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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 POLICE OFFICER HIRING INCENTIVE PROGRAMDocuSign Envelope ID: 95D788E0-2431-481B-8D8F-46BB1CA5B447 AGENDA REPORI MEETING DATE: APRIL 2, 2024 TO: NICOLE BERNARD, ACTING CITY MANAGER Agenda Item 6 Reviewed: ?ZB City Manager Finance Director FROM: DERICK YASUDA, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES SUBJECT: POLICE OFFICER HIRING INCENTIVE PROGRAM SUMMARY Staff is seeking City Council approval to implement a proposed Police Officer Hiring Incentive Program to improve the City's success in recruiting, hiring, and retaining lateral Police Officers. RECOMMENDATION Authorize the City Manager, or her designee, to implement a Police Officer Hiring Incentive Program. FISCAL IMPACT No additional budget appropriation is requested. The direct cost for this program is up to $42,000 spread over three years for each lateral Police Officer hired by the City who is eligible for the incentive program. The Police Department's budget can absorb the cost of this program in the current fiscal year. The Police Department will track the cost of this program in a separate line item in their budget. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION The City has a constant need to hire new Police Officers due to a combination of retirements, attrition, and injuries. As is the case with virtually every other public agency, it has become increasingly challenging for the City to hire quality Police Officers. In particular, the City has struggled to recruit and hire individuals with prior experience as a peace officer. The City can fill vacant Police Officer positions with either an inexperienced individual who the City first sends to the Police Academy for extensive training (Police Recruit) or someone who already has experience as a peace officer (Lateral Police Officer). While there are pros and cons of hiring both types of employees, an individual hired as a Lateral Police Officer is deployed into field much sooner than an individual hired as a Police Recruit and a Lateral Police Officer is much more likely to pass probation and become a productive peace officer, as they have already demonstrated the ability to perform the duties of a peace officer elsewhere. DocuSign Envelope ID: 95D788E0-2431-48113-81D81`4613131CA5B447 City Council Agenda Report April 2, 2024 Police Officer Hiring Incentive Program Page 2 In an effort to encourage more quality Lateral Police Officers to seek employment with the City of Tustin, the Police Chief has proposed implementing a hiring incentive program very similar to the Lateral Police Communications Officer Hiring Incentive Program approved by the City Council in March 2023. The proposed Police Officer Hiring Incentive Program would include the following incentives: 1) Lateral Hiring Incentive • Up to $40,000 per newly hired lateral Police Officer, paid in three installments: o $15,000 at time of hire o $10,000 after successful completion of the Police Department's training program o $15,000 after successful completion of three years of active full- time employment as a Tustin Police Officer (i.e. after performing the usual and customary duties of the job on a full-time basis for three years) 2) Employee Referral Bonus • Up to $2,000 for a current City employee who refers a lateral Police Officer who is hired by the City, paid in three installments: o $1,000 at time of hire of the lateral Police Officer o $500 after the lateral Police Officer's successful completion of the Police Department's training program o $500 after the lateral Police Officer's successful completion of three years of employment as a Tustin Police Officer Payments will be processed on the employees' paychecks during the City's regular payroll process. Applicable state and federal deductions will be made as required by law. While the potential direct cost of this program is up to $42,000 per newly hired Lateral Police Officer, spread over three years, the program also presents an opportunity for considerable cost savings if the City can successfully recruit more quality Lateral Police Officers instead of Police Recruits, whose likelihood of success is notably lower. When the City hires a Police Recruit who fails training and thus never becomes a productive Police Officer, this results in an expenditure of approximately $55,000 for that employee, not including the countless hours of staff training time, ultimately yielding no tangible return on the City's investment. DocuSign Envelope ID: 95D788E0-2431-481B-8D8F-46BB1CA5B447 City Council Agenda Report April 2, 2024 Police Officer Hiring Incentive Program Page 3 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, 2026, unless extended by the City Manager. The City has discussed this proposed hiring incentive program with the Tustin Police Officers Association (TPOA), the association representing Police Officers, and they are supportive of this program. If approved by the City Council, the hiring incentive program will be advertised on the City's Lateral Police Officer job announcements immediately, including details on specific eligibility requirements. Only individuals who meet one or more of the three program milestones after formal City Council authorization of this program will be eligible for one or more of the three incentive payments (for any milestone met after program approval). Derick Yasuda Director of Human Resources