North Bend Police Chief Robert Kappleman has offered an overview of his department’s costs, the budget shortfall, and options to funding police coverage ranging from maintaining the current level with more money, to not funding a department at all and contracting out law enforcement services. The following options were dated March 25, 2019. Current Operational Environment: • 75% of patrol shifts are covered with 3 or more officers; • 44% reduction in overtime costs (and hours); • Increased presence; • Patrol (10-hour schedule with overlaps -30-hour workdays in 24 hours); • Investigations (28-day delay is now under 24 hours); • Response to ALL calls for service; • Results; • 53.3% reduction in property crime (2018 vs. 2017); • 36.7% reduction in violent crime (2018 vs. 2017). Option A –Overview: • Lay off 9 patrol officers and 1 dispatcher (Budgetary Savings -$1.032M); • Reduce service coverage from 24 hours to 16 (7am –11pm); • Contract with Coos County Sheriff; • CCSO dispatch answers 911 calls between 11pm – 7am; • CCSO deputies answer emergent calls between 11pm – 7 am (unknown availability); • Unknown contractual cost; • No control over contractual costs; • May require additional layoffs/reduced hours to cover contractual costs (only $228K available); • Non-emergent calls to NBPD would get message system to call back after 7 am.; • Daytime operations would remain similar to current conditions with some restrictions on response to certain types of crime. Option A –Service Impact: • Non-emergent calls to NBPD would get message system to call back after 7 am.; • Emergent calls during night shift would be answered with an unknown response time and an unknown number of officers (could be 3 minutes or 1 hour+). •Slight restriction on day-time calls answered/investigated; • Property crimes involving <$100 loss reported via fillable form (no investigation); • Property crimes involving <$1000 loss with no suspects reported via fillable form (no investigation); • Property crimes involving persons crimes will still be answered; • Traffic crashes not involving injury or road blockage will not require a response. Option B –Overview: • Lay off 9 patrol officers and 1 dispatcher (Budgetary Savings -$1.032M); • Reduce service coverage from 24 hours to 16 (7am –11pm); • Negotiate paid-on-call status for NBPD off-duty officers; • Contract CCSO dispatch to answer 911 calls between 11pm –7am; • NBPD officers answer emergent calls between 11pm –7 am (from home in an off-duty status -*Officers live within 30 minutes of city); • Unknown contractual cost (restriction of personal time); • Significant increase in overtime costs (2500 emergent CFS x 3-hour call-back x 2-officers x $52.26/hour average = $783,900 or 581% increase in OT); • Will require 6 additional layoffs/reduced hours to cover contractual costs (only $228K available) or a renegotiation of call-in costs (unrealistic expectation); • Non-emergent calls to NBPD would get message system to call back after 7 am. Option B –Service Impact: • Non-emergent calls to NBPD would get message system to call back after 7 am.; • Emergent calls during night shift would be answered with a 12-42 minute response time. • All property crimes would be reported via fillable forms, unless: • Also involves a persons crime (i.e. robbery); • Involves an in-progress crime (i.e. burglar is in the home). Option C –Overview: • Lay off 10 patrol officers (Budgetary Savings – $1.056M); • 24-hour coverage with all 2-person shifts; • Significant restrictions on service calls; • Will require renegotiation of salaries/benefits. Option C –Service Impact: • 24/7/365 limited police service; • All property crimes would be reported via fillable forms, unless: • Also involves a persons crime (i.e. robbery); • Involves an in-progress crime (i.e. burglar is in the home); • No response to traffic crashes not involving injury or road blockage: • 28-day delay in investigation of serious persons crimes. Option D: • Dissolve North Bend Police Department; • Contract all law enforcement services to another law enforcement agency (unknown cost).Recommended Action; • Maintain service levels at current levels; • Continue to implement the community-oriented policing model with our “Go the Distance” mission, resulted in historically low crime levels; • Maintain public safety fee•Review fee amount every budget cycle; • Adjust as necessary annually.
