6.1. SR 08-07-2006
City of Elk River Item Number
REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION 6.1.
Agenda Section I Meeting Date Prepared by
4\dministration ..A.ugust 7, 2006 ] effrey 4\. Beahen, CIlief of Police
Item Description Reviewed by
Do\vnto\vn Traffic Control
Introduction
~r\t tlle last council meeting, tlle Council appro'v'ed the idea of looking at temporary employees tllat \vould
be hired by tlle police department to \vork tlle do\vnto\vn traffic detail bet\veen August 11 and mid-
October, 2006. This melno \vill address my response to that action.
Discussion
I lla\re been able to locate at least tlnee individuals \vho \vould be \villing to \vork tile do\vnto\vn project
at a rate of $15@hour. This is a considerable reduction in \vl1at \ve are currently paying for officers to
\vork tile shifts on ov"ertime. ivfore important, many of tlle officers are \vorking sL~teen 110ur days on dleir
normal scheduled days as \vell as additional time on their days off; all at a time \vhen \v.e are sllortllanded.
I think I speak for all tllat a primary consideration is still finding a \vay to safeguard tile officers from
\vorking too many Ilours-\vhicll creates a concern for tlleir safety and \vell being.
..c\ldlougll on face value, tlle temporary etnployees are a seetningly easy fi~, there are some bidden costs
associated \vitll tlleir hiring that become significant. \Ve \vould need to equip dlem \vitll se"veral sets of
uniforms, a radio, appropriate foot and llead\vear, rain gear and a colder \veather jacket. Tiley \vould
require initial training, albeit brief, and \vould be driv"^ing our \lehicles do\vn to tlle site each day-\vmch
involves gasoline costs.
Costs to equip tllese temporary employees is in excess of $6,000. \Vle don't keep spare uniforms, radios
and equiplnent on l1and, so these purchases \vould need to be done no\v.
Tllere is also a consideration of the risk of a rapid hire process, putting employees out in public, in a
pseudo police role, in police vehicles, \vitll an expectation from tlle citizen's - that these employees be
responsible for potentially acting in a role, tllat tlley Ila\re no training in. (In other \vords, they \vould not
be able to respond to accidents, medicals, otller elnergency situation tllat could occur in tile do\vnto\vn
area)
Temporary employees \vould also require staff time in scheduling tlleir shifts, breaks and rest pel10ds as
\vell as pro"\riding for co"vering potential days off.
.L\n alternati"\Te is to utilize a contract serv'ice for tIus traffic detail, sometlUng tllat did not seem probable
until I recently located a security service tllat does provide construction traffic details. Utilizing a pri"\rate
contractor \vould eliminate the need to pro"\Tide tlle equiptnent, co\rer breaks and potential days off as \vell
as retnovmg tlle responsibility to train the assigned employees. TIle cost is higller than the temporary
C:\Documents and Scttings\tallard\Local Scttings\Temporary Internet r::iles\OLKF\REQUEST COUNCIL ACTION (4) (2).doc
elnployees, but relie,res the City and tlle Police Department of the cumbersome associated details and
risks.
Financial Impact
Tile cost of keeping full time officers on the detail benveen August 11 and Iv1id-October, using t\vo
officers, is $36,450. (l\pproximate)
TIle cost for contract services @$30 per hour, is $24,300. (I\VO traffic control agents)
TIle cost for temporary employees, not including any auxiliary costs, is $12,150 plus equipment for a total
of $18,150.
..L"\lthougll tlle telnporary employees are a cheaper solution, the logistics and associated issues potentially
surrounding tllese positions, leads me to believe tllat tlle contract services are a much more 'viable, and
easier option for all in,rolved.
Attachments
N 01le
Action Requested
Requesting tllat the Council appro,re a contract \Vitil j\ 'lalon Security of Coon Rapids for traffic control
services froln August 11, 2006 until mid-October 2006, at tlle rate of $30 per hour, t\vo employees,
l\londay th.rough Friday, 9am-5pm, to staff tlle do\vnto\vn project area for dle pro\rision of construction
area traffic control on 1vfain Street.
Council Action
1\Jotion by _
Second by _
,\Tote
Follow Up
C:\Documcnts and Scttings\tallard\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLKF\REQUEST COUNCIL ACTION (4) (2).doc