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Home My WebLink AboutCORRESPONDENCE - 85A 1e / tr11 August 16, 2016 City Council Meeting Correspondence 85A - DISCUSS AND PROVIDE STAFF DIRECTION ON SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL PAY FOR PATROL OFFICERS AND LONGEVITY PAY FOR POLICE OFFICERS WHO HAVE BEEN WITH THE SANTA ANA POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR MORE THAN 15 YEARS (Mayor Pulido) Date of Sender/Representative Agency Corresp. 1, 8/12/2016 Gerry Serrano President, Santa Ana Police Officers Association 2. 8/16/2016 Santa Ana Police Chief Rojas Santa Ana Police Department I:IAgendas12016 Agend881E88181s 2016-Current Meedng12016-08-1 Exhibits_Correspondence 85A,docx Trujillo, Rose Ann From: Huizar, Maria le Sent: Friday, August 12, 2016 4:38 PM To: eComment Cc: Cavazos, David; Rojas, Carlos; Raya, Edward; Carvalho, Sonia R.; Rossini, Laura Subject: FW: Council Meeting Agenda Item 85A Attachments: Support Letter 85A.docx Please include comments to Agenda Item. Thank you. From: Gerry Serrano [ Sent: Friday,August 12, 2016 4:12 PM To: Huizar, Maria <MHuizar@santa-ana.org> Subject: Council Meeting Agenda Item 85A Hi Maria, 1 respectfully request my following comments be added to Agenda Item 85k (also added as an attachment) The salary survey performed pursuant to the mandate of the current Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Santa Ana Police Officers Association discloses what was generally thought to be true: Santa Ana Police Officers are grossly underpaid. Per the City's survey Santa Ana Officers are as much as 18% percent below in pay than the top agencies in Orange County. As a result, officers are retiring at the earliest possible opportunity, a practice previously unknown in Santa Ana. Even though eligible to retire, police officers typically stayed for an additional three to seven years. That provided the City with a strong cohort of experienced officers. Aside from the knowledge that these officers had, which made them a benefit to the citizens, they were in a position to pass that institutional knowledge and expertise on to newer employees in both formal and informal settings. Of significance is that since 2012, 98 officers have retired/separated/etc. and of those 37 officers were premature retirements or officers that left for other agencies. Of greater importance and an alarming fact is that Santa Ana Police Officers are now leaving to other police departments. This never occurred before. For years, Santa Ana PD was the place other officers would choose to lateral to. We recruited the best in the industry and it was common fact within the law enforcement community that everyone wanted to work at the Santa Ana Police Department thus we hired the best of the best. Now in unprecedented history, officers are applying and leaving to neighboring police departments. Since 2013, sixteen (16) police officers have left to other departments and two (2) resigned for personal reasons. Personal reasons? Additionally, since 2014 nine (9) police recruits resigned. Three (3) lateral officers hired quit within a year of employment. These things have never happened before. Are we hiring the best of the best? Police skills that are refined here, a city in which it takes police skills to do the job on a daily basis, are being taken to other agencies. Again the citizens of Santa Ana are the ones that suffer. Policing in Santa Ana is not becoming easier. Like most cities, Santa Ana is experiencing an increase in violent crime. Shootings have increased in record numbers (over 210 this year); murders 1 have increased. Citizen concern with law enforcement practices has taken what was always a dangerous job and made it more so. Second-guessing and hesitation creep into every confrontation. And, as seen over the past month, outright assassination is becoming common. Longevity pay is being proposed to keep officers at the Santa Ana Police Department. A common program, used in most police departments and other public agencies, longevity pay is compensation of the years of experience one gains on the job. It is an incentive to remain at work, rather than leave as soon as possible. It keeps younger employees here with the promise of an added benefit as years of service increase. In 2012, we had approximately 400 police officers in a city that at its peak is pushing a population of half a million (500,000). Currently, we are flirting around 300-308 officers; that's unacceptable. In order to get back to adequate and safe staffing levels, we must address this problem with a dual prong approach; retention and recruitment. As you know, when hiring a recruit it can take up to if not more than 18 months before they hit the street as a certified officer. The quickest way to improve staffing is by retaining the officers we have. A Longevity program, which is common in most agencies, will also assist the recruitment vain by bringing the Santa Ana Police Department in line with our neighboring agencies and the industry's best practice and standards. We must be competitive with the top agencies in Orange County in order to retain and recruit the best qualified applicants and have a healthy department. Considering everything happening in Santa Ana, I don't think below mediocrity is acceptable. The current standard will only cause further deterioration and financial burdens in the form of liabilities. ### GERRY SERRANO, President Santa Ana Police Officers Association 31-STRONG ### 2 2 1. Projected number of Police Officer hires for 2016—50 2. Officer Laterals In/Out 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total Laterals Out 0 4 3 1 1 9 Laterals In 5 4 5 10 3 27 3. Number of Applications Received 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Recruits 928 2,555 4,450 2,835 Laterals 115 74 125 117 Total 1,043 2,629 4,575 2,952 4. Cost to provide raise requested by POA(Shift differential pay, Longevity pay, Non-sworn bonus) • $3,504,160 5. Sworn Retirements Sworn Retirements 25 25 ,. 23 20 -/--- 16 15 -7 12 14— _10 ii Sworn Retirements 10 , r I T 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Note: 2016 is a projection based on YTD actuals