SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
CITY
OF GARFIELD HEIGHTS, OHIO
Vincent
Liotta, Chairman of the Safety Committee, called the meeting to order at 7:04
p.m.
Members Present: Michael Dudley, Sr., Councilman of Ward 1
Tracy Mahoney, Councilwoman
of Ward 6
Nancy Marincic, Councilwoman
of Ward 2
Others Present: Michael Abella, Jr., Councilman of Ward 7
Thomas Murphy, Police Chief
Debra Sarnowski,
Councilwoman of Ward 4
Joseph Suster, Councilman of
Ward 5
CLWN MARINCIC: I‘d just like to say a couple of words. I’ve
attended a couple of Block Watch meetings where there were police officers in
attendance and they felt we could use more police officers—as many as two on
each shift. That would be six officers, which we all know we can’t afford. I
called Police Chief Murphy and discussed it with him a little bit and he said
he’d like it if we had a meeting other than during the Finance Meetings because
he would like to discuss it with Council and give his point of view regarding
it and if we do feel we need one, are we even able to afford to hire one this
year? One thing the Chief said to me was do we hire them at the risk of laying
them off? Does that make any sense at all? So I would like to turn the meeting
over to you, Chief, and you tell us if the crime has increased to the point where
you feel we need them?
CHIEF MURPHY: Let me just say this. As
we sit here this evening, I think we have an adequately staffed police
department. We are able to respond to the calls. I have also attended the Ward
meetings and Block Watch meetings. I was at two today and I never heard that
the police department was not there and did not respond or if there was any
delay in their response. I’ve asked some of you folks this same thing and you
indicated that you have not heard that complaint either. That would be the
first warning sign that there were not enough police officers if we were not
able to respond to the calls as they come in from the citizens and prioritize
them in time. With that, that’s basically, at this point I would feel that with
the officers that we have we are able to do what we have to do. Obviously if
there was an increase in somebody wanting another unit, some other positions on
the police department, there would have to be additional people. But as we
stand now, I don’t know what, who said what at a Ward meeting or Block Watch
meeting that you’re referring to, but even if somebody said what did they say?
Two and three shifts? We actually have four shifts so I don’t know where they
came up with that? That’s eight.
CLWN MARINCIC: What was said was we could probably use six more
officers on any given day.
CHIEF MURPHY: Well there are times when
the calls for service prioritize and someone may have to wait a little bit for
a lockout or barking dogs, etc. but I have not heard (and I’ve asked many of
you folks the same thing) that anybody has had to wait for anything of any
serious nature for a response from a police officer. I haven’t heard that and
from what I’ve heard from you folks you haven’t heard that either. That would
be the first warning sign. As I‘ve said before and said to Clmn Suster and the
Mayor, if I feel that I could justify coming before Council or to the Mayor’s
office to ask permission to hire an additional police officer, I would be the
first one to do it, but I’d have to be able to justify it. For the money end of
it, you don’t hire people with the possibility of laying them off. Because if
you ever lay a police officer or a firefighter off it would be a devastating
thing for this community or any community. Has the Finance Director had any
input here? Has he mentioned anything to anybody about the finances? Because I
spoke to him about this a couple times last week and asked him if he was going
to advise anybody about anything and did not receive an answer from him. I don’t
know if he ever did. I have some statistics here.
CLWN MAHONEY: Dick told me we can’t afford it
now.
CHIEF MURPHY: Well, for whatever it’s worth, Clmn Liotta, you
asked me if I could get some numbers. The number I could come up with is, I
think, a pretty accurate number. Money wise, to hire a police officer to start
would be about $77,000.00 a year. Obviously, after two years that jumps up to
$97,000.00. That includes benefits, pension, etc., everything the City has to
pay, salary, hospitalization, Workers’ Comp, etc. would be included in those
numbers as of today.
CLWN MAHONEY: In order to put in an SRO we’d have to hire
somebody, correct?
CHIEF MURPHY: Yes, or if for some reason
we want to start a motorcycle unit.
CLMN ABELLA: What’s the start right now?
CHIEF MURPHY: The start right now is
$44,316.00.
CLWN SARNOWSKI: Are we planning on losing
any? To retirement or anything?
CHIEF MURPHY: One of my notes here is I
can’t see in the future. I
don’t know. I don’t have anything that I would know right now that some one is
planning on retiring. I can’t see in the future whether there will be
retirement, disabilities, sicknesses, resignations. I don’t know that as we sit
here today. Anything else is in the crystal ball and I don’t know that. It
could happen. Right now we have 62. Sixty-two with the last officer that we
just appointed, which was a replacement. So we have one that just started at
the Police Academy, another one that just got out of the Police Academy and
started field training work last week. So right now we have 62 sworn policemen.
CLMN SUSTER: Isn’t there a formula they
use for so many policemen per thousand people in the City?
CHIEF MURPHY: There is, I am told. I
don’t know what the exact number is. I’m not a real big statistics person
because you can usually maneuver those things around any way you want.
Obviously places like Cuyahoga Heights, Valley View and Independence--their
numbers are going to go off the chart one way, the City of Cleveland’s going to
go off the chart the other way. There is a number; I just don’t know it.
CLWN MARINCIC: At City View, do you think there will come a time that they might need their own private security?
CHIEF MURPHY: Again,
I can’t answer that. Right now City View has not burdened us beyond any kind of
anticipation anybody thought it would be. Maybe even less than some thought it
would be?
CLWN MAHONEY: Don’t they have their own security there?
CHIEF MURPHY: No.
CLWN MAHONEY: They don’t?
CHIEF MURPHY: No.
CLMN SUSTER: Sure.
They have a guy that rides around the parking lot.
CHIEF MURPHY: They
do?
CLMN SUSTER: They
have a guy that just rides arong the parking lot. He has nothing to do with
inside stores.
CHIEF MURPHY: That’s
hit skip.
CLMN SUSTER: I think he’s from Tenable
CHIEF MURPHY: I
don’t think it’s Tenable. But again, it’s only for several hours a week and
it’s not inside the stores. Giant Eagle hired somebody and I think they’re the
only one. Giant Eagle hired security inside the store. Do you know what the future
holds? I can comment on what we have now and how many officers are on the
platoon.
CLMN SUSTER: I
know Wal-Mart’s policy is to handle any problems they have, even with
shoplifting, within the store. That’s because they don’t prosecute.
CLWN MARINCIC: They changed that.
CHIEF MURPHY: They do now.
CLWN MARINCIC: They are prosecuting now.
CHIEF MURPHY: I don’t think there’s a policy by
Wal-Mart—you know, Mr. Wal-Mart. It’s like the individual store has one.
Individual stores I guess are allowed to do pretty much their own policy.
Whoever was the manager in the store when it first opened was not very
aggressive with shoplifters. Now he’s no longer there. Whoever the new manager
is has been much more aggressive with the shoplifters so we have had more calls
and arrests over there, maybe in the last six or eight months, maybe, or a
little bit more than that. In the beginning, you’re right; we didn’t have any
because they didn’t pursue it. The other stores haven’t really had that much of
a problem.
CLWN MARINCIC: You said you brought some statistics with you? Could you compare them to a year ago?
CHIEF MURPHY: No, we don’t even have those done. Crime
wise? We don’t even have those done for the year. No, the statistics I have are
what it costs for a police officer, how many we have, how long it takes to
train them. As I said, if we lose a police officer for any reason there is a
long period of time between the time that the person leaves and the time that
someone is on the road to take their place. Again, that’s just part of the
system. So many months for this, so many months for that. Civil Service is
involved. There is a whole gamut of things, so it could go anywhere from four
to five months to maybe 18 months.
CLWN MARINCIC: Could I have a copy of your annual report?
CHIEF MURPHY: Yes.
CLWN MARINCIC: Could I have a copy of last year’s too?
CHIEF MURPHY: We
have not been asked for any but we certainly can do that when they’re prepared.
CHMN LIOTTA: Would you give one to all
of Council?
CHIEF MURPHY: Certainly.
CLWN SARNOWSKI: We have two new policemen
so we have two more?
CHIEF MURPHY: No,
those are replacements.
CLWN SARNOWSKI: So we’re really short now?
CHIEF MURPHY: Well,
we’ve got the same. We’ve got the 62. That is the highest we’ve ever had. The
two are in training. One is starting the Academy and one is finishing the
Academy. That happens as time goes on. There are retirements, resignations,
etc. It takes time to replace them. Unfortunately we don’t have a bullpen, you
know, where baseball players just wave and say come on in. It takes a period of
time. Sixty-two is the maximum we’ve ever had.
CLWN MARINCIC: When did they leave?
CHIEF MURPHY: One in July and the other in December.
CLWN MARINCIC: From the minute we hire a
police officer, how long is it before they are allowed to be on the road by
themselves?
CHIEF MURPHY: It depends on whether they’re already
certified when we hire them or not. If they’re already certified it’s about
three months, but most of them are not certified so it’s about seven months.
They have to go to school for four months approximately and then come back for
field training, depending on whether they’re certified or possibly could have
been a police officer somewhere else when we don’t have to send them to the
Academy by law.
CLWN MARINCIC: Thank you.
CHMN LIOTTA: Do you have anything else?
Is there a
motion to adjourn?
CLWN MAHONEY: I make a motion to
adjourn the meeting.
CLWN
MARINCIC: I second it.
CHMN LIOTTA adjourned the meeting at
7:17 p.m.
Approved, Respectfully
submitted,
____________________ ____________________
Vincent
Liotta
Chairman of the Safety Committee Clerk
of Council