Police Commission Minutes 03/05/08

The Rochester Police Commission held their regular monthly meeting in City Hall Council Chambers on March 5, 2008. Present at this meeting was Comm. Levesque, Comm. McManus, Comm. Bemis, Chief Dubois, Deputy Chief Allen, Attorney Grossman, Sgt. Eric Babine, Officer Justin Seckendorf, and Secretary Warburton.

Mike Mundy, Somersworth Resident, President of the NEPBA, Local #23.and Patrick Emerson, Vice President of the NEPBA, Local #23. The Local is concerned with complaints received by this Commission that may be investigated, with a specific finding. The Commission is the board to which we would appeal. If the Commission brings the complaint forth, the appeal process cannot serve justice, and may be prejudicial. The Local would urge citizens that have complaints against the officers or the Department to bring those to the Department under the process that exists.

Comm. Levesque noted that he believes the Chief can answer the merit question with more authority at this time. With regard to complaints received by the Commission, we do not encourage people to call us as Commissioners for a problem to be investigated. At a prior meeting I said publicly if the people have a problem with the Police Department to call the Police Department, as the Commission is not the investigatory board. They should call the Commission after, if they are not satisfied. We are elected to serve the people.

Chief Dubois said as the Local knows, complaints are thoroughly investigated. We have good documentation as to how it comes to our attention. To restate what the Commission and the Local have said, we encourage people to bring issues to our attention, either in person or in writing. We do a thorough investigation and executive commanders review the results. Anything that is sustained the police have a right to go through an appeal process, at which time it reaches the Commission. Hence the statements by the Local and the Commission.

The merit pool portion of our budget is set up to address merit raises, a contract item with the bargaining unit. Officers are evaluated and reviewed and merit raises are put in place at my level and then brought to the Commission for final approval. It is the intent and contractual obligation by contract to fund a merit raise that is applicable and consistent of the work product the employee puts forth for the City. It is what I intend to do to ensure this is done at my level and carried forward to the final disposition phase.

Local #23 Vice President Patrick Emerson said it is important to hear this, as some of what we are hearing is contractual. We have heard the things that have been said in the budget committee regarding line items for the merit pool. We want to be on the same page, specifically talking about an officer up for an increase and when it comes before this Commission that raises are not based the budget concerns of the City. We wanted it explained out loud this is what the system is designed to do.

Comm. McManus commented that from what he has seen, basically the Commission gets a “report card” on the officers and how they are rated and a number is put to it. After serving 28 years on the City Council, this is a different seat and a different job. With regard to a recently reported incident a citizen faxed a letter to Comm. McManus and it was sent to the Chief to be reviewed. I know we have to stay neutral, as we might have to sit and be judge and jury.

Local #23 President Michael Mundy said, we understand they will come to you and we hope you do refer it so you can stay neutral. It’s almost like we’ve been prejudged once you read that letter.

Comm. Bemis commented that the people of the City elect him. I don’t work for the Police Department. I work for the community. I got a call at 0730 hours and I in turn called the Chief. We will get emails, phone calls etc., reference to situations and incidents and as a Commissioner I’m going to follow up with the Chief. “I respect you people. I was an officer.”

Comm. McManus noted that it has been brought up by the Local they would like to meet with the Commission. We’d like to do that as well. We will check with our legal counsel.

Chief Dubois applauded the Local for coming in to talk about these issues and get a public response from the Commission. I want to assure you that we work closely with the finance department to ensure adequate funding in the line items to appropriately administer the merit program for all union and non-union employees. It is important to honor the obligations and reward the good work you do. I am comfortable with the numbers the finance director has put into the FY09 request. I am comfortable with the numbers left there by this Commission and the budget committee.

A. Budget Committee Update. Comm. Bemis noted due to additional information just provided to the Commission this evening regarding the budget another meeting of the committee is warranted.

Comm. McManus said that the Chief did his job and the City Manager took a big chunk more of money. People need to know its not coming from this board. We support getting the tools they need and it seems like this independent committee has found no fluff has been put into the budget.

1. Check Policy. Chief Dubois advised that he had looked into the policies of other departments and obtained some sample policies. He said, “I don’t think you are ready to act on this, but this is a synopsis of what some other agencies in the state are doing in regards to bad checks.

A. Oath of Office: Justin Seckendorf to Police Officer. Attorney Grossman gave the oath of office for Patrol Officer to Justin Seckendorf. Justin’s family and friends were on hand to witness his achievement and participate in badge pinning ceremonies.

Chief Dubois noted that Officer Seckendorf in his young career as a Rochester Officer is already eligible for an award. Due to his enlistment in the Marines, particularly in the recent past with combat time in Baghdad, he meets the criteria for a military service bar for his uniform. Comm. Levesque pinned the award.

B. Oath of Office: Eric Babine to Police Sergeant. Attorney Grossman gave the oath of office for Sergeant to Eric Babine. Eric’s family and friends were on hand to witness his achievement and participate in badge pinning ceremonies.

C. Policy Update: Standard 16.4.1; Chaplain Program. Chief Dubois advised that this update was driven by the Commission, with a request to change the chaplain uniform. We have put together a uniform, which will distinguish the position as Chaplain without the resemblance of an officer’s uniform. This program has added some spirituality, inspiration and guidance to our role. Hopefully we’ve accomplished what you are looking for. We are at a point where the Commission would do a first and second reading.

Comm. McManus noted that he feels the Chaplain should be a man of the cloth. He has heard a couple of officers would prefer to speak to a man of the cloth rather than an ex-commissioner. Has the Department considered that angle?

Chief Dubois stated when we instituted the program; it was modeled after the successful Fire Department chaplain program. When we advertised that we were intending to implement this program, some, with the background you’ve described did submit letters of interest. The one we chose, while not having a ministry background, has a spiritual background with the church. In addition to the strong spiritual background we’ve provided some fairly extensive education and training in special areas of police and fire chaplaincy, supported by both departments, as this person represents the Fire Department as well. This was designed for him to strengthen the skills dealing with emergency service issues. Being of the cloth is not a concern of mine. If you are hearing that, I have not heard it.

Chief Dubois advised that is correct. The costs associated would be for a uniform and what is proposed here is less expensive than what we were using. It was modeled after others in this area and in the country. Our program is also consistent with what happens around the country. There is a mix. It depends on whether you want a theology or ministry degree or people who have a spiritual background such as the person we use now. The adopted program works well. In fact we called him yesterday for an officer injury, to let them know he was available if that officer desired. This person has worked with us in ceremonial events, for new officers coming on board, has worked in partnership with Victim’s Inc., and the Fire Department uses this person for other things.

This person is nondenominational with a network of referrals available. We also have an EAP that we can refer staff to access that type of service. This person could be a connection, or fill in a void if the employees chose to use the program. What is shared with the Officer and Chaplain is confidential. That is not shared with me. This is all volunteer.

Chief Dubois replied that is a good example of how different it is, even in this state. I’m happy with the services we’ve had. This is the first I’ve heard that officers are not comfortable. I’ve had no complaints with the Chaplain’s service reported to my office.

D. Application for Grants: Police Standards and Training; Review and Accept. Deputy Chief Allen advised that we applied for this grant several months ago to offset some of the costs to send new supervisors to supervision training. We previously sent officers to a two-week school. We have found a comparable school that is only a week, which is less time away from the Department, at a reduced cost. This grant allows for $763.33 toward the cost of the school and we are asking the Commission to endorse and we will send it off to the City Council for a supplemental appropriation to our budget.

E. Operations Report. Deputy Chief Allen highlighted response times in the comp stat program. Reducing response times for priority #2, and priority #3 calls has been a priority of the commission and of ours for almost a year now to. While the numbers saw a bit of a dip for February, we have made overall gains. We supplemented patrol with more staffing, but asked for staffing in this budget to backfill those positions. By reallocating resources to the road we hope to continue with these gains and we should as long as staffing stays where it is.

Our K-9 team did some searches in February and drugs and cash was recovered. They also assisted the US Customs in Portsmouth, searching a vessel suspected of drug activity. No contraband was found, but our team has a good reputation for such searches. In response to a question from the Commission, Dep. Chief Allen noted that this type of mutual aid is customary and we get in-kind returns, as we all work together at different times throughout the state.

We did have a noteworthy arrest in the city of four illegal aliens. What started as a simple traffic stop has one of these persons charged with felony level offenses regarding immigration. All are facing deportation. This was good police work.

The Commission inquired into how the forfeiture account works. Dep. Chief Allen replied it is based on when the case is disposed of. We get a small percent of the total seizure, depending on the case. The percent is determined on whether it is a federal or a state case.

Deputy Chief Allen said in the support side of the operations, we will be hosting a regional homicide training school next week, funded through a JAG grant. We will gain a lot from the school. Training together means you are systematically doing things the same way. There are approximately 30 officers from around the county attending this class.

Chief Dubois shared that this JAG grant is administered by the Police Department for both Rochester and Dover. The funding is based on Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics. The workload analysis on UCR shows we are doing a high volume of work. Our numbers put us third in the state, behind Manchester and Nashua for these dollars. We are a busy agency. This is why I stress that information at budget time. This workload has to be addressed by officers. A good example is the union attending tonight to make you aware of some of their concerns, one of them being this budget reduction and how it will impact them.

Chief Dubois replied we provide that graph in the comp stat report. Response time is heating up. We wanted improvement and what we are seeing now is action we took several months ago. We freed up staff doing administrative work and put them on the road to address these types of issues and make our officers more proactive. There is now a void in administrative roles and we are trying to recover through a creative budget in FY09.

The reports that the Commission gets at each Commission meeting are closely tied to the funding supplied. Reduction to staff and movement from the original plan will have an impact on service delivery to some degree, as it does with all departments. This is a balancing act the Commission, the City Council, the City Manager and the Department has to do. We will work with what we are left with and manipulate it and get the most out of it. The comp stat program helps us review that as we move forward.

Chief Dubois added however that if we continue to suffer losses on the administrative side of things, we would have to recover. We moved officers from training onto the street to address response times and proactive work, which has left a void, which will continue if those positions are left vacant.

Chief Dubois responded that they will and it will be at a cost that is less than the current cost, but there is still an added cost, because it is additional staff.

Comm. Bemis commented that attending a comp stat meeting is informative, particularly in terms of the percentages, how we are working and how we distribute the manpower. We are in our third month as elected officials, and what we knew running for office in November to now is a huge difference.

Chief Dubois said this analysis was completed by Captain Callaghan based on an IACP formula that takes our UCR reporting and the types of calls this city responds to. The formula gives us an end result for the number of officers we should have on the street. When we are at full staff, when the freeze is off and all positions are hired, we are still four officers short by that formula.

Chief Dubois replied we have 56 full time and 2 part-time. Even though the two part time are assigned to housing, they are factored in because they are still addressing those calls that fit into the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) scale.

Chief Dubois replied that is correct. The freeze means no new positions until July of 2008. The City Manager has asked that I hold off filling that position until January of 2009. This talk about the budget and the numbers is all under review. But the discussion is good feedback to you and the City Manager.

F. Executive Report. Chief Dubois advised with regard to accreditation we are moving toward the state review, as it is more affordable at this time. The policy manual is still be reviewed by the officers and we anticipate it being ready for sign off in the near future. This Commission will then do a formal adoption. We are still working under the prior manual as approved by the prior Commission until this new one is adopted.

G. Survey: The Commission requested Attorney Grossman if they could request surveys of the officers including command staff seeking information such as what is good about the department, what they would change, and where they see the Department in three years.

Comm. Levesque said that the Commission is not trying to entangle themselves into the contract, but are generally interested in the information this might uncover and the concerns of the officers, for an overall overview.

A. Appreciation and Recognition: NECN News thanks Captains’ Callaghan and Dumas for assistance at a political rally. Chief Dubois is thanked by the Chamber as a speaker at a breakfast forum on “Emergency Disaster Planning for Business.” Spaulding High thanks Capt. Dumas for his assistance with an intern program. Capt. Callaghan recognizes Sgt. Thomas for excellent work product. Dep. Chief Allen is thanked by the Main Street Program for participating in the resource team visit for revitalizing the downtown.

Comm. Bemis MOVED to enter a non-public session at 8:12 P.M. for the purpose of personnel and legal matters. SECOND by Comm. McManus. The motion PASSED by roll call vote, Comm. Bemis-yes, Comm. McManus-yes, Comm. Levesque-yes. The non-public session closed at 8:53 P.M. on a MOTION by Comm. Bemis, SECOND by Comm. McManus and PASSED Unanimously.

Comm. McManus MOVED that based on passing evaluations, to approve the Union Step Increases as presented for Officer Flathers, Officer Miehle, Officer James Murphy, Officer Gantert, Officer Kimbrough, Officer Loignon, Officer Whelan SECOND by Comm. Bemis and PASSED unanimously.