Title
Resolution to Eliminate Two (2) Police Office Positions and Add One (1) Lieutenant Position
Memorandum
This resolution seeks to eliminate two (2) Police Officer positions from the FY 2025 Police Department budget and create one (1) Lieutenant position in the FY 2025 Police Department budget. This change will reduce the number of positions in the Ann Arbor Police Officers Association union by two and will increase the number of positions in the Command Officers Association of Michigan union by one.
This change is necessary for continuity of police operations on the weekends. Currently there are not enough command officers to staff police operations on the weekend which is causing an operational challenge.
Police departments nationwide, including those in Michigan, are currently grappling with a pressing issue - the struggle to attract and hire police officers to respond to priority and even routine calls for service. Over the past five years, the Ann Arbor Police Department has been dealing with a sworn police officer/attrition vacancy rate that amounted to 63 officers or an average of 12 officers a year. Currently there are 12 unfilled police officer vacancies. A newly developed recruitment plan is underway, and the department is expected to fill these sworn police vacancies within the next 24 months. As we staff these positions, the police department will be better positioned to plan and determine the optimal future needs.
The advent of hiring new police officers is a fundamental supervisorial challenge for police executives. A central leadership role at the lieutenant’s rank is infusing a culture of accountability. This also entails leading first-line supervisors and officers to respond to emergencies in progress, employing the proper tactics, appropriately responding to routine calls for service, fostering community policing, and being able to provide administrative and critical updates to city staff.
Lieutenants serve as shift commanders, and they are responsible for socializing the employees under their command to model and engage in practices designed to foster trust while affording sergeants the ability to supervise and audit activities in the field. The Ann Arbor Police Department's average tenure and experience of officers and their first-line supervisors (sergeants in their supervisory role) who work the weekend is less than three years.
Currently, the department has two patrol lieutenants covering 10-hour night and day shifts from Monday through Thursday. The creation of a third patrol lieutenant position will allow for 80 hours of leadership coverage throughout the week. The additional lieutenant will work a 12-hour weekend shift Friday through Sunday (possibly 3 pm to 3 am). This addition will add 36 hours of leadership coverage.
Budget/Fiscal Impact: The elimination of two Police Officer positions is necessary in order to fully cover the cost of adding one Lieutenant position. A Lieutenant position costs significantly more than an entry level Police Officer position, therefore funding is not available in the Police Department budget without the elimination of two Police Officer positions. This will be a change in staffing.
Staff
Prepared by: Kim Buselmeier, Financial Manager
Reviewed by: Margaret Radabaugh, Deputy City Attorney
Reviewed by: Andre Anderson, Police Chief
Approved by: Milton Dohoney Jr., City Administrator
Body
Whereas, The Police Department is encountering operational challenges on the weekends due to lack of command staff;
Whereas, This change in staffing will provide operational continuity for the entire week; and
Whereas, Eliminating two Police Officer positions will cover the cost of adding one Lieutenant position;
RESOLVED, That City Council approves eliminating two (2) Police Officer positions from the FY 2025 Police Department budget;
RESOLVED, That City Council approves adding one (1) Lieutenant position to the FY 2025 Police Department budget; and
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator be authorized to take all necessary actions to implement this resolution.