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TOPIC <br />Police Management Promotion Freeze <br />TITLE <br />Police Management Promotion Freeze to Affect Right -Sizing Police Staffing and <br />Personnel Budget <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />Discuss and direct the City Manager to direct staff to implement a temporary promotion <br />freeze for police management until at least 90 percent of the current vacant police <br />officer positions are filled. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Background <br />From 2016 to present, criminal activity within the City has increased, resulting in the <br />need to increase the number of Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) patrol officers to <br />discourage such activity and improve call for service times. Members of the City Council <br />have addressed these concerns and authorized an increase in the SAPID budget to add <br />more patrol officers serving the community. Often, the SAPID has continued to operate <br />with a fluctuating deficit of police officers due to unfilled vacancies as a result of <br />increasing transfers, retirements, and promotions from patrol. As of today, there are 31 <br />funded vacancies for police officer. <br />Increasing Vacancies <br />A recent list of potential candidates for promotion to Sergeant was compiled, of which <br />two of the candidates were promptly promoted. One patrol officer was recently <br />promoted from an already depleted pool of employees who are required to respond to <br />calls for service and provide direct services to our citizens. Waiting to promote officers <br />until vacancies are filled would have been the more prudent course of action to ensure <br />that the City would not experience any further impact on service time and criminal <br />activity. <br />Unused Fundina <br />For years, the surplus of General Fund monies programmed for police officers have <br />been used for overtime costs resulting from the high number of police officer vacancies. <br />While such a practice may benefit the bottom line of City finances, it occurs at the <br />expense (and reduced security) of our residents, business owners, and visitors. Tax <br />dollars should be invested appropriately as budgeted and where it has the most visible <br />impact in our city. Public safety starts with community policing and prioritizing the <br />staffing of police officers, not in-house management roles. <br />Proposed Freeze on Promotions <br />The City acknowledges the efforts that the Police Department and the City have done <br />so far to recruit new officers, such as through recruitment fairs, hiring bonuses, and <br />City Council 29 — 1 4/4/2023 <br />