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Council not planning on fourth officer yet
by Rick DeClue · News · January 22, 2015
The West Branch City Council and Mayor Mark Worrell politely discouraged Police Chief Mike Horihan from anticipating funding for an additional full-time police officer in the city’s fiscal year 2016 budget.
The unusual Wednesday council meeting was a result of a delay from Jan. 5th to the 14th due to snow. Horihan’s request started of a numbers-laden discussion about hiring a fourth officer, a move the police chief said would reduce stress and improve service in the department.
Worrell told Horihan that the police chief’s presentation was the best summary the mayor had ever heard defining the need for a new officer.
Horihan laid out the math: the current three officers (including himself) each cover 40 hours of patrol per week for a total of 120 hours versus 168 hours in a week. This obviously leaves a gap.
He said this means each officer is also “on-call” 48 hours per week, or as much as 88 hours per week if an officer is on vacation or training, which can lead to stress at times. The on-call requirements are also the basis for the department requirement that all officers must live in West Branch, which can be a deterrent in recruiting.
The chief set a goal when he joined the force 3 ½ years ago to provide 24/7 coverage of the city. A fourth officer gets the department closer to that goal, though Horihan initially saw a five-officer staff as his objective to effectively cover patrols and minimize response-time, plus fulfill administrative duties, training, vacation time and work the officers do in the city’s schools and with other groups.
The council agreed with the chief that this all fits with the city’s and Horihan’s pursuit of effective community policing.
Council member Colton Miller said he believes even adding a fourth full-time officer will still leave the city short of having one on-duty officer per 1,000 population basis.
City Administrator Matt Muckler said that a full-time officer costs the city $61,388 in salary, benefits and overtime compensation. Adding operating costs to have that officer on the street increases the city’s cost to approximately $85,000, all coming from the city’s general fund, i.e. property taxes.
Worrell said that figure does not cover a fourth vehicle for the department. Each officer currently needs his own vehicle because of the extensive on-call requirements. When called, it is usually an emergency situation and the officers cannot share a vehicle, he said.
Muckler noted the $500,000 or so commitment in the city’s pending capital improvements plan for emergency communications equipment upgrades to support both the police and fire departments.
These upgrades are mandated by the federal government. While funding for capital improvements usually entails borrowed funds rather than the city’s general funds, it represents a significant investment in public safety during the next fiscal year.
Horihan said he has applied for grants in the past two years to support additional officers. He added, ironically, the city’s crime numbers, which are “pretty good,” actually hurt grant prospects.
With the recent move of Tim Horihan, the chief’s son, from reserve to part-time status, the department currently has six part-time officers and two reserve officers. Part-time officers are certified police officers who provide help for special events, plus limited weekend and other patrol coverage when full-time officers are not available. Reserve officers help with special events and projects such as the city’s drug disposal collections.
Muckler said the current budget includes 1,000 hours for part-time officers, or 500 hours every six months. During the six months ending in December, only 85 part-time hours were worked. Three part-time officers logged no hours over this time.
The chief and the council agreed that it was good to have the six-man roster, but actually finding officers to work the hours can be pretty tough.
Tim Horihan, for example, also serves as the police chief in Mechanicsville, working a full week there, then adding hours when needed in West Branch.
Muckler said the budget for part-time officers could be lowered to reflect that reality, but that adding a fourth full-time officer sooner would likely require some unanticipated city revenues.
Worrell thanked Horihan for his department’s efforts, particularly its approach to community policing. The mayor, however, said the city has many competing needs for budget dollars, including some that are unexpected. As an example, he cited several manholes that need to be replaced now rather than having several more years of useful life than the city thought they had.
No vote was taken on adding the fourth officer – it was a discussion item in the several-weeks process of developing the city’s annual budget.
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