate data. The handful of community opponents doss not represent the value of the 350,000 plus residents of our, community. The fact isour revenues are growing; sales tax is going up by approximately $00 million annually, cannabis revenue Inas been increasing, and our reserves are expanding. The midyear budget reported than $1 G2 million is being transferred out of the "IS- 19 'budget and into reserves. is itto create an illusion of a deficit, wily? With the city's fiscal health trending positively, the council rnaicrity approved a neva contract. In addition, there is approximately $6 to $10 million in budgeted vacancies within the police budget. All of the foregoing, as well as the used to reward officers .and our support professionals, is sound justification for approval of our Tentative Agreement: an agreement that is about $4 million per year, which is about 1,50% of the city's budget. Councilman Villages sent a letter to the police department stating the council majority approved our contrast (as lie stated he was not part of that majority) but that out, contract still needed one (1 ) vote to be funded. He could have voted to appropriate resources to fund the agreement, but he chose not to. With these various facts in mind', hopefully, at the next Council meeting he fulfills his ministerial fluty and votes to fund the approved contract as staff recommended, He now has a rosponsibrkty to carry out compliance with a legal contract and ensure the city abides by its legal agreement. Respectfully, CaERRY SERRANO PRESfOENT SANTA ANA POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OSf rr @Ar�t]ba.9erraano 2Qke{12.a7 r;onraonsetis Mayor Pro Tom Juan V,Oapnw dated 02.06.2019