HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 POLICE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER HIRING INCENTIVE PILOT PROGRAMAgenda Item _______ Reviewed: City Manager _______ Finance Director _______ MEETING DATE: MARCH 7, 2023 TO: MATTHEW S. WEST, CITY MANAGER FROM: DERICK YASUDA, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES SUBJECT: POLICE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER HIRING INCENTIVE PILOT PROGRAM SUMMARY Staff is seeking City Council approval to implement a proposed Police Communications Officer Hiring Incentive Pilot Program to improve the City’s success in recruiting, hiring, and retaining lateral Police Communications Officers. RECOMMENDATION Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to implement a Police Communications Officer Hiring Incentive Pilot Program. FISCAL IMPACT No additional budget appropriation is requested. Direct costs for this program would be up to $17,000 spread over two years for any lateral Police Communications Officer hired by the City. For Fiscal Year 2022-23, funding for this program can be absorbed within the Police Department’s existing budget. Beginning with Fiscal Year 2023-24, the Police Department will track this program as a separate line item in their budget. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION Police Communications Officers receive incoming calls for police and emergency assistance, dispatch necessary sworn police personnel and equipment, and monitor ongoing police activity to determine the need for additional resources. Depending on a candidate’s prior experience, the City may hire a new employee at the Police Communications Officer I or Police Communications Officer II level, though nearly all new employees are hired at the I level. Newly hired employees serve a probationary period of either 18 months (Police Communications Officer I) or 12 months (Police Communications Officer II), which includes intensive training programs that typically last four to eight months. The Police Communications unit consists of the following authorized positions: one Police Support Services Supervisor, two Police Communications Leads, and ten Police Communications Officer I/IIs. Despite continuous recruitment efforts, the City currently AGENDA REPORT 8 N/A DocuSign Envelope ID: D5134CC2-F747-4875-BA37-9484834450DA City Council Agenda Report March 7, 2023 Police Communications Officer Hiring Incentive Pilot Program Page 2 has three vacant Police Communications Officer I/II positions and routinely has at least one vacancy in this classification at any given time. As is the case throughout the industry, it is especially challenging for the City to successfully fill our Police Communications Officer positions. In particular, t he City historically has not attracted many qualified lateral Police Communications Officers, hiring a total of two laterals (one full-time and one part-time) over the past decade. While we have hired only two laterals during this time period, both candidates successfully passed probation and remain employed with the City today. In contrast, the City’s success rate in hiring and successfully retaining Police Communications Officers with no prior dispatcher experience is much lower, with only about four out of every ten of these employees passing probation (this is also an issue throughout the law enforcement community, due to the unique nature of the job). For the six out of ten inexperienced Police Communications Officers who fail probation, the City ends up spending approximately $30,000 per unsuccessful employee. Based on our track record, the Police Chief would like to encourage more quality lateral Police Communications Officers (i.e. individuals with prior experience with a California law enforcement agency in a position equivalent to our Police Communications Officer I/II) to seek employment with the City of Tustin. If our recent experience continues, hiring a lateral Police Communications Officer versus an inexperienced Police Communications Officer could actually save the City money in the long run, even after accounting for the direct cost of the hiring incentive program. The proposed Police Communications Officer Hiring Incentive Program would include the following incentives: 1) Lateral Hiring Incentive • Up to $15,000 per newly hired lateral Police Communications Officer I/II, paid in three installments: o $5,000 at time of hire (on the employee’s first regular paycheck) o $5,000 after successful completion of the Police Department’s training program o $5,000 after successful completion of two years of employment as a Police Communications Officer I/II 2) Employee Referral Bonus • Up to $2,000 for a current City employee who refers a lateral Police Communications Officer I/II who is hired by the City, paid in three installments: DocuSign Envelope ID: D5134CC2-F747-4875-BA37-9484834450DA City Council Agenda Report March 7, 2023 Police Communications Officer Hiring Incentive Pilot Program Page 3 o $1,000 at time of hire of the lateral Police Communications Officer I/II o $500 after the lateral Police Communications Officer I/II’s successful completion of the Police Department’s training program o $500 after the lateral Police Communications Officer I/II’s successful completion of two years of employment as a Police Communications Officer I/II If approved by the City Council, the hiring incentive program will be advertised on the City’s Police Communications Officer I/II job announcements as soon as possible, including details on specific eligibility requirements. Only individuals who apply for Police Communications Officer I/II after City Council authorization of this program, and through recruitments that include verbiage on the Police Communications Officer Hiring Incentive Program, will be eligible for this incentive. This hiring incentive program is a pilot program that is intended to be temporary in nature. The program may be terminated by the City Manager at any time and will automatically sunset on June 30, 2025, unless extended by the City Manager. The City has discussed this proposed hiring incentive program with the Tustin Police Support Services Association (TPSSA), the association representing Police Communications Officers, and they are supportive of this program. ___________________________ Derick Yasuda Director of Human Resources DocuSign Envelope ID: D5134CC2-F747-4875-BA37-9484834450DA