Police Service Collaboration How-To Manual Thursday, June 15, 2006 300 e. nine mile road, ferndale, michigan 48220 www.michigansuburbsalliance.org Creating Collaborative Communities: Police Service Table of Contents I. Preplanning a. Internal Considerations b. External Considerations 04 II. Continuum of Collaboration 10 III. Plan for Implementation 13 IV. Legal Considerations a. Provisions b. Attorney General Opinion 16 V. Financial Considerations a. Financing b. Cost Allocation 19 VI. Weighing the Pros and Cons 25 VII. Successful Examples 27 VIII. Barriers to Collaboration 32 IX. Success a. Elements for Success b. Public Engagement 33 Appendix Resource Guide Citizens Research Council Data Bibliography Notes 38 Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 01 Welcome to Creating Collaborative Communities: Police Service, the second workshop in our Creating Collaborative Communities Series, which was launched by the Michigan Suburbs Alliance in response to the serious financial crisis cities across Michigan are facing. The Problem The struggling state economy, recent cuts in revenue sharing, and the drastic rise in insurance and pension costs are severely limiting city budgets across the state. Combined with the unintended interaction of 1994’s Proposal A and the Headlee Amendment, which limits tax revenue growth rates below inflation, these factors have left cities with significantly less money and virtually no way to raise additional funds. More frequently, municipal leaders are forced to choose between cutting essential public services and facing fiscal insolvency. The Solution Resource sharing and municipal cooperation give struggling cities a third option. Cities may be able to retain and even improve public services and save money by sharing costs, equipment, knowledge and manpower with other cities. Through collaborative partnerships, cities can maximize the efficiency of their limited resources and continue to provide quality services to their residents. Our Response To develop our resource sharing program, we enlisted the help of a steering committee made up of city managers, mayors, council members, human resource and finance directors, fire and police chiefs, union leaders and university professors who provided a wealth of examples, research and information about resource sharing partnerships. With their guidance, we developed the Creating Collaborative Communities Workshop Series, a sequence of half-day, interactive seminars that address service areas identified by our committee as optimum opportunities for collaboration. Police Service Timely, efficient and effective police service is at the heart of what citizens expect from their city government. The idea of cutting back on manpower, equipment or training is disturbing to citizens and city officials alike, but with police service funding requiring a large portion of municipal budgets, it is one of the first areas administrators consider when revenue dwindles. Because police departments have a long (albeit somewhat informal) tradition of cooperation, and because the service is so vital to citizens, it is an optimum area to collaborate. The Binder This binder is a collaboration how-to manual that contains all the information from today’s workshop as well as additional research, examples and resources. Should you attend other workshops in the series, additional information can easily be added to your binder. The Michigan Suburbs Alliance is a resource for cities throughout southeast Michigan regarding many issues including resource sharing. If we can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Enjoy the workshop! Conan Smith Executive Director Michigan Suburbs Alliance Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 02 The Michigan Suburbs Alliance would like to thank to today’s speakers: Deputy Chief James Sclater, Brownstown Police Department Chief William Dwyer, Farmington Hills Police Department Chief George Filenko, Round Lake Park-Hainesville Police Department Mr. Adam Rujan, Plante Moran Thank you for taking time to share your knowledge with us! Also, we extend our appreciation to the members of the police steering subcommittee for their assistance throughout the past year: Maxine Berman – Director of Special Projects, Office of the Governor Michael Celeski – Police Chief, City of Dearborn Richard Heinz – Police Chief, City of Roseville Naheed Huq – Senior Planner, SEMCOG Michael Kitchen – Police Chief, City of Ferndale Peter Provenzano – Assistant City Manager/Controller, City of Roseville David Niedermeier – Police Chief, City of Hazel Park Kevin Sagan – Police Chief, City of Madison Heights Steve Truman – City Manager, City of Roseville Thank you for taking time out of your busy days to impart your wisdom and help guide our research. We could not have done this without you! The Michigan Suburbs Alliance would also like to thank the sponsors of the Creating Collaborative Communities program: Michigan Economic Development Corporation Michigan State Housing Development Authority Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Thank you for you visionary support or this program and of cities in Southeast Michigan. Finally, thank you to the charter members of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance: Allen Park Center Line Dearborn Dearborn Heights Eastpointe Ferndale Grosse Pointe Park Grosse Pointe Woods Harper Woods Hamtramck Hazel Park Huntington Woods Lincoln Park Melvindale Mount Clemens Pleasant Ridge River Rouge Rockwood Roseville Southfield Taylor Warren Wayne Ypsilanti Thank you for your continued support of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance. We look forward to assisting you in your collaborative endeavors! Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 03 Internal Considerations There are many reasons to initiate a collaborative effort. Local officials may want to improve safety for their residents or seek solutions to problems for city businesses. Often, a crisis such as a millage failure catapults a city toward police service collaboration; however, the present financial health of many southeast Michigan cities qualifies as reason enough to pursue collaboration. This section describes the steps a city should take prior to beginning a cooperative initiative. To ensure success, it is important to carefully complete each of the following steps, ensuring proper planning and support before moving ahead. The entire process, from inception to execution, may take months or years. Remember that all the effort and work done upfront will save you time, money and grief in the end! Prior to reaching out to community stakeholders or initiating a collaborative partnership, begin discussing collaboration internally with your community’s political, administrative and police service leadership. During any step that requires a meeting, consider including a neutral third party facilitator. Local universities and the International Association of Chiefs of Police can be good sources for such mediators. Also, abstain from including any potential external partners until you have completed the internal preparations listed below. Investigate Your Motivations Identify . . . • The issue(s) you plan to address • Why you are considering collaboration • What you hope to achieve through collaboration; your goals and objectives • The ideal result of collaboration Develop a Cooperative Spirit Be . . . • Inclusive • Honest • Transparent throughout the process • Open-minded • Willing to cede power Identify a Leader Who is . . . • Knowledgeable about the community and issues • Politically and socially capable of bringing stakeholders to the table • A risk taker • Of a cooperative spirit (as defined above) • Eager to discuss and address stakeholders’ concerns candidly • Personable At this point, begin incorporating community stakeholders into the effort to improve police services by soliciting their feedback. You may choose to meet with each stakeholder group individually before bringing the entire group together. Be sure, though, to advise participants that the purpose of these meetings is to explore all of the issues and options, not to determine a final solution. Consider that stakeholders should be included in the planning process not just to elicit support but also to provide valuable expertise and insight. Their involvement will also help alleviate fears by allowing them to share their concerns and having these concerns addressed. The further along in the process that interest groups’ concerns are addressed, the more difficult it will be to reconfigure plans and the more unlikely the successful implementation of the collaboration. Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 04 Engage Stakeholders & Interest Groups Identify and contact stakeholders. Consider including. . . • Unions & Department Employees • Citizen Groups & Residents • Chambers of Commerce & Local Businesses • City Staff & Elected Officials • Media Gather all parties to record and discuss each stakeholder group’s respective . . . • Goals • Objectives • Wants • Needs • Problems • Concerns Record each stakeholder’s opinions regarding current, acceptable and ideal service levels and department characteristics and the best collaborative structure for achieving them. o Unions & Department Employees may focus on . . . Response times Crime rates Departmental focus Employees’ quality of life o Citizen Groups & Residents may focus on . . . School liaison officers DARE officers Home checks for residents on vacation Community policing Bike patrols Meet Regularly Assemble stakeholders often to maintain focus on collective goals and to ensure all parties are invested in the success of the police service improvement initiative. As you begin examining ways to improve police service provision, consider cooperative endeavors. What type or level of collaboration will best achieve the goals and objectives set forth by stakeholders? Note that departmental employees will be very wary of proposals that affect their jobs and/or influence. However, the Urban Cooperation Act requires that existing employees transferred to a new intergovernmental entity shall not suffer a reduction in rights or benefits. These statutory protections may reduce, but not entirely eliminate, possible employee opposition to intergovernmental projects. Explore the Police Service Solutions • • • Anticipate and plan how to respond to concerns regarding revenue-generating initiatives and collaboration. See the Weighing the Pros & Cons section of this guide to review potential points of contention. Develop a methodology to determine how options for service provision will be evaluated Identify opportunities for generating additional revenue o Grants May be used to finance infrastructure to relieve the strain on city budgets Federal Homeland Security grants may be helpful in covering costs for equipment purchases and upgrades as well as training if these costs are necessary to provide a more holistic or regional provision of services. cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 05 - o Although the program is due to be zeroed out nationwide under the current administration, federal Edward Burns Grants may provide matching monies for important equipment expenditures. Consider external collaborations in grant writing • Applying as part of a consortium may increase your city’s chance of receiving grant monies. • Cities with grant writers may be willing to train a staff member in your city. • Cities may share grant writers to save money while ensuring that the grant writer has appropriate levels of experience and expertise. • Research all structures for police service provision o Identify where your community is on the Continuum for Collaboration (see the next chapter). o Identify all alternative structures for police service provision. Many are listed in the following chapter, Continuum of Collaboration Do not decide on a certain collaboration structure for your community before you secure your partner(s) Identify potential partner communities. Only one partner community is needed; you can always build from there. Although contiguity is an important characteristic when identifying partners to consolidate with, it is much less relevant when planning a functional consolidation in the area of, for example, dispatch or purchasing. Communities with residents who share similar economic standards of living, educational levels, and racial and ethnic ties are more likely to enjoy populace support for joint ventures, because homogeneity reassures residents that major differences will not erupt between the communities over such issues as services to be provided, the quality of such services and the financial burden that each community will assume to support the service. Contact potential partner cities to invite them to complete the internal preparation process. Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 06 External Considerations Once all the communities involved complete the internal preparation stage, the team can begin working together to build their collaborative partnership. External preparation involves many steps similar to those taken within each individual community such as building trust among stakeholders and agreeing on desired outcomes. Although it may seem time-consuming and tedious, completing each step is crucial for a successful collaborative partnership because they each address important issues that can impede the process down the road. Build Trust • Provide opportunities such as community meals and festivals for residents and city staff to develop relationships with partner communities’ residents and city staff. • Assemble a group of dedicated individuals from each municipality to meet often and openly, making sure to include representation from each stakeholder group. • Provide opportunities for leadership from each partner community to meet regularly • Recognize that if the image of a community’s government or police department is by documented or suspected inefficiency, ineptness, or corruption, cooperation may not be possible until a new administration is elected or new departmental management is appointed • Participate in local government associations such as the Oakland County Supervisors Association (OCATS), the Conference of Western Wayne (CWW) Mayors and Township Supervisors and the Michigan Suburbs Alliance, which meet on a regular basis Explore the Options • Determine shared goals. • Agree upon a methodology and criteria to evaluate alternatives. • Review service provision options that were identified internally. o Determine the most immediately achievable option. o Consider starting with this easiest form of collaboration in order to build confidence among collaborating cities. Early success will encourage more challenging collaborations and build credibility with residents and the media. For example, consider beginning by purchasing equipment with one or more communities. This type of initiative may be comparatively easy because it builds on existing cooperative bidding on the internet, and at the same time, it is not extremely politically charged. o Work toward achieving short-term goals, but avoid losing sight of long-term goals which may be more difficult to achieve. If the group decides to pursue collaborative police service provision, the following steps must also be completed. However, if cooperation is not the best choice for your city at this point, abstain from investing the necessary time and effort in continuing to explore the option. Align Service Provision Goals • Goals translate the vision and values into objectives; by aligning each department’s respective goals, the departments will be able to cooperatively move in the same direction. Determine the Identifying Characteristics for Each Department • Consider the departments’ values, traditions, perceived identities, philosophy and culture. • Departments have very strong identities. Officers and staff take a great deal of comfort and pride in these identities. Consolidation activities must allow for an understanding of this initial loss of identity and suggest timeframes for officers to adopt and adjust to the new agency’s identity. • The new agency’s philosophy must be a blend of the philosophies of the collaborating departments. Philosophies may focus on special programs or a community-oriented, problem-solving approach to service provision. cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 07 • The culture of each department (perspectives, attitudes and informal coping mechanisms) must be assessed and respected. Expect that each department’s personnel will maintain a core of identifying elements while relinquishing others to effectively assume the identity and culture of the new agency. Complete a Feasibility Study A feasibility study provides an overview of the main issues related to a cooperative service provision option while identifying risks that would prevent your collaboration from being successful. By answering important questions regarding all aspects of the service sharing, the feasibility study evaluates the proposed alternative structure. However, much research is required in order to obtain enough information to answer these questions. While one need not know all the answers in order for the effort to be feasible, every question should be answered satisfactorily before operations begin. Additionally, although the purpose of a feasibility study is not to document in-depth long-term financial projections, it should include a basic break-even analysis to see how much revenue would be necessary to meet operating expenses. If your community can successfully answer the questions listed below without the support of an objective third party, then a formal feasibility study may be unnecessary. However, cities often find it helpful to contract with a neutral, third party to complete a formal such a study. Given their closeness to the issues at hand, city and department leaders often fall into a cloud of negotiations without having a clear view of whether or how the benefits outweigh the costs. Firms such as Plante & Moran provide important objectivity and technical expertise for the completion of a full feasibility study; however, cities may choose to tap available university and nonprofit resources for such support instead. o o o o Creating Collaborative Communities General Is a professional feasibility study necessary to move forward? • To answer this question, it may be helpful to read the following section, Feasibility Study Will the new agency move in a new philosophical direction? Should it? Will consolidation affect the rest of the criminal justice system? How? Will consolidation respond to the growth of the city, county and region? What is the current service capacity of your city’s police department and the departments with which you may collaborate? Will the quality of service provided to residents rise or fall? What type/level of collaboration will the group pursue? Will the new method of service provision provide benefits that outweigh the costs? Political Who will make the key decisions about the consolidation process? How can the process be designed to ensure that stakeholders have a role in decision-making? How much control does your community need? What is politically palatable in your community and the potential partner communities? Operational What is the current organizational structure for service provision? How may this structure change with greater cooperation? What is the current and projected demand for police services? What are the communities’ service expectations? What is the projected supply of police services in the area? What aspects of the departments’ union and pension contacts will result in contention if a collaboration is pursued? Are the current departments’ sites the most appropriate for optimal service provision? What, if any, facilities are available to house a collaboration? Administrative What staffing needs will the new agency have? How will staffing needs to change in the future? Who will head the new agency? To whom will this agency head report? What qualifications are needed to manage this cooperative? Who will manage the new agency? How will the command structure be set up? cont. > Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 08 - o o o Creating Collaborative Communities How will the department and its service provision be overseen? Will a governing board be responsible for oversight? Who will sit on this board? What are their qualifications? How have other consolidated agencies arrived at an equitable management plan for the new entity? What will happen to the existing police departments? How will the sheriff’s office interact with the new agency? How will complaints be managed? How will officers be deployed? How will patrol sectors or districts be designed? How will patrol allocation be determined? How will preliminary deployment decisions be evaluated after implementation? How will the issue of multiple departments having units that target drugs, homicide, gangs, etc. be resolved? How will training and education be standardized? What are the technology needs for the collaborative? What equipment is necessary? Where will you obtain this technology and equipment? How does your ability to obtain this technology and equipment affect your start-up timeline? How much will the equipment and technology cost? Financial Will consolidation cause taxpayer costs to increase or decrease? Are there hidden costs that could make consolidation more expensive than expected? How will start up, capital and operating costs be distributed among partners? Who will decide? Will long-term benefits outweigh initial transaction costs? Are there enough economies of scale to outweigh the fact that collaboration may result in winners and losers? • How will the collaboration be financed? Consider both the costs to create the collaboration as well as those associated with the cooperative service provision. By collaborating, are additional funding sources available? How will revenue acquisition change? Who will receive these revenues? Will levels of revenue change? How? How will assets be transferred? Who will use which assets? How will the partnering communities address financial disparities? Personnel Will the seniority and job assignments of officers and civilian employees be protected? Will promotional opportunities increase or decrease? How will salary, benefits and promotion protocols be standardized? Legal What does legislation permit? What contractual issues may arise? What other legal issues could arise? What must be done to satisfy all legal requirements? Who will be responsible for evaluating and resolving legal issues of agency dissolution or redesign? How will the collaboration be evaluated and modified? How often will reviews take place and changes occur? Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 09 Continuum of Collaboration The Continuum of Collaboration is the range of options for cooperative efforts. On one end of the scale are less complex projects that do not typically encounter significant challenges. These projects do not pose threats to turf or control; they do not demand long-standing trust; they fit within existing budgets. On the opposite end are intense and multifaceted collaborations that may involve departmental mergers. These collaborations demand high levels of trust and are often precipitated by emergency situations. Most of all, they demand strong and visionary leadership. In between is a wide range of alternatives, neither very simple nor overly complicated. Moving along the Continuum of Collaboration is easiest if taken one step at a time. Use less complex forms of collaboration to establish the trust, respect and confidence necessary to move to more intense projects. Functional Consolidation Mutual Aid Consolidation Easy Hard Equipment and personnel staging Automatic Mutual Aid Fee-for-Service Contract Full Consolidation There are many options for providing police service cooperatively, all of which differ in complexity and intensity. This section describes each option to assist cities as they navigate through the Continuum of Collaboration. At the end of the chapter is a short discussion on public safety as an option for collaboration within your own city, which can achieve many of the same goals as an external collaboration. When beginning to explore cooperative initiatives, it is important to research each option carefully in order to ensure that the type of collaboration you choose to pursue is the best option for all communities involved. Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How To Manual: Police Service 10 External Collaborations Equipment and Personnel Staging • In the event that the resources in one jurisdiction are unavailable, perhaps due to a funeral of a former member of the department, neighboring departments move officers to locations that allow for coverage of the jurisdictional area unattended by its own department. Mutual Aid • Partner departments assist one another without charge on a temporary basis when a department requests help. • Usually not formally documented • Often a product of historical convenience • Advantages o Expedient o Politically palatable o No obligations • Disadvantage o Because payment is not exchanged for these services and because one community may use its mutual aid agreement more than its partner, this type of collaboration may result in inequities in cost allocation. Automatic Mutual Aid • Aid rendered automatically by the dispatcher, without a specific request from the department needing assistance • Usually more formal than mutual aid • May require the exchange of payment for services • Advantages o Expedient o Politically palatable o Reassures police officers and residents that there will be enough manpower to address more challenging incidents • Disadvantage o Obligatory Functional Consolidation • Each department operates independently and remains legally separate, but some functions work as a coordinated unit. Functions may include . . . o Hiring Cities may benefit from building partnerships with community colleges to recruit officers. o Training Consider creating a uniform list for hiring recommendations and uniform testing/training, either countywide or region-wide. o Joint Purchasing Consider purchasing equipment of the same brand, either countywide or region-wide, in order to facilitate compatibility and exchange. o Central Dispatch Consider consolidating dispatch operations in one central location. Guarantees dedicated, trained dispatch May improve a coordinated regional response to emergencies Fee-for-Service Contract • One municipality “sells” service to another at an agreed upon rate and for a defined period of time • Advantages o Familiar o Purchaser can avoid start-up costs of providing services. o Provider can defray existing expenses. o Easily modifiable cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 11 • Disadvantages o Purchaser can feel lack of control over services received. o May be difficult to agree on appropriate charges for services o Provider risks exit of purchaser after increasing capacity. Consolidation • Each city’s department may be legally separate and provide revenue from different sources, but they operate as one department. Full Consolidation • Multiple departments merge into one entity • Municipalities agree to shared ownership and control of the program o Control primarily stays with governing bodies o Ownership of assets/liabilities remains with governing bodies Internal Collaborations Public Safety • Combines fire and police services to provide both from one department • Requires cross-training of staff • Works well when a city has strong mutual aid pacts with others • A city’s police call and fire run volumes play a large role in determining whether or not merging into a public safety department makes sense for a community. Usually low call and run volumes are more conducive to the public safety structure. • The transition can be slow and smooth, eliminating positions only through attrition. **For additional advantages and disadvantage of collaboration, see the “Weighing the Pros & Cons” chapter. The lists of potential advantages and disadvantages are especially relevant for the consolidation and full consolidation options. Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How To Manual: Police Service 12 Plan for Implementation Congratulations, you have finally made it out of the preplanning phase! Having completed the internal and external preparation and evaluated where on the continuum your collaboration falls, it is now time to develop a detailed plan to help you implement the collaboration. Below are a number of issues and steps to consider including in the plan. Inventory & Assess Facilities • Evaluate the age, condition, location and operational efficiency of the existing department facilities to assess the feasibility of using those that are available versus building new. Include renovations that would be necessary to use existing facilities. Develop a Phased Transition Plan • Include a plan for a period of adjustment necessary to calm staff anxiety and clarify job status. • The process of consolidation and adjustment to the process takes many years. Creating a new agency presents officers with the challenge of shedding old identities and taking on new ones. Some officers may never fully accept consolidation, and all stakeholders will need substantial time to adjust to it. Early resistance tends to give way to acceptance with time and experience. Craft Agency Policies, Procedures and Protocols • Incorporate the new agency’s philosophy into its policies, procedures and protocols. • These must be in place and personnel should be trained on them before consolidation occurs. Design an Oversight Board • Establish a strong and fairly autonomous administrative board to oversee the police service collaboration o May be required under some authorizing statues but, in other cases, one should be appointed o May use PA 7 of 1967 for enabling legislation o Some groups form more than one board: Oversight board made up of elected officials from each participating entity Technical board, with one representative from each service provision entity to oversee the day-to-day running of the program. This group is usually the body responsible for responding to public questions and concerns. • Although some laws authorizing collaboration prescribe the precise board composition, most are broad enough to tailor membership to meet local concerns and needs. • Representatives are often appointed by the governing bodies of each community and, to provide additional accountability, may be selected from among the elected officials that comprise the partnering communities’ governing bodies; the premise being that elected officials will be more likely to act in ways that please the citizens of the respective jurisdictions. • Boards that contain equal representation from participating entities perform better than boards that have unequal representation. The tendency exists in negotiating agreements that if one unit pays proportionally more of the costs, it receives additional representation or votes. Agreements structured in such a way tend to be short lived since the unit with fewer votes perceives that they are steam-rolled in the voting process. Moreover, providing for multiple representatives from the same entity does little to apportion power more equitably, because representatives from the same entity tend to vote on issues identically rather than dilute their power by canceling out each other’s vote. • A large board raises the cost of making decisions, as more participants are likely to bring additional ideas and more diverse viewpoints which must be accommodated and may necessitate further delegation of decision making to subcommittees. • Employees may want to have representation on the board, but laws such as Michigan’s Incompatibility of Public Offices statute (MCLA 15.181, et seq) may prohibit a person from serving simultaneously in two positions where one position is subordinate to another. Legal counsel should be consulted if this issue arises. cont.> Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How To Manual: Police Service 13 • • • • • • • Creating Collaborative Communities Opponents of intergovernmental cooperation may be willing to drop their opposition if they are promised a meaningful role in overseeing the activities. Supporters as well may demand a seat on the administrative board as payment for their efforts to marshal public support for the venture. Whether or not to accommodate such demands is a political issue best resolved at the negotiating table. Staggering board members’ terms ensures continuity and stability. Governing bodies may be uncomfortable delegating complete control to the oversight board and, consequently, may reserve the power to take certain actions. For example, the legislative bodies may reserve the right to adopt the budget for the collaborative, particularly when they are obligated to provide ongoing operating funds. Governing body approval may also be necessary for changes in policies, procedures or user fees or for chief administrative officer appointments. Some interlocal agreements require all governing bodies to ratify such proposals, while others only require two-thirds or a simple majority of the participating government entities’ approval. Stringent voting requirements may result in one or a few participants impeding progress. While each jurisdiction will need to abstain from making unilateral decisions regarding the shared service provision, the participating community will now influence a much larger and more powerful consortium Some oversight board decisions may not have to be submitted to governing bodies for ratification, but might be subject to their review and comment. An objecting entity may have authority to postpone implementation of a decision until its concerns are addressed. In other cases, a two-thirds or simple majority disapproval by the government entities will veto an administrative board decision. Legislative bodies must . . . o Share control and ensure accountability by selecting representatives to serve on the board. o Empower their representatives to act on their behalf o Ensure that the board is empowered to act independently of entrenched interest groups o Develop a process by which board members are selected that assures broad representation Oversight board responsibilities o Provides a mechanism for sharing decision making and expressing concerns and preferences. o Ensures that the legislative bodies do not constantly countermand recommendations developed by the those appointed to make important decisions o Reports frequently and regularly to respective participating legislative bodies to ensure constant communication and to alert the legislative bodies of potential problems o Provides copies of minutes, document drafts and reports to legislative bodies o Provides a forum for problem resolution other than existing councils or board o Holds regular, public meetings Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 14 Provisions Michigan law contains many provisions promoting local government collaboration and there is very likely a tool that will enable you to make any service provision structure work. One challenge is that these laws are not codified as tools for collaboration, but scattered throughout many chapters of Michigan law. Below you will find a compilation of some of the most common provisions. You can read the full text of any of these laws online at the State of Michigan’s legislative web site: www.legislature.michigan.gov. Constitutional Provisions Article 3 § 5: Provides that any governmental authority or any combination thereof may enter into agreements for the performance, financing or execution of their respective functions, with any one or more of the other states, the United States, the Dominion of Canada or any political subdivision thereof unless otherwise provided in the Constitution. Article 7 § 27: Gives the Legislature the power to directly create metropolitan authorities with powers, duties and jurisdictions that Legislature shall provide. The authorities may be authorized to perform multipurpose functions rather than a single function. Article 7 § 28: Authorizes two or more counties, townships, cities, villages or districts, or any combination thereof, to cooperate in the execution administration of any of the functions or powers “which each would have the power to perform separately.” Legislative Provisions PA 33 of 1951: POLICE AND FIRE PROTECTION (41.801 - 41.813) Allows for cooperation between townships or between townships, villages and cities under 15,000 for the purchase of equipment and the provision of police and fire services; authorizes the creation of special assessment districts, the creation of administrative boards and the charging and collection of fees for such services. PA 35 of 1951: INTERGOVERNMENTAL CONTRACTS BETWEEN MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS (124.1 - 124.13) Authorizes counties, townships, cities, villages and other governmental units to enter into contracts for the “ownership, operation or performance, jointly or by any one or more on behalf of all, of any property, facility or service which each would have the power to own, operate or perform separately.” Also authorizes such governmental units to form group self-insurance pools to provide casualty insurance; property insurance; automobile insurance including motor vehicle liability, surety and fidelity insurance; umbrella and excess insurance and coverage for hospital, medical, surgical or dental benefits to the employees of member municipalities. PA 200 of 1957: INTERMUNICIPALITY COMMITTEES (123.631 - 123.637) Permits two or more municipalities to form a committee for “studying area governmental problems of mutual interest and concern.” PA 217 of 1957: INTERCOUNTY COMMITTEES (123.641 - 123.645) Permits two or more counties to form a committee for “studying area governmental problems of mutual interest and concern.” PA 214 of 1963: REGIONAL FACILITIES OF DELINQUENT AND NEGLECTED MINORS (720.651 – 720.660) Allows 2 or more contiguous counties to levy up to 1 mill (more in subsequent years) for estimated capital and operating costs. Costs shall be distributed among participating counties based on SEV and 50% of costs shall be allocated on the basis of school census. The tax must be approved by a majority of electors in the jurisdiction; must be held in state general election or in countywide primary election. PA 7 of 1967: URBAN COOPERATION ACT (124.501 – 257.301) Allows a public agency to work jointly, with any other public agency of this state, with a public agency of any other state of the United States, with a public agency of Canada or with any public agency of the United States government, any power, privilege or authority that the agencies share in common and that each might exercise separately. Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How To Manual: Fire Service 15 PA 8 of 1967: INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS OF FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES (124.531 - 124.536) Authorizes two or more political subdivisions to enter into a contract providing for the transfer of functions or responsibilities to one another or any combination thereof. Specifies items for inclusion in function transfer agreements and the manner of adoption; also allows the establishment of a separate administrative body to supervise the execution of the agreement. PA 365 of 1982: POLICE AND FIRE PROTECTION ACT (amends 41.811) Allows the governing bodies of two or more contiguous townships, villages or qualified cities to, acting jointly, create a joint police administrative board, fire administrative board or police and fire administrative board. PA 57 of 1988: EMERGENCY SERVICES TO MUNICIPALITIES (124.601 - 124.614) Allows cities, villages and townships to incorporate an authority for the purpose of providing police, fire or emergency services. The jurisdiction of the authority must include the entire geographic area of all incorporating municipalities. The authority may levy property taxes for funds to carry out its objectives. PA 72 of 1988: EMERGENCY SERVICES ACT (712A.11 – 712A.18E) Allows any 2 or more municipalities to transfer funds from dedicated property tax to an authority. Municipalities can transfer up to 20 mills for a specific period of time, but must hold an election and obtain majority consent of the electors in the authority jurisdiction; up to two tax elections per year. PA 292 of 1989: METROPOLITAN COUNCILS ACT (124.651 - 124.729) Authorizes local government units to create metropolitan councils and sets forth powers and duties of such councils; authorizes councils to levy tax. Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Fire Service 16 Attorney General Opinion The following excerpt was taken from Michigan State Attorney General Mike Cox’s opinion number 7177 regarding the Police and Fire Civil Service Act stipulations for laying off and hiring full-time police officers. It notes that local units of government can lay off full-time police officers without having to first lay off reserve officers with less seniority, so long as no collective bargaining agreement exists providing otherwise. This allows local governments more flexibility not only in the hiring and layoff process, but also in their budgeting. Section 14(2) of Act 78 was amended so that the prescribed layoff procedure would no longer apply to “paid members” but would apply to full-time paid members of police or fire departments: If, for reasons of economy, it shall be deemed necessary by any city, village or municipality to reduce the number of full-time paid members of any fire or police department, the municipality shall follow the following procedure: Removals shall be accomplished by suspending in numerical order, commencing with the last employee appointed to the fire or police department, all recent appointees to the fire or police department until the reductions are made. However, if the fire or police department increases in numbers to the strength existing before the reductions were made, the firefighters or police officers suspended last under this act shall be reinstated before any new appointments to the fire or police department are made. [MCL 38.514(2)] A municipality to which the Police and Fire Civil Service Act . . . applies is required to follow that act when hiring full-time paid members of its police department only and not for reserve officers. Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How To Manual: Fire Service 17 Financing Although initiating collaborative efforts can be expensive, it is important to allocate at least a small amount of resources to the project in order to indicate your commitment to the initiative. Once you have generated these startup funds, foundation grants may be available to supplement your resources. Also, when pursuing a functional consolidation for joint purchasing, consider asking a vendor to finance the collaborative effort in return for the increased business. Once you have secured funds to pursue a collaborative partnership, you must investigate the various ways in which police service collaborations can be financed. Below you will find a list of possibilities. General Fund Revenues The city’s primary operating fund accounts for all financial resources of the general government except those required to be accounted for in another fund (e.g. major streets fund, sanitation fund) • Used to finance services that are made available to all community residents • With stressed budgets, many local governments are seeking alternatives to funding collaborative police service efforts with general funds. Advantages to General Fund Revenues o Generally the primary funding source for independent municipal police departments o Familiar and easy to use o Does not require a citizen vote Disadvantage to General Fund Revenues o These funds are dependent on external factors, including state government decisions and the economy. Special Extra Voted Millage A millage that the citizens of the municipality have to approve through a ballot measure • Commonly used to support local services and expand service delivery • Revenue use is restricted for a specific activity. Advantage to Special Extra Voted Millage o Revenue stream is dedicated to support the specific service. Disadvantages to Special Extra Voted Millage o Inequities may develop since the value of property and the demand or use of police service is not equated. o Reliant on citizen approval Special Assessment Cities with populations of less than 15,000 are authorized to create special assessment districts for police services. Special assessment districts, which include all lands and premises benefiting from the improvement, may be formed when the beneficiaries of a service are clearly identifiable, the premise being that the general revenue of a governmental unit should not be used to finance improvements that do not benefit the entire community. • All local units of government in Michigan are authorized to levy special assessments. The Home Rule Cities Act provides authority to impose special assessments with no specific stipulations regarding the assessment levy. • Special assessment levies are not property taxes; however, property value, front footage or land area may be used as the base for which the levy is assessed. The measure to be used to apportion assessments is not specified in authorizing legislation; however, the measure selected is to bear some relationship to the benefit received from the public improvement. cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 18 • • • The special assessment is generally calculated by dividing the cost of the public improvement by the base upon which those costs will be apportioned, resulting in a rate expressed in mills. An administrative board provides oversight, yet each local unit maintains legislative control. PA 365 of 1982 dictates the size of the board, appointment procedures and terms of appointment. Special assessments are spread and become due and collected at the same time as other municipal taxes. Advantages to creating special assessment districts o Millages can be levied to generate revenue. o Property normally exempt from the general ad valorem property tax such as property used for religious, charitable, educational or scientific purposes and public service business property is not exempt. o Legislation authorizing special assessments does not usually specify a maximum rate or a restriction on the duration of the levies. Local units of government are, therefore, granted unlimited, open-ended revenue raising authority to finance most public improvements. Disadvantages to creating special assessment districts o May only be used by cities of 15,000 or less o Personal property is exempt o In some instances, voter approval is required or the question may be put to the voters through petition referendum. Initiative or referendum petitions may be signed only by property owners in the district. Authority A body corporate that comprises two or more cities, villages or townships and includes the entire land area of all participating municipalities. This entity has all the rights of a municipality. • Steps to create a police authority: City council must... 1. Pass a resolution of intent 2. Appoint a study committee 3. Vote on the articles of incorporation (charter) • The authority’s governing board should have an odd number of members, each with staggered terms. Advantages to an Authority o Does not require a citizen vote to create an authority o Requires clear and concise operating procedures o Such institutionalization can provide validity o Functions to remove daily politics from the program and dissolve feelings of threatened turf o Provides the power to finance the authority through the levy of property taxes o Provides the power to bond to finance capital projects • May be most useful in cases where large capital investments are required to develop the necessary infrastructure for the delivery of services Disadvantages to an Authority o Voter approval is required to levy property taxes o Legislative bodies may perceive the authority as diminishing their legislative oversight Capital Bonding A form of debt used to raise funds in public capital markets and through private placements to institutional investors in which a three-way legal arrangement exists between the borrower, the bondholders (the suppliers of capital) and a trust company. • The trust company represents the bondholders to ensure that the borrower complies with the terms of the contract. • Since these bonds are not subject to federal income taxes, they supply low-interest debt. cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 19 Advantages to Capital Bonding o Raises a significant amount of revenue o Does not require a large upfront payment o A form of low-interest debt Disadvantages to Capital Bonding o Sometimes requires a citizen vote o Depends on the bond ratings of the city User Fees A supplemental revenue stream that charges the direct recipient for services rendered • Only about 70-75% of fees are collected. Results are contingent upon how detailed the records are and how quickly the individual is billed. Advantages to User Fees o May eliminate the problem of benefits not accruing to those paying for the service o Helps to regulate demand for the service o May be used in addition to another financing method such as general fund revenues or extra-voted millages Disadvantages to User Fees o Likely to accrue to the general fund and then are parsed out to departments such as the police department o Increases administrative costs due to collection, monitoring and accounting o Uncertainty of revenue o The lower an individual’s income, the greater the percentage of one’s income required to pay the user fee o May dissuade people from using necessary police services o City councils tend to resist such fees Third party payments A supplemental revenue stream that functions as a user fee, but charges a third party (e.g. an insurance company) rather than the recipient of the service • Collection rates on third party payments average about 50-60%. • If a unit determines residents or other users are going to be billed for police services for which they are not currently being billed, an informational campaign is needed to inform citizens of the new strategy. Residents may have to check with their insurance carriers to see if such coverage is provided or if a rider can be purchased. Advantages to Third Party Payments o Does not charge citizens for a service they believe to be covered by taxes o May be used in addition to another financing method such as general fund revenues or extra-voted millages Disadvantages to Third Party Payments o Increased administrative costs due to collection, monitoring and accounting o Uncertainty of revenue o Money collected is strictly supplemental, it cannot fund a project alone Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 20 Cost Allocation Each department begins the cost allocation process by determining its total expenses, including both fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs include those expenditures associated with the purchase of buildings and communications equipment as well as payments for utilities and accounting services. Variable costs are items such as wages and benefits, vehicles, supplies and equipment, operating costs and depreciation of equipment, insurance, gasoline and repairs to equipment. Communities are often suspicious that partner municipalities may pay for nonpolice service costs with money allocated for the collaborative and thus may not accept that fixed capital costs need to be included when determining total costs. However, the true cost of police service provision can only be determined by including such capital costs. Wary communities can be reassured by better understanding the cost determination process. Another point of contention may be allocating start-up versus operating costs. Start-up costs, sometimes also called transaction costs, are the costs incurred in pursuing and implementing a collaborative effort. These include expenditures regarding research, land acquisition, building renovations, equipment purchasing, etc. Operating costs are the ongoing costs for service provision, such as rent, utilities, and wages, which are incurred in the everyday operation of the departments. Because communities are familiar with operating costs, they may feel more comfortable allocating these costs among partners in the collaboration. However, start-up costs associated with cooperative initiatives may seem more foreign. This discomfort can be addressed by both minimizing start-up costs and seeking outside support and funding for necessary research and purchases to implement a collaboration. The allocation of costs becomes even more complicated when factors such as population, tax base wealth, fiscal capacity and service demand vary between participating units. Units that are similar in size and demographic composition will face fewer problems regarding equity than communities with less in common. Whether a community is actually buying ownership of capital purchases such as police cars is dependent upon the language in the intergovernmental agreement. Clarify whether communities are buying the service rendered by the capital purchases or purchasing a portion of ownership of the equipment. For example, if a producer of police service is including depreciation costs in the charge to the buyer, then the buying community is not buying ownership of the equipment. Allocating costs among partners in a collaboration is generally the source of disagreement. Transparent cost determination and allocation processes go a long way in satsifying concerned partners. However, changing the allocation strategies once the collaborative has begun may result in even more tension than the initial allocation. Thus, when beginning a cooperative effort, also plan how the cost allocation will be updated so that all partners know what to expect. Types of Allocation Methods Annual Subscription Fee The buyer makes a predetermined payment to the seller and receives police services for the entire year with no specified number of calls or consumption levels. Advantage • Reduces budget uncertainty because the seller is assured of a given revenue contribution and the buyer has set costs Disadvantage • May saddle the buyer or seller with costs not accounted for by the pricing scheme Run Charge Divide the total cost of police services by the total number of runs for the previous year to establish a cost per run to be charged for future runs. The method can be strengthened by adding a “stand-by” service charge, similar to a “readiness to serve” charge assessed by sewer/water producers, which may be deposited in a capital equipment or replacement fund. cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 21 Advantage • Simple to implement and collect Disadvantages • Treats every police run as being equal in terms of cost • Uncertainty o If few police runs are encountered in any given year, the producer of the service bears a larger share of the costs. o A buyer may find that costs are high due to a large number of runs for small tasks o The seller may bear fixed costs Subscription Fee + Run Charge The subscription fee is the access fee for the right of the buyer to purchase service from the seller; it offsets capital costs. The police run charge covers variable costs. Using the subscription fee and the run charge together reduces the run charge while ensuring that the seller receives a base amount of revenue. Advantages • Less budget uncertainty than using a run charge alone • Provides flexibility for high-run vs. low-run years Disadvantage • Maintains some budget uncertainty • Assumes that all police runs consume the same amount of resources Percentage Share Based on Usage Calculate the total number of police personnel hours for one community as a percent of all the communities’ police personnel hours from the previous year and for the past three to four years to determine a rolling average. Advantages • May more accurately reflect the cost of police services Disadvantages • Accuracy is dependent upon the notion that personnel hours reflect costs correctly • Relies on accurate cost and personnel hours records • Does not factor in an equitable share of fixed costs State Equalized Value Share This method is especially popular in communities that levy a special millage for police services. The charge is the equivalent millage levy on the SEV of the area of the community. Advantage • Reduces budget uncertainty Disadvantages • Seller may pay a portion of the police costs for the buyer or vice-versa. • Assumes that the demand for service is a function of the value of the property Weighted Formula This method is based on population, state equalized value and historical usage. It includes population for the added risk of exposure and the demand for police services. As population increases, incidences requiring police services generally increase. SEV represents the value of property to be protected; the more valuable the property, the more willing the owner should be to pay for police services to ensure the safety of the property. If property record cards are computerized, an actual determination of the SEV of building structures can be determined and an agreed upon percentage of open space value added to determine the cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 22 SEV of the area to be serviced. A percentage of the open space SEV should be included to reflect the potential occurrence of incidences in such locations which require police services. Use a three-year rolling average to determine historical usage. The weights assigned to each indicator should be negotiated among partners. Cost Allocation Steps: 1. Identify appropriate weights for each indicator. 2. Determine the values of each indicator for one community. 3. Multiply each indicator’s value by its respective weight to determine that indicator’s portion of the community’s cost share. 4. Add all indicator values together. 5. This final value is the community’s percentage share of the cost. 6. Repeat this process for each community. Advantages • More accurately reflects the benefits and costs of providing police services • Minimizes cross-subsidization • Adjusts annually • Reduces uncertainty Disadvantages • Requires heavy negotiation due to the complexity of the formula • May be the most difficult to implement Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 23 Weighing the Pros and Cons Although not every possibility listed below will apply to all collaborations, it is important to be aware of all of the potential advantages and disadvantages. When determining whether or not to enter into a cooperative police service agreement, consider the following: Potential Advantages Cost savings should not be expected early in a collaborative partnership. Instead, monetary savings should be seen as a long-term benefit to collaboration. Upfront costs for studies and transaction costs often overshadow any initial cost savings. However, countless nonmonetary benefits are more immediate . . . Service • Increases manpower to improve safety for citizens and police officers • Increases departmental capacity • Improves employee performance and increases employee morale by aligning the staffing model with demands for service, modifying the organizational structure and clarifying roles and responsibilities • Coordinates training and communication across a larger area to provide a more unified effort during incidents • More efficiently uses personnel and their talents • Better utilizes staff’s talents through staff specialization • Facilitates more appropriate use of mutual aid agreements • Provides greater staff flexibility to meet hours of peak demand • Decreases response times • Provides better results during the incipient stage of an incident • Enhances career and training opportunities to staff • Facilitates compliance with MIOSHA requirements • Facilitates collaborative and centralized dispatch • Improves quantity and quality of services including those of special operation teams and inspectors • Reduces duplication of services • Allows departments to utilize resources that otherwise may not be available • Improves management and supervision Finance • Spreads financing responsibility and risk • Reduces equipment replacement costs through volume purchasing and, initially, an abundance of apparatus • Decreases expensive overtime costs • Reduces taxes by financing services with a larger tax base • Eliminates duplication of and reduces costs–including those for capital improvements, administration, hiring and equipment–to each community through economies of scale • Reduces insurance costs by sharing expensive, insured equipment • Preserves a city’s tax base by providing for the safety of residents and businesses, many of whom would leave otherwise Community Relations • Facilitates the exchange of expertise and creativity • Creates a strong front for responding to external challenges • May increase an agency’s status • Can enhance the control, influence and visibility of all participating communities • Meets the expectation of citizens that governments should work together • Improves relations with neighboring communities • Shows taxpayers that you are using their tax dollars wisely • Fosters appreciation of work being done by the communities to improve police service • Improves equity of access to services cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 24 • • • • • Expands the sense of community Reduces problems of jurisdictional boundaries Fosters an environment for future joint ventures Attracts businesses and furthers economic development Eventually increases the demand for police officers with an increase in population Potential Disadvantages • • • • • • • • • • • • • Creating Collaborative Communities Loss of legislative authority Tiered labor contracts Loss of promotional opportunities in incidences where officers in line for promotion or advanced assignment in one agency find that they are outranked for these opportunities by their peers in a partnering agency Loss of jobs Transaction costs, including expenses related to reorganization, planning, standardizing equipment and the possible need for a new building to house combined agencies May ruin an attempt to make a department more diverse Confusion about how and where complaints are sent Tension among officers of different departments Difficulty adapting to a new configuration, shift changes, revision of patrol areas and/or adjustments to rank structure Political backlash Risks related to a joint agency extending service to other jurisdictions which may require a substantial investment in equipment and new personnel Unbalanced power: If a community’s withdrawal from the intergovernmental program would cause hardship to the consortium, that community will enjoy negotiating power to force concessions which might be detrimental to the other communities Difficulty in getting out of the consolidation once in it given that a community may have to make a substantial reinvestment in land, buildings and equipment to restore its own program or service Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 25 Successful Examples Round Lake Park-Hainesville Police Department (Illinois) Lead Organization: Village of Round Lake Park Main Partners: Village of Round Lake Park, Village of Hainesville Year Project Started: 1999 Type of Collaboration: Functional Consolidation Project Summary: The Round Lake Park-Hainesville Police Department has enhanced law enforcement services for both municipalities by consolidating equipment, personnel and budgetary contributions. The mayors and chiefs of these two separate governmental entities recognized the advantages of shared resources through intra-governmental agreements, which immediately impacted both villages by providing full-time policing for one and enhancing staffing, equipment and finance for the other. These combined resources have impacted crime statistics with showing a steady decline in criminal activity. Additionally the Round Lake Park-Hainesville Police Department has formed partnerships with a combined 911 communications center. The Lake County Major Crime Task Force that provides investigative and forensic assistance from over 35 agencies. The Northern Illinois Police Alarm System that provides manpower and tactical support throughout northern Illinois. Municipal Crash Assistance Team that provides support for major accident investigation. The Metropolitan Enforcement Group provides narcotics and gang enforcement throughout Lake County. Each of these consolidated agencies is supported by the agency with manpower and financial contributions. Contact: George Filenko, Chief of Police Round Lake Park-Hainesville Police Department [email protected] Shared Information Network Consortium Lead Organization: Brownstown Police Department Main Partners: Trenton PD, Riverview PD, Flat Rock PD, Grosse Ile PD, Rockwood PD, Gibraltar PD Year Project Started: 1999 Type of Collaboration: Functional Consolidation Project Summary: The project has enhanced law enforcement by providing a medium for various agencies to share data to assist in the apprehension and prosecution of criminals. The project also enables members to share resources by pooling funds, enabling them to purchase equipment and technology they normally would not be able to utilize. Contact: Jim Sclater SINC Board Chairman Brownstown Police Department 23125 King Road Brownstown, Michigan 48183 (734) 362-0702 Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 26 South Oakland Narcotics Intelligence Consortium (SONIC) Main Partners: Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield Township and Novi Police Departments and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department Type of Collaboration: Functional Consolidation Project Summary: SONIC is a major crime, surveillance and undercover consortium operated and managed by the Farmington Hills Police Department. The chiefs of these local law enforcement offices recognized that federal, state and county resources could not devote full-time resources to the crime problems affecting Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield and Novi. The solution the chiefs increasing effectiveness through coordinated enforcement efforts, SONIC reduces costs by sharing expense money and property seizures. During the first five months of 2001, SONIC successfully targeted five major drug dealers residing in the three communities. Contact: Chief Dwyer Farmington Hills Police Department (248) 871-2702 Law Enforcement Fiber Project/Paperless Reports 2001 Lead Organization: Monroe County Main Partners: Monroe County Intermediate School District (MCISD) and the townships of Monroe, Bedford, Erie, LaSalle, Raisinville, and Ida Type of Collaboration: Functional Consolidation Project Summary: The team facilitated the extension of Monroe County’s local area network (LAN) to station law enforcement personnel closer to the communities in which they served, rather than in the central Sheriff’s Office. As a result of the project, the Bedford District Substation was fully integrated into the Monroe County network and is now able to perform as a self-sustaining law enforcement source to the citizens of Bedford Township and the surrounding areas. Additionally, connectivity for the substation and the electronic transfer of information makes law enforcement more readily available to the community and decreases time spent traveling. As part of these collaborative efforts, the Monroe County Intermediate School District gained access to the county’s T-1 connection. This enabled the MCISD to electronically exchange, with the Michigan State Police, fingerprints and criminal history information on potential employees. It is the first school district in Michigan to electronically submit prospective employee information to the State Police. As a result of the project, MCISD will be able to reduce the time it takes for background checks from three months to one month. Contact: David Thompson Training Officer/Grant Coordinator Monroe County Sheriff’s Office 125 E. Second Street Monroe, Michigan 48161 (734) 240-7404 Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 27 Joint Public Safety Dispatch Service Lead Organization: City of Northville Main Partners: Northville Charter Township, City of Northville Year Project Started: 2004 Type of Collaboration: Functional Consolidation Project Summary: Provided improved public safety service for both Northville communities with cost savings for the city and efficiency for the township. Contact: James Petres Chief of Police City of Northville 215 W. Main Street Northville, Michigan 48167 (248) 449-9922 Negaunee Regional Dispatch Lead Organization: Michigan Department of State Police (MSP) Main Partners: Luce, Mackinac, Marquette, Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, Ontonagon, Schoolcraft, and Gogegic Counties Year Project Started: 1995 Type of Collaboration: Functional Consolidation Project Summary: The Negaunee Regional Dispatch is a partnership formed by the MSP and partner counties to provide enhanced 911 dispatching services from Negaunee Regional Dispatch. The collaboration has resulted in huge cost savings for partner counties along with financial benefit for Department of State Police. Central control improves delivery of public safety by police, fire and EMS across the Upper Peninsula. Currently, each participating county has one representative on the board. Other counties in the UP have indicated that they may be interested in joining this successful collaborative. Contact: Myles B. McCormack District Commander, Captain Michigan Department of State Police, 8th District 1504 West Washington, Suite A Marquette, Michigan 49855 (906) 225-7030 Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 28 Saginaw County 9-1-1 Interlocal Agreement Lead Organization: Saginaw County 9-1-1 Authority Board Main Partners: All police and fire departments within Saginaw County Year Project Started: 1992 Type of Collaboration: Functional Consolidation Project Summary: P approval of a telephone surcharge, a 911 Authority Board for all Saginaw County was created. This not only saved money for t political jurisdictions. This was accomplished by the creation of a 13-member Authority Board representing the municipalities and an actively involved 11-member Operations Committee representing the user (police, fire and medical). In 2004, the organization handled 400,000 calls. The Operations Committee is now working toward upgrading our current radio equipment onto the State of Michigan (MPSCS) radio system. We feel Saginaw County 9-1-1 Authority Board is a true authority that has saved municipalities money and continues a vital service to the residents of Saginaw County. Contact: Tom McIntyre Executive Director Saginaw County 9-1-1 Communications Authority 618 Cass Street Saginaw, Michigan 48602 (989) 797-4590 Project CRISIS (Crisis Response is Strengthened in Schools) Lead Organization: Lincoln Park Public School District Main Partners: School districts and governments in Inkster, Westwood, Melvindale/North Allen Park, Riverview, Redford Union, Flat Rock, Lincoln Park and Crestwood Year Project Started: 2004 Type of Collaboration: Functional Consolidation Project Summary: Wayne RESA (Regional Educational Service Agency) initially responded to an outreach appeal from the Michigan State Police to help train schools to prepare and respond appropriately to crises and homeland security issues. Lincoln Park School District agreed to take the lead in coordinating a consortium of local districts who wanted to form a partnership to receive training and develop school safety plans. Community responders and school leaders are working together to improve preparedness and practice responding to emergencies. For example, with CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosives) events, community staff, students and parents are trained in preparedness strategies. Partner agencies work together on project goals and conduct actual drills in each building with community responder participation. This project received a Homeland Security Grant in January 2004 and an 18-month federal grant in October 2004. Contact: Ruth Ann Ziegler Director Project CRISIS 281 Douglas Drive Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48308 Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 29 Rockwood-Flat Rock Motor Carrier Officer Lead Organization: City of Rockwood Police Department Main Partners: City of Flat Rock Police Department Year Project Started: 2004 Type of Collaboration: Functional Consolidation Project Summary: This joint effort between Rockwood and Flat Rock was implemented to assist the cities with a large truck traffic problem. The officer’s salary is split evenly between the two cities. Contact: Stephen Tallman Chief of Police Flat Rock Police Department 25500 Gibraltar Road Flat Rock, Michigan 48134 (734) 782-0636 chief@flatrockmi.org Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 30 Barriers to Collaboration This section lists a number of common obstacles to a successful cooperative initiative. Awareness of these common issues, proper preparation, and adherence to the Elements for Success (found in a later segment) are essential to avoiding or overcoming these issues. Political • Turf battles • Fear of losing control • Fear of losing negotiating power: Entities that provide a service collaboratively are likely to desire additional partners and are thus likely to be very accommodating to entice as many government entities as possible to sign on. Consequentially, those communities being solicited to join the existing collaborative yield considerable negotiating power. • Lack of leadership • City leadership that is controlled by an identifiable group that is not widely admired in the potential partner community • Past disputes • Hidden agendas • Unclear motives • Distrust • Lack of a shared vision • Lack of incentives • Unequal partners • Elections • Win-lose attitudes, competition • Disagreements within committees • Uncertainty of the sustainability of the joint agreement Public Relations • Resistance to change • Unfamiliarity with a potential partner community • Perceptions, generalizations and stereotypes of those in potential partner communities • Fear of corruption • Fear that residents of one community will over-utilize the service or will not take care of the resources provided by another community • Racial, cultural or financial disparities between potential partner communities • Competition for scarce well-paying jobs or economic development which highlights racial and cultural mistrust • Public perception of disagreement between potential partner communities’ leadership regarding how service will be governed and delivered • Differing levels of service preference • Concern for the quality or quantity of service • Feeling of losing a source of pride, prestige and independence • Autonomy issues: fear of loss of identity • Residents concern that they may “lose” their police department • Fear that needs will not be met • Concern that complaints will not be addressed • Winners and losers: a change that is best for the majority adversely impact a minority • Lack of knowledge • Misunderstandings regarding the true state of one’s city and/or police department • Fear that one’s community will become dominated by the special-interest group that dominate a potential partner community cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 31 Administrative • Uncertainty regarding how to begin pursuing collaboration • Startup costs • Labor contracts: manpower guarantees, rank differentials, pay rates and pensions • Concern that there will be an increased workload • Fear that the department will get too big • Differing taxing authority and limitations among partner communities • Difficulty determining the costs of the service and how to allocate those costs • Difficulty financing the collaboration • Benefits are too far in the future and may not occur during the current political term of office • Difficulty exiting the agreement once in it Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 32 Elements for Success Collaboration is never an easy process; however there are numerous steps you can take to help ensure success. Below is a list of suggested principals that will help to keep your collaboration on the right track. Refer back to this list to ensure you are including all elements as you move forward toward collaboration. Also, keep in mind that in order for any collaboration to succeed, participants must exhibit patience, perseverance and willingness to compromise. Administrative • Complete all steps described in the section two, Preplanning • Deal directly with problems • Agree to keep talking, no matter what • Abstain from discussing or considering the consolidation of municipalities, annexation, dissolution or any other kind of land or tax seizure, especially when townships are involved in the process • Address the following issues before agreeing to collaborate: o Liability o Insurance o Purchasing o Hiring o Training o Prioritization of service provision o Potential changes in circumstances o Asset division • Develop a clear rationale for why a particular cost allocation method was selected • Prepare for changes due to elections in both the planning and implementation stages • Work to keep everything nonpartisan • Be willing to make decisions in the best interest of all partner communities rather than simply satisfying your community’s needs and preferences • Confront race issues immediately and openly • Stabilize city leadership to develop relationships on which others can rely to maintain long-term collaborative commitments Written Agreements • Include the following. . . o Legal basis for the contractual relationship o Method of cost sharing o Who or what will be the fiduciary o What controls the legislative bodies will maintain, especially financial, and what will be delegated to the oversight board The Urban Cooperation Act provides an extensive list of powers which may be delegated but need not be. Some agreements provide for proper fiscal controls by specifying which administrative board or staff members have authority to incur obligations, approve expenditures and sign and issue checks. o Details of the oversight board’s power to borrow money, if such a power is prescribed o Accounting, investing, reporting and auditing procedures to be followed Annual audits should be required of all financial records o Management structure within the collaborative o Membership composition and voting protocol of the oversight board Utilizing a greater than majority approval requires accommodating most, if not all, board members and requires that parties work out differences. Although requiring supermajority approval protects the minority’s interests, it may thwart the majority’s will. Partnering communities must decide whether the benefits of achieving consensus outweigh the costs created by a potentially less efficient decision-making process. o Quality and quantity of service to be provided cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 33 o o o • Time period during which the collaboration will take place Process for adding new partners Method for resolving disputes • May require partners to put each other on notice when a dispute arises which requires further discussion • Partners should meet in a timely manner, at a neutral location, to discuss the issue and make a good faith effort to resolve the problem • Failure to resolve the issue to all parties’ satisfaction should result in the submission of the issue to mediation o Exit clauses and early termination procedures o Evaluation and reporting procedures Review the terms and conditions of the agreement on a regular basis Public Relations • Key Messages o Do not allow cost saving to be your primary motivation for collaboration o Do not disguise an effort to reduce the workforce as an effort to collaborate o Be clear that the purpose of collaboration is not to eliminate police officers o In addition to improved services and cost savings, frame the issue in terms of economic development and prosperity o Use numbers and statistics to show the improvement in services and the safety that will result from collaboration o Craft messages to address all possible points of contention o Clearly state the steps or procedures that will be used to minimize or eliminate disadvantages o Allow as many people as possible to take credit for the collaboration’s success o Use successful cooperative initiatives to demonstrate that many of the fears and concerns are unwarranted o Once a police collaboration is successfully implemented, market the initiative as a competitive edge in the region o Agree not to criticize partner cities and departments in public • Community Engagement o Hold special public meetings to describe the problem and potential solutions o Invite citizens to attend visioning sessions to determine their hopes and goals for the community o Clearly communicate the vision of how collaboration will make the community more livable and services more economical o Provide a number of opportunities for stakeholders, especially citizens, to voice their concerns o Identify business groups or others who stand to benefit directly and thus may be willing to invest resources to garner public. These groups may be willing to host neighborhood meetings or produce brochures to help the public better understand the benefits and government efficiencies that will result from collaborative service provision. o Document and clearly present the benefits of collaboration o Incorporate citizens’ values, suggestions and concerns into decision making o Build a supportive coalition including representatives from all stakeholder groups o Follow through with initiatives in order to maintain credibility with the public and to pave the way for additional collaborations in the future • Media Relations o Build credibility with the press o Select one person from the committee to be responsible for communicating with the media o Brief prominent officials from all participating communities before publicly releasing any news or information, positive or negative o Include these same individuals in press conferences where news regarding the collaborative is announced cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 34 o o o o o o o • Creating Collaborative Communities Include the local press as part of the process to keep the issue in the public eye Have an invitational relationship with the media Have a kick off event for both the media and general public Pursue citizen awareness through any means available including community newsletters Immediately address rumors through the local media Notify the entire committee of questions being asked by the media and the answers given Follow through with collaborative efforts to win the attention and support of both the media and the general public Visibility o Integrate symbols representing partnering communities into a new logo for the collaborative o Display the names of participating entities on the vehicles and letterhead of the collaborative o If possible, incorporate the names of the partnering communities into that of the collaborative Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 35 Public Engagement Involving the public in decision making is important to ensure the best choices are made, to gain local support for governmental decisions and to illustrate good government practices. In order to involve the public, however, city representatives must first raise awareness of the decision making process, communicate how and when citizens can get involved and provide information regarding the issues at hand. The facilitation and coordination of local stakeholders in developing and updating local plans and policies then follows through organized and mediated public comment and discussion. Integrating these comments and concerns into governmental decisions concludes the public engagement process. Information Dissemination • Citizen Participation Guide o Create a handout that explains the decision making process and identifies critical public input opportunities. o Include a comprehensive glossary of police service and collaborative terms and acronyms. o Post the guide on the city’s website. • Public Notices o Mail notices regarding public comment periods to citizens and local businesses and libraries, and post them on the city’s website. o Include information detailing where draft versions of proposed plans can be found. o Provide members of the public with timely notice of meetings and complete information regarding issues including related financial and legal information. • Speakers’ Bureau o Train a cadre of staff to make public presentations regarding the decision making process and current local debates. Members of the speakers bureau should be available to make a presentation to any group upon request. o Request time at regularly scheduled meetings to make presentations. Solicit and record comments at these sessions. • Newsletter o Provide timely information on local issues, including in-depth coverage of upcoming challenges and collaborative pursuits. o All people who provide input to the city should receive the newsletter. o Post the document on the city’s website. • News Releases & Media o Develop news releases on a weekly basis to announce important local information and upcoming city events and decisions. Distribute these to a wide range of local newspapers, including those that represent minority and special interest groups. o Post all news releases on the city’s website. o Develop relationships with editorial boards at all local newspapers. o Increase appearances on television and radio. Appearances on public affairs talk shows, both on local network affiliates and cable, and public service announcements are the most effective way to get messages to a large number of people. • City Website o Post important information about the city’s plans, policies and projects. All city policy documents, technical reports and publications should also be listed here and should be downloadable as PDFs. o Include a web calendar identifying dates of public meetings and focus groups held by the city and other agencies, such as the road commission and transit authority. o Provide links to the homepages of other agencies of interest. • Telephone Hot Line o Facilitate public notice of meetings and public comment using a toll-free number. cont. > Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 36 Public Comment & Discussion • Meetings o Encourage citizens to attend the local legislative body’s meetings as well as all other public meetings and focus groups. o Publicize agenda items and periods of public comment. o Advertise in advance and open to the public all meetings where draft versions of plans will be reviewed and discussed. • Public Outreach o Develop and deliver a single set of key messages for the general public. o Provide a number of ways in which the public can provide input, including community visioning sessions, surveys and email options. o Regularly schedule visits to area employers, libraries, community events and other venues to discuss the city’s challenges and opportunities with citizens and special interest and private sector representatives. o Make an effort to reach citizens traditionally underrepresented in the decision making process by identifying such groups and how and where is best to address them. o Solicit early and continuing involvement in every aspect of the decision making process. o Solicit input and feedback from the public to influence decisions and plans. o Encourage specific individual actions to help carry out the plans. • Reaching Persons with Special Needs o Establish procedures to make information available to those with special needs. For example, all meeting agendas and notices should contain information on how individuals with disabilities requiring assistance can request reasonable accommodations at meeting. o Take all reasonable steps to make the city’s website compliant with Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act; test the site periodically for accessibility as new versions of software become available. o When necessary, translate documents into Spanish, Arabic, Braille, etc. Integration of Public Concerns into Decisions • Response to Comments o Record all comments received, and ensure that they are reviewed by staff and presented to decision makers. • Citizen Evaluations o The evaluation component of the public involvement process is focused on assuring that the city is effective in facilitating full and open access to the decision making process for all citizens. Add components to the public involvement process as appropriate. o Design citizen evaluations or questionnaires to determine how best to reach the general public and with what type of information. Make these evaluations available at meetings where public input is sought. Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 37 Resource Guide SEMCOG http://www.semcog.org • Making Joint Public Services Work in the 21st Century Intergovernmental Cooperation: Case Studies in Southeast Michigan – www.semcog.org/Products/pdfs/intergovcasestudies.pdf • Making Joint Public Services Work in the 21st Century/Financing Joint Public Ventures: Alternatives and Consequences – www.semcog.org/cgi-bin/products/pdfs/CostAllocation2003.pdf • Making Joint Public Services Work in the 21st Century/ Intergovernmental Cooperation: Strategies for Overcoming Political Barriers – www.semcog.org/products/pdfs/politicalbarriers2003.pdf • Making Joint Public Services Work in the 21st Century/Intergovernmental Collaboration: A Background Paper www.semcog.org/Products/pdfs/intergovbackground.pdf • Award Winning Joint Projects 2002 – www.semcog.org/products/pdfs/JPSawards2002.pdf • Award Winning Joint Projects 2001 – www.semcog.org/products/pdfs/Jps2001.pdf • Award Winning Joint Projects 2000 – www.semcog.org/cgi-bin/products/publications.cfm • Joint Public Services information page – www.semcog.org/Services/JPS/index.htm • Joint Public Services database – www.semcog.org/Services/JPS/database.htm Centers for Regional Excellence Program www.michigan.gov/cre • A Brief Primer on Regional Collaboration www.michigan.gov/cre/0,1607,7-115--125792--,00.html Citizens Research Council of Michigan http://www.crcmich.org • The Misuse and Abuse of Special Assessments in Michigan www2.crcmich.org/PUBLICAT/1980s/1983/avsa.pdf • Catalog of Local Government Services in Michigan summary www.crcmich.org/PUBLICAT/2000s/2005/memo1079.pdf • Catalog of Local Government Services database www.crcmich.org/PUBLICAT/2000s/2005/catalog.html Metropolitan Affairs Coalition www.mac-web.org Michigan Association of Counties www.micounties.org Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 38 Michigan Municipal League www.mml.org Michigan Townships Association www.michigantownships.org Michigan State University http://www.msu.edu • Buying and Selling Fire Protection www.web1.msue.msu.edu/slg/materials/harveypaper4.pdf Creating Collaborative Communities Collaboration How-To Manual: Police Service 39 Bibliography Preplanning “A Brief Primer on Regional Collaboration.” Centers for Regional Excellence Program. Department of Labor and Economic Growth, State of Michigan. 10 Jan. 2006 www.michigan.gov/cre. Continuum of Collaboration Taylor, Gary D. “Intergovernmental Cooperation: 21st Century.” Michigan State University Extension. Legal Considerations Taylor, Gary D. “Selected Constitutional and Legislative Provisions Promoting Local Government Cooperation in Chronological Order (Amendments not reflected).” Public Policy Brief. Nov. 2001. Financial Considerations Citizens Research Council. “The Misuse and Abuse of Special Assessments in Michigan.” 1983. Seidman, Karl F. “Joint Public Ventures Cost Allocation: Alternatives and Consequences.” Economic Development Finance. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc., 2005. 118. Cost Allocation Harvey, Lynn R. “Buying and Selling Fire Protection.” Michigan State University. No. 93-4. Aug. 1995. Weighing the Pros and Cons Harvey, Lynn R. “Joint Public Ventures Cost Allocation: Alternatives and Consequences.” Michigan State University, Dec. 2003. SEMCOG. Successful Examples Award Winning Joint Projects 2002 www.semcog.org/products/pdfs/JPSawards2002.pdf Award Winning Joint Projects 2001 www.semcog.org/products/pdfs/Jps2001.pdf Award Winning Joint Projects 2000 www.semcog.org/cgi-bin/products/publications.cfm Barriers Merrill, Lawrence, and Amy R. Malmer. “Intergovernmental Cooperation: Strategies for Overcoming Political Barriers.” SEMCOG. Sept. 2003 - www.semcog.org/products/pdfs/politicalbarriers2003.pdf Success Harvey, Lynn R. “Joint Public Ventures Cost Allocation: Alternatives and Consequences.” Michigan State University, Dec. 2003. SEMCOG. “A Brief Primer on Regional Collaboration.” Centers for Regional Excellence Program. Department of Labor and Economic Growth, State of Michigan. 10 Jan. 2006 - www.michigan.gov/cre. Success “CRC Memorandum: Catalog of Local Government Services in Michigan. Citizen Research Council of Michigan. Sept. 2005 - www.crcmich.org/PUBLICAT/2000s/2005/memo1079.pdf. 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