Minutes - Council - 02/24/2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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stated that he has a serious medical condition and ifhe or his family calls 911 he wants a fast response, not to wait for someone to come back from N owthen. He stated that a crime was also committed on his property in 2008 and he has. concerns about current coverage and stated that our department is already understaffed according to standards. Police Chief Way stated that regarding his liability concerns, the officers are employees of Ramsey, so the City would be liable for those costs and they were included in the contract. He stated that there are two part- time people right now and the plan was to increase their hours to cover the contract. He stated that they plan to look at this at the end of the year to ensure this is adequate. He stated that this will mean that some investigative work may need to be pushed back. He stated that the two officers will do their own case follow-up and noted that they have discussed the situation where backup is needed in Nowthen and those costs were also included in the contract. He assured the Council that with 911 calls, when people need help they will be there, so he doesn't see that as being an issue. He stated that all of the cars would not respond to Nowthen and noted that if there is a critical situation they can call in the County or even St. Francis. He stated that to address his concerns about staffing standards, there are different standards that can be followed, for example, since. Ramsey does not have a high school, it makes a big difference in the recommended standards. He stated that he thinks the numbers are fine where they are, although he would love to have more officers. Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he thinks the City is looking at a 5 year minimum arrangement for the contract and will evaluate how it is working annually. Kelly Haigh, 14151 Germanium Street, stated that she is an employee ofthe sheriff's office and while she believes in good will with contracting for services, she is concerned that Ramsey's services for residents will be depleted. She stated that it does seem like a lot of thought and time has been taken in putting together this proposal but she would like to know what happens if officers are on leave or injured, how the shifts will be handled. Police Chief Way stated that it will be handled how it is done today, they do pay some overtime in those situations, otherwise the shifts are cut down a bit and it is built in so there is flexibility to move bodies around to cover the shifts. He stated that with any agency, there can be unforeseen issues where overtime will need to be paid out. Councilmember Dehen stated that a tremendous amount of thought and time went into this. He agrees that this needs to be beneficial to the City of Ramsey as well as Nowthen. Ms. Haigh asked with the rail stop and the Town Center activity if the City was expanding and how a decision is made to hire additional officers. Councilmember Elvig stated that 5 or 6 years ago the City was fighting to get an entire staff on board. He stated that a volunteer service program was begun and has been very successful. He stated that the City has about 22,000 people and now has 19 people on staff. He stated that this will give some options and with the volunteer staff the City has he thinks this is good coverage for a small City. He stated that she raised some good points about the rail stop and the Town Center because that will come when the development comes. Councilmember Jeffrey stated that they built the contract based on calls for service and the City is going into this with their eyes wide open. Nowthen Councilmember Harlan Meyer stated that he wanted to thank the Council for the time and effort that has been put into this proposal. He stated that he thinks the basics have been covered and the future has been looked into as much as possible. He stated that they are a new, little City and he is hoping that will have littler. crime problems. He stated that he thinks they have already created the mold in working together with the fire department. He stated that it is working very well and he looks forward to having the same kind of relationship with the Ramsey Police Department. City Council / February 24, 2009 Page 14 of 19