COUNCIL

DATE 3/31/09
AGENDA ITEM 5G

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Olympia, Washington
March 31, 2009

2009 COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP) Grant Application

____________________________________________________________________________

CITY MANAGER’S
RECOMMENDATION: Option 1: Move to authorize staff to apply for a COPS Hiring
Recovery Program grant to rehire the police officer position
eliminated in the 2009 budget.
___________________________________________________________________________________

STAFF CONTACT: Dick Machlan, Police Administrative Services Manager, 360-753-8006,

dmachlan@ci.olympia.wa.us

ORIGINATED BY: Police Department

OTHERS NOTIFIED: N/A

ATTACHMENTS: 1. CHRP program narrative

BUDGET IMPACT/
SOURCE OF FUNDS: The City would receive $235,749 in funds from the COPS Hiring
Recovery Program over a three year period. The City would be required
to pay about $17,608 in cost of living increases and pay step raises over
the three years. In addition, the City would commit to retaining the
position at its own expense for at least one year after the grant ends at a
cost of about $98,137.

PRIOR COUNCIL/
COMMITTEE REVIEW: None

BACKGROUND: The COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP) is funded through the
Federal stimulus package and is designed to assist local jurisdictions in
the following three ways: 1) to replace police officer positions that have
been eliminated due to necessary budget cuts; 2) to avert future layoffs
of police officers; and/or 3) to add officers to assist in reaching
community policing objectives. CHRP funding is available over a three
year period, after which the jurisdictions receiving funds are expected to
retain any officers funded through the Program for at least one additional
year.

CHRP will pay the equivalent of an entry-level police officer’s salary and
benefits during each of the three years of grant funding. The City is
responsible for paying costs above and beyond the base salary and
benefits (including cost of living adjustments, pay step increases and
equipment) during the first three years and the full cost of the officer for
one additional year after the grant ends.
ANALYSIS AND OPTIONS: The COPS Hiring Recovery Program provides money to hire officers for
the purposes cited. There is no limit on how many positions the City
could request through CHRP. However, as with all hiring grants, care
needs to be given in deciding how many positions to request to assure
that we don’t either overextend ourselves in the future or put ourselves in
a position where we’re unable to meet the obligations of the grant. In the
case of CHRP, for each position requested, the City is required to
assume a financial burden of $6,619 in the second year of the grant;
$10,989 in the third year of the grant; and $98,137 in the year after the
grant ends – for a total commitment of $115,745 over four years.
(NOTE: These figures assume the current contracted minimum COLAs,
the current benefit rate, and the current pay step intervals.)

Council has the option to apply for more than one position through
CHRP. However, taking that course will obligate the City to provide a
considerable amount of local funding over a four-year period. If the
economy were to make major improvements during the course of the
grant, using this opportunity to hire additional positions could be an
excellent way to get early assistance in paying for police positions
needed to respond to community growth. However, there are certainly
no guarantees that a strong enough economic recovery will occur during
the next three years to assure that a decision to hire multiple positions
through CHRP will prove to be a wise one.

It seems prudent at this point to use the CHRP funding opportunity to just
replace what we’ve lost. In the 2009 budget, the City eliminated one
police officer position, reducing the Department’s commissioned strength
from 68 to 67 officers. While this manifested itself as no longer being
able to deploy a detective to the regional narcotics task force, the actual
position loss was an entry-level police officer position. Electing to ask for
one position through CHRP would permit us to reinstate the eliminated
position and return to 2008 service levels for at least four years while not
putting us in a position where we are dependent on a big improvement in
economic climate in order to meet our financial obligations to CHRP.

The CHRP application itself is “on-line,” so it cannot be provided directly

to Council for review. However, the attachment included with the staff
report describes the City’s community policing strategy and our rationale
for requesting the one position we’re suggesting be funded. The grant
application must be submitted by April 14, 2009. Any changes to the
staff recommendation will need to be made without delay and will not be
able to be reviewed by Council, given that Council is not meeting again
until the grant application due date.

Option 1: Move to authorize staff to apply for a COPS Hiring Recovery

Program grant to rehire the police officer position eliminated in the
2009 budget.

Implications:

1. Helps maintain 2008 police service levels by restoring the Police

Department’s commissioned staff strength back to 68 officers for at
least four years.

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 2. Has no substantial local cost to the City until the year after the grant
ends.

Option 2: Elect not to apply for a COPS Hiring Recovery Program grant.

Implications:

1. Does not take advantage of a readily available funding resource for

restoring a lost public safety position.

Option 3: Direct staff to prepare a COPS Hiring Recovery Program grant for
additional officer positions.

Implications:

1. Allows police services to respond better to community growth for at

least the next four years, and potentially thereafter.

2. Requires the City to commit more resources over the grant period
and the year thereafter.

3. Could prove to be a brilliant decision if the economy improves

substantially or a significant financial burden if it doesn’t.

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