Sept. 28, 2006
Sims funds Sheriff’s Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations in 2007 budget
King County Executive Ron Sims today announced more than $1.3 million in his 2007 budget to fund key priority reforms recommended by the Sheriff's Blue Ribbon Panel. The money will pay for the most urgently needed reforms including 10 new sergeants to address span-of-control issues identified by the panel, eight other new positions to create an inspectional services unit, an employee early intervention system and creation of a new office of oversight.
"This is the first step in implementing panel recommendations to improve management and accountability in the Sheriff's Office," said County Executive Ron Sims. "It is now our responsibility to be prudent and thoughtful before creating a ‘bow wave' of future costs. Our next step is careful assessment of alternative approaches to new spending that cannot be sustained. We should also assess whether contract city revenue can offset part of the new costs and also examine our ability to achieve the results we all want by reprioritizing some existing spending."
Earlier today, the Metropolitan King County Council's Law, Justice and Human Services Committee unanimously adopted legislation creating an Office of Independent Oversight. The full council will vote on the measure Oct. 9.
"The work of the Executive to ensure that there will be money to implement both this legislation and some of the recommendations of the Sheriff's Blue Ribbon Panel is a measure of how seriously we take the issue of trust between the public and the Sheriff's Office," said Ferguson. "That trust has been shaken. This is a positive step towards restoring the trust that is vital in maintaining public safety."
"I very much appreciate Executive Sims partnership and leadership on this issue," said County Councilmember Patterson. "We share the goal of improving accountability and transparency within the Sheriff's Office.
"The Executive's budget ensures that the Office of Independent Oversight has the dollars behind it to get it up and running so the people of King County can have the confidence that independent eyes are monitoring police misconduct complaints," said councilmember Patterson. "I look forward to working with my colleagues on the council to consider the additional Sheriff's budget recommendations made by the Executive today."
Sims is proposing more than $122.8 million for the 2007 budget for the Sheriff. In addition to nearly $1 million for Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations, the 2007 budget includes money to cover the cost of higher salary and benefit costs and an additional $1.1 million in new spending for other budget requests from the Sheriff, mostly for technology improvements. The Sheriff's budget for 2006 is $115.6 million.
While Sims supports the other recommendations, he stated that he wants to look first at reallocating existing resources, especially for things like training.
The proposed Sheriff's budget funding for Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations is:
- Ten new sergeants to reduce span of control: $320,027 new CX funding; $1.1million in existing resources
- Three new positions for Inspectional Services Unit: $393,000 new CX funding
- One new position for Employee Early Intervention System and associated technology systems and officer training: $255,000 new CX funding
Separate from the Sheriff's budget, Sims is proposing $404,977 for an Office of Independent Oversight as recommended by the Blue Ribbon Panel.
Executive Sims' will present his 2007 proposed budget to the Metropolitan King County Council on Oct.16.
Sims praised Councilmembers Ferguson and Patterson for their early leadership on civilian oversight for the Sheriff's Office.
Executive 2007 budget recommendation to address the Blue Ribbon Panel Report
The Executive used the following criteria to evaluate funding the priority recommendations of the Sheriff’s Blue Ribbon Panel which were released on September 11, 2006:
- Which recommendations provided the most accountability to the public.
- Which recommendations most strategically created improved performance.
- Whether there are any unallocated or unused funds in the Sheriff’s budget that could be reprogrammed to achieve the recommendation.
- Whether there already exist similar programs in the Sheriff’s budget that could be adapted to implement the recommendation.
- Alternative approaches which meet the objective of the recommendation in a different way and at a potentially lower cost
- Limiting new Current Expense costs which create a “bow wave” of future costs, especially given the potential annexations of much of the Sheriff’s unincorporated service area.
- The availability of new contract cities revenue to offset a portion of the costs of new initiatives.
- The timing and sequencing of the recommendations.
Background
KCSO under spent its total budget authority in 2005. The gross underexpenditure equaled $2.9 million. After adjusting for target reserves and reappropriations, the net underexpenditure in 2005 totaled $1.8 million with an average of 35 vacant positions out of a total of 998 authorized positions.
The Executive’s proposal for addressing all of the nine priorities of the Blue Ribbon Panel and the rationale for the recommendation
PRIORITY 1. SPAN OF CONTROL
Blue Ribbon Recommendation: The Blue Ribbon Panel recommended adding ten additional sergeants to reduce the span of control in the Sheriff’s Department.
Executive Proposal: Fully funds 10 new sergeants. The Executive reclassifies 10 of the vacant positions currently funded in the department to sergeants, and adds $320,000 in new Current Expense funding for the pay differential between the rank of deputy and sergeant and provides additional funds for overtime, uniform, and equipment costs.
By reclassifying vacant positions, KCSO can fulfill the Blue Ribbon Panel’s recommendations with minimal impact on the current level of service. Between January 2005 and August 2006, KCSO carried an average of 32 funded vacancies per month. With the additional $320 thousand, the Sheriff’s Office can accomplish the reallocation by reclassifying 10 of the vacant positions to sergeant and filling them to meet the span of control recommendations and still have 22 fully funded vacant positions.
Proposed cost: $320,027 of new funding, combined with $1.1 million of unused existing resources
PRIORITY 2:INSPECTIONAL SERVICES
Blue Ribbon Recommendation: The Blue Ribbon Panel recommended funding an Inspectional Services Unit at $367,000 in 2007.
Executive Position: Fully funds the Inspectional Services Unit. OMB estimates that this recommendation will cost just over $393,000 in 2007. This estimate includes funds to cover the cost of a director, an educator/trainer, and an administrative specialist. Additional funds were included to cover the cost of consultants, workstations, computers, telephone installation, and facilities modifications. The Executive recommends that the costs of the Inspectional Services Unit be included in the Police Services Cost Book and the appropriate share of the costs be recovered from contract cities and agencies.
Cost: $393,342 of new funding plus 3 new FTEs
PRIORITY 3: TRAINING
Blue Ribbon Recommendation: The Blue Ribbon Panel recommended adding $800,000 to $1,000,000 million in additional funding to support training.
Executive Proposal: The Executive has approvedapproximately $2 million in training in the 2007 budget. This equates to an average of roughly $2,000 per employee. No other agency has an employee training budget approaching this level on a per employee basis. While no additional funds are recommended for this priority, additional training funds are included as a part of the Early Intervention Unit proposal which is funded as outlined below.
2007 estimated training budget for King County Sheriff
Training Unit |
$1,100,000 |
Ravensdale Range |
$600,000 |
Overtime Costs |
$265,000 |
Total Training Costs |
$1,965,000 |
The Executive recommends that before adding significantly more training resources to KCSO, the Sheriff should conduct a thorough review of existing training programs and look for opportunities to implement the Blue Ribbon Panel recommendation within these resources.
Cost: No additional funding is recommended until the Inspectional Service Unit is hired and operational and reviews all current training resources and curriculum to prioritize training to address identified problems.
PRIORITY 4: OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT
Blue Ribbon Recommendation: The Blue Ribbon Panel recommended funding an Office of Independent Oversight at $358,000 in 2007.
Executive Proposal: Fully funds the Office of Independent Oversight. The Executive Budget Proposal will include $404,977 to fully fund the recommendation in 2007. This estimate includes funds to cover the cost of four new positions: a director, an investigator, an analyst, and an administrative specialist. Additional funds are included to cover the cost of workstations, computers, telephone installation, and facilities. Consistent with the recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Panel, funding will be provided in a new appropriation unit, not in the Sheriff’s Office budget.
Cost: $404,977 new funding plus 4 new FTEs.
PRIORITY 5. COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH UNIONS.
Blue Ribbon Recommendation: The Blue Ribbon Panel recommends funding collaborative relationships with unions at $50,000 to $100,000 by hiring outside labor counsel.
Executive Position: The Executive supports all county agencies - not just the KCSO - developing collaborative relationships with the labor organizations that represent county employees. However, every other county agency utilizes existing internal county resources to accomplish this goal. This includes not only staffing within the department, but also with the support of the Human Resources Division and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The Executive will dedicate existing resources in the Executive’s Office and Human Resources Division to improve relationships between the Sheriff and the unions.
PRIORITY 6: EMPLOYEE EARLY INTERVENTION SYSTEM
Blue Ribbon Recommendation: The Blue Ribbon Panel recommends funding an Employee Early Intervention System at $255,000 in 2007.
Executive Position: Fully funds the Employee Early Intervention System. The Executive supports the development of an early intervention system and will include funding in the 2007 Proposed Budget for this unit. It is important to note that an Employee Early Intervention System will be most effective once the Inspectional Services Unit has been established and has had sufficient time to develop the policies and requirements for this system. Funding for both programs is included in the 2007 Proposed Budget.
Proposed cost: $254,680 and one new FTE.
PRIORITY 7. INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT STAFFING
Blue Ribbon Recommendation: The Blue Ribbon Panel recommends funding expanded staffing for the Internal Investigations Unit at $250,000 in 2007.
Executive Proposal: Given the county’s financial situation, the Executive views the possible expansion of the Internal Investigations Unit as an issue which should be addressed by the Sheriff through possible reprioritization of existing resources. This is particularly true in an environment where the Sheriff faces reductions in staffing and budget as the county’s annexation initiative moves forward and annexed areas do not choose to contract with the Sheriff’s Office for police services.
PRIORITY 8. ON DUTY COMMANDERS.
Blue Ribbon Recommendation: The Blue Ribbon Panel recommends potential funding for expanded staffing to provide on Duty commanders at between $0 and $400,000 per year.
Executive Proposal: As noted in the Blue Ribbon Panel’s report, it is not clear whether this coverage might be achieved with existing resources through new management scheduling systems for existing commanders. Therefore it is premature at this time to add additional funding for more captains until the effectiveness of the other actions are measured and the evaluations recommended by the Blue Ribbon panel are completed and reviewed.
PRIORITY 9. CULTURAL AUDIT.
Blue Ribbon Recommendation: The Blue Ribbon Panel recommends retaining a consultant to perform a cultural audit at a one time cost of $50,000 to $100,000.
Executive Proposal: The Sheriff’s Office should be able to use existing resources from annual underexpenditures or reallocation of existing resources to fund a cultural audit.