Productivity Committee Sheriff's Budget Review Subcommittee Minutes 04/11/2005 C
Productivity Committee
Sheriffs Budget Review Sub1Committee Minutes
April 11, 2005, 11:08 am-12:38 pm
Members Present: Matt Hudson and Stan Farnham
Sheriff's Department: Chief Kevin Lambosk, Chief Greg Smith, Captain Jim Bloom,
Sergeant Joe Kelly, and Finance Director Carol Golightly.
Public or Media: None(although the meeting was noticed).
This meeting was one of several subcommittee meetings as a part of vigorous
review by the Productivity Committee of the Sheriff's Budget. These minutes mostly will
list the questions we asked, and then summarize the gist of response and discussion.
Everyone participated,but Chief Lambosk took the lead in answering general and policy
questions and Captain Bloom provided much of the specifics about the district. Our
purpose,plain and simple,was to understand the underlying facts related to the numbers.
Our first question was: how do you propose to carve District 4 out of District 2? Follow
up questions included numbers of people, size,reasons, and metrics.
The main reasons include the requests for services and the unprecedented growth in what
will become District 4.The population has exploded to nearly 100,000 people in the
approximately 250 square miles of the new district. (Collier Total is 2,000 square miles minus
city departments of Naples 12 square miles and Marco Island three). Change happens: in this case
a rapid transition from rural to urban. Looking ahead,the county projects 300,000 new residents
in the next 20 years with 2/3rds of those east of I-75.Nearly half the people living in Eastern
Collier moved here within the past few years,with large residential and sparse commercial.The
plan is to respond to the present needs with a proactive eye on the future,particularly the next
five years, Captain Bloom noted.
See attached"map,"which shows the nine grids of new District 4(not including 8110 of
Ave Maria).
With District 4,Collier County will have six districts(including Everglades and
Immokalee).Typically districts are divided into three zones although District 4"probably will
start with two zones."The zones then have grids with nine in District 4 as shown.
Who is accountable for the new district?Lieutenant Scott Stamets.He and his team,
including Sergeant Kelly, are putting together the design plan, statistics on population,location,
calls for service,response time,criminals in the area,projected five year population increase and
detailed staffing plan.We said we would like to review the details, so this information will be
supplied to the committee.We discussed some recent criminal activity challenges in the district,
including"grow"houses(marijuana),which are going underground Captain Bloom said; and
chop shops particularly of dump trucks with parts buried.
You show staffing for 24/7.Are all substations staffed 24/7? "Yes."Is this needed?"Yes,
to achieve needed response times."
How many officers move from District 2?Approximately 22%of district 2 will be in
District 4, so 15 people from the existing district staff will move.With 10 new,total staffing 25.
Staffing is such a large part of the total budget, what is the total headcount?
Approximately 1,200 with 800 certified deputies. (From a productivity standpoint, a follow up is
potential opportunity for using specialized service companies, especially in administrative areas;
and for shared cooperative resources to trim costs).
' Subcommittee of a subcommittee consisting of Matt Hudson and Stan Farnham.Matt is chair of the main
subcommittee.
The substation north of the County Extension on Immokalee isn't due for a couple of
years,so what will be the location until then?"We are putting a modular substation near
Corkscrew Middle School,which will be the substation, starting June 1,until the new building is
available(at Fire Station 12 location).This meets the service level need now,not two years from
now. Locations of the temporary and permanent substations are marked 'A' and `B' on the
attached."
We observed that fixing the roof in the sunshine before the rain makes sense.
In earlier meetings, service metrics were discussed and we noted the department is in the
best position to respond as to how they would be measured. What are these?Number one is
response time.What is reasonable? Perhaps five minutes,but response time for life-threatening
situations needs to be faster than routine calls. Other typical measures include per capita ratios
(deputies,ancillary support functions, crimes in categories)and headcount ratios, such as total
cost divided by headcount.An important measure,as Chief Lambosk pointed out,is one difficult
to measure(but perhaps can be extracted with targeted surveys): how secure one feels at home
and at shopping centers and in areas in the county. (A simple form,with a request to circle
numbers on a scale of 10 perhaps could be used.Periodic use could then show trend.Also the
Crime Lab Index2 could be used as part of marketing.With an average of 100,Naples is at 41
while Fort Myers is at 418,for example).
We noted metrics of cost per resident but split into two,between"on the street"and
ancillary support functions.Measures or ratios using square miles aren't as useful because unique
Collier County has more than 2/3rds of the county owned by state,federal(preserves,parks)or
Native American tribes.Districts vary.
We believe key metrics should be agreed upon, and then benchmarked not only for
budgeting but also for best practices. Productivity means both effectiveness and efficiency,doing
the right things and doing things right.Metrics that resonate with the public help public relations,
as well as use for budgets and benchmarking. What gets measured gets done.A balanced
scorecard for districts of a half dozen metrics also would provide not only a comparison,but also
competitiveness.
In looking at the budget, manpower costs comprise the large part so our questions tend to
be on manpower and internal equities. What seems to be the biggest problem in attracting and
keeping people?Housing seems to be an increasing problem as home values soar.For example,
Chief Lambosk said, 180 of our people(of approx 1,200)live outside Collier County. "We have
concerns about those living in Lee County,which has strong benefits program,switching to jobs
closer to their home."3
(From a productivity standpoint,you have a population increase of 20 percent but a
doubling of the budget in five years,yet pay pressures and imbalances.In a business turnaround
situation,we said, strong cost reductions save a company in dire straits; and then you boost
worker pay to sustain more cost cuts.The more cost reduction,the more the ability to boost pay.
Some hard-nosed combination of outsourcing some functions, sharing resources,increasing
2 Crime Lab Index,Relocation Crime Lab,lists robberies,rapes,homicide,aggravated assaults,motor
vehicle citations and relates these,and an aggregate rating to per 100,000 population.
3 We noted that the need apparently is not the"affordable housing,"such as the laudable Habitat for
Humanity,that receives so much attention,but affordable middle class housing.For example according to
an affordability index,a family with an income of$60,000 could afford a$190,000 home(with a$1400 a
month payment);with income of$80,000 they could"afford"a$250,000 home(with a payment of$1900 a
month).Few homes at this level exist in Collier,where the median now approaches$500,000. On the other
hand,Habitat for Humanity homes now cost$90,000(without impact fees and sweat equity)double the
cost of a few years ago.Collier led the nation last year with 115 units but Dr.Durso says there's a 30,000-
unit shortfall.What is the shortfall for homes above$90,000 in examples given?Greg Smith offered the
example of a home in Waterways at$120,000 seven years ago now worth$310,000.
insurance co-pay for internal equity among county employees--done over several years---and
boosting base pay using cost savings has been the thrust of committee discussions. Higher base
pay offsets co-pay and increases housing qualifiers. Also could impact fee be waived on a new
house until the officer sells it?Having deputies live in the area has value to taxpayers.)
We shared the information on proposed changes to Orangetree PUD(2,752 acres; four
square miles),which include boosting density 80%with number of units increased from 2,100 to
3,750 and commercial space increased more than five-fold. In a single-family area,how many of
these are multi-family?How does that impact protection coverage and response times? The
number one concern in Waterways, in responding to Lieutenant Stamets' request about
Waterways resident's concerns was Immokalee Road,already with intersections at traffic failure,
and not scheduled for completion until 2008. "Roads,roads,"one chuckled.But increased
density too far ahead of infrastructure creates many problems,including response time as we
discussed. The Orangetree PUD of four square miles is just about the center of the district.
Ave Maria. Ave Maria is separate from new District 4. How will this be handled?
Captain Bloom said the first infrastructure phase would be followed by the vertical phase with
concerns about construction thefts. He said he had worked closely with Ave Maria people.Within
the university,most of it would be elective service(contract). Within the city,the sheriff is
responsible as elsewhere.
What is the overall vision for new District 4?Chief Rambosk said they hoped to use
District 4 as a model to replicate.Thus the detailed plans are important to review.
(Note that from a productivity standpoint--doing the same with less or doing more with
the same—we pointed out this could be an opportunity for innovative cost-saving pilot programs
that could be"exported;"in addition to the marketing strategy mentioned of forging increased
involvement of,and connectivity with,citizens.More volunteer help can also help cut costs.)
Speaking of marketing and public relations, what public relations activities are underway
or do you think are needed?Chief Lambosk noted a need to generate public interest by making a
better connection to the people. He said the Sheriff has set-up a minority affairs group.The
Sheriff has a welcome packet available.Matt noted that he's a realtor and didn't know about it, so
perhaps distribution needs to be more effective. Captain Bloom mentioned SET teams(Selective
Enforcement Teams),plain clothes officers assigned to work on crimes against people.He
pointed out the proactive goal of the new District in reaching out to residents and becoming a
visible presence and"go to."
Chief Lambosk offered to provide an overview of the Sheriff's Department for the full
Productivity Committee,including how personnel are deployed,training and the organizational
structure change to"avoid the train wreck"(growth outstripping infrastructure and protection).
We thought this would be helpful,particularly the organizational structure,reporting relationships
and deployment in districts.
Miscellaneous. Of sheriff's department employees, 17 live in Waterways including Chief
Smith.Waterways is almost in the center of the district and nearly adjacent to the substation
locations.We offered to provide a copy of the Strategic Plan for District 4 study.
Respectfully submitted,
Stan Farnham