HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-21-22 Study Session Agenda PacketSTUDY SESSION AGENDA
CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO 7500 W. 29th Ave. Wheat Ridge CO March 21, 2022
6:30 p.m.
This meeting will be conducted as a virtual meeting, and in person, at 7500 West 29th Avenue, Municipal Building, if allowed to meet on that date per COVID-19 restrictions. Some members of the City Council or City staff will be physically present at the Municipal building for this meeting. The public may participate in these ways: 1. Attend the meeting in person at City Hall. Use the appropriate roster to sign up to speak
upon arrival 2. Provide comment in advance at www.wheatridgespeaks.org (comment by noon on March 21, 2022)
3. Virtually attend and participate in the meeting through a device or phone:
• Click here to join and provide public comment
• Or call +1-669-900-6833 with Access Code: 813 5107 4135
• Passcode: 189058 4. View the meeting live or later at www.wheatridgespeaks.org, Channel 8, or YouTube
Live at https://www.ci.wheatridge.co.us/view
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wrpio@ci.wheatridge.co.us with as much notice as possible if you are interested in
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Public Comment on Agenda Items
1. 2022 Colorado Legislative Update
2. Police Department Telephone Reporting Unit
3. Staff Report(s)
4. Elected Officials’ Report(s)
ADJOURNMENT
Memorandum
TO: Mayor and City Council THROUGH: Patrick Goff, City Manager FROM: Marianne Schilling, Assistant to the City Manager
DATE: March 21, 2022 SUBJECT: 2022 Colorado Legislative Update
ISSUE: The 2022 Colorado Legislative Update will be held on Monday, March 21, 2022 during a City
Council study session.
The Legislative Update is an opportunity for the City’s elected officials and staff to discuss legislative priorities, current legislation and Wheat Ridge positions/priorities for the 2022 session. Senator Jessie Danielson and Representative Monica Duran will be in attendance, and
Colorado Municipal League Legislative Advocacy Manager Meghan Dollar will be available to
review legislation and answer questions. Agenda:
• 2022 Legislative Session Preview:
o Senator Jessie Danielson
o Representative Monica Duran
• Discussion of Priority Legislative Issues: o CML
o City Council
o City Department Directors ATTACHMENTS: 1. CML Box Score of Bills
2. CML Bill List 3. 2022 Legislative Priorities
Item No. 1
ATTACHMENT 1
ATTACHMENT 2
JANUARY 2022 COLORADO MUNICIPALITIES 7
By CML advocacy team
Going into each legislative session, CML begins our policy development process which guides
our legislative priorities when the General Assembly meets in January. Below is an overview of
CML’s Policy Development Process as well as CML’s legislative priorities.
CML’S 2022 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
CML’s Policy Development Process and
ATTACHMENT 3
8 COLORADO MUNICIPALITIES JANUARY 2022
CML’S POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
The largest driver of CML’s policy development is the CML Policy
Committee, and all members are encouraged to take advantage of
the opportunity to be represented. Each member municipality of
CML is entitled to designate one representative to the League’s
Policy Committee. One alternate may also be designated, and that
alternate should attend only if the appointed member is unable to
attend. (Cities over 100,000 population are entitled to designate
two representatives and one alternate.) In addition, CML Section
chairs are automatically appointed as non-voting members of the
Committee. The Chair of the Policy Committee is appointed by
CML’s current Board President.
The Policy Committee has significant policy development
responsibilities. The committee is responsible for:
1. Reviewing requests from member municipalities for CML-
initiated legislation and recommending specific positions to the
CML Board.
2. Reviewing requests for policy positions from member
municipalities and recommending specific positions to the CML
Board.
3. Reviewing known or potential legislative issues or bills,
considerationing staff recommendations, and recommending
specific positions to the CML Board.
4. Reviewing the League’s Annual Policy Statement that guides
League positions on policy issues affecting municipalities and
proposing revisions, if necessary. (Any recommended changes
are voted on by CML members at the Annual Business Meeting
that takes place as part of CML’s Annual Conference.)
The CML Policy Committee has met virtually in October and
December of 2021 and will meet again in February of 2022. Below
are CML’s specific legislative priorities going into the 2022
Legislative Session.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
CML will oppose proposed legislation that confers collective
bargain rights to public employees of municipalities - as well as
school districts, library districts, fire authorities, special districts,
any other local government. The bill, among many things,
mandates what must be bargained. Additionally, it mandates the
process for bargaining and allows for binding arbitration. The draft
will also impact existing municipal collective bargaining
agreements and processes as the draft states that upon their
expiration, the state law will then apply. CML’s policy statement is
clear that the league opposes the state interfering in the municipal
employer/employee relationship. Additionally, CML has historically
opposed any legislation both mandating it or prohibiting collective
bargaining, arguing that it is an unconstitutional infringement by
the state on home rule authority over the terms of municipal
employment and an egregious infringement of local control for all
municipalities.
FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Like in 2021, CML is focused on affordable housing. CML is working
with the legislature to prioritize a permanent source of affordable
housing funding. CML is also advocating for part of the American
Rescue Plan Act funding to go directly to local governments to
develop projects. Additionally, CML will support legislation that
funds and allows for the rehabilitation of existing affordable
housing.
MOBILE HOME PARKS
CML staff was directed to pursue legislation that creates more
opportunities and flexibility for residents to purchase mobile home
parks. This could include allowing governmental entities to act as a
third party, increase transparency, and extend the timeline for
residents to make an offer. Legislation is currently being drafted
and CML will work to make sure there are more opportunities for
residents in the bill.
REMOVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROHIBITION
CML will run legislation to remove the prohibition on competitive
bidding for undergrounding projects outlined in C.R.S § 29-8-132.
Removing this prohibition modernizes statutory language,
increases transparency between local governments and utility
providers, and ensures good fiscal stewardship of municipal
monies. Municipalities are currently responsible for covering the
overall cost of utility undergrounding projects. Most local
governments use internal funds or create local assessment
districts to cover the costs of the project. CML and our 270
member municipalities recognize the benefits of undergrounding
projects, including improving the area aesthetic, minimizing noise,
and maintaining property value. CML seeks to increase
transparency, feasibility, and equity in the undergrounding project
process by allowing the use of competitive bidding for these
contracts. All source competitive bidding is common practice in
Colorado and nationwide for local government funded projects.
Undergrounding projects are one of the only types of projects
where statute specifically prohibits the use of competitive bidding.
Striking language prohibiting competitive bidding for
undergrounding projects provides transparency in costs and
ensures good fiscal stewardship of public monies. It also helps
already burdened municipal procurement/budget offices by
standardizing procurement and contracting practices and ensuring
that the projects are cost effective.
STATEWIDE “SAFETY STOP” STANDARD FOR
INTERSECTIONS
In 2018, the General Assembly passed a “Safety Stop” law, giving
municipalities the authority to pass ordinances allowing cyclists to
“roll” through stop signs rather than coming to a complete stop.
There are currently seven municipalities that have passed this
CML’s Policy Development Process and CML’s 2022 Legislative Priorities
JANUARY 2022 COLORADO MUNICIPALITIES 9
ordinance, as well as Summit County.
Over the interim, the Transportation
Legislation Review Committee
approved legislation that creates a
statewide “Safety Stop” for cyclists.
The bill would supersede any
conflicting local ordinance or
resolution and would expand the
safety stop to traffic lights. Because
the proposed legislation overrides
local control of traffic stops and
lights, CML will be opposing the bill
in the 2022 legislative session.
TEXT REMINDER PROGRAM
CML is working on legislation to
establish a grant program for
municipal courts to create text
message reminder programs. This is
in response to House Bill 21-1314
which repealed the Department of
Revenue's discretionary and
mandatory authority to cancel, deny,
or deny reissuance for a driver’s
license or minor driver’s license for
having any of the following: an
outstanding judgment for a violation
related to the regulation of motor
vehicles or traffic; having a bench
warrant for failure to appear to
answer for a traffic situation; or an
outstanding judgement for failing to
present a valid transit pass or
coupon. This repeal created a gap in
municipal law and left localities without an enforcement
mechanism for individuals that have traffic violations. During the
2021 legislative session, CML successfully amended the bill to
include the creation of a study group to utilize evidence-based
policy to design new equitable accountability tools. CML wants to
create a grant program for municipal courts that wish to establish a
text reminder system. Text message reminders are an evidence-
backed method to get people to show up to the court dates. This
policy also has support from a variety of stakeholders, including
the Colorado State Patrol.
WILDFIRE IMPACTED COMMUNITIES
Colorado’s large-scale wildfires have taken a devastating toll on
local communities and local economies. Wildfire impacted
municipalities are putting more and more of their resources
towards proactive mitigation work and combating wildfires during
an increasingly long wildfire season. Efforts to provide grants and
funding have only scratched the surface of what’s needed to
adequately address Colorado’s large-scale wildfires. CML supports
legislation that aims to help municipalities recover from large-scale
wildfires and prevent future wildfires through proactive fire
mitigation efforts. Legislation should also allow municipalities the
ability to identify and implement the most appropriate means of
mitigation and fire prevention for their individual community. To
that end, CML is supporting legislation in the upcoming legislative
session which will provide state matching funds to local
governments that raise dedicated revenue for forest management
and wildfire mitigation. CML will also support legislation that
provides reimbursements for local fire departments primarily
staffed by volunteer firefighters for wildland fire suppression
activities and to support recruitment and retention of volunteer
firefighters.
Memorandum
TO: Mayor and Council
THROUGH: Patrick Goff, City Manager Christopher Murtha, Chief of Police Jim Lorentz, Division Chief
FROM: Lucas Hunt, Commander SUBJECT: Police Department Telephone Reporting Unit
To improve the Wheat Ridge Police Department’s response to criminal calls for service, the
organization utilizes sworn police officers to form a Telephone Reporting Unit (TRU). The
practice of using officers in this capacity has improved the department’s ability to respond to reports of criminal activity in the City of Wheat Ridge. Using this method of answering citizens’ calls for service, the TRU has been able to reduce the time calls are being held for officers and lessen the number of reports taken by patrol officers in the field. The types of calls handled by
tele-serve officers are usually limited to not-in-progress burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, criminal mischief, identity theft, and property theft where no suspect information is available for further follow-up investigation. The practice of using police officers in tele-serve positions has been vital for investigating and documenting property-based crimes that do not require an in-person response by a Wheat Ridge police officer.
The tele-serve positions of the TRU continually monitor pending calls for service using the Computerized Aided Dispatch (CAD) System. Officers are generally staffed seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and evaluate calls for service to contact the complainant and explain the purpose of the call. Once the tele-serve officer contacts the reporting party and determines
that a crime or incident occurred within the city, a police investigation and report are completed. If an in-person investigation is needed, the tele-serve officer re-routes the call back to Jefferson County Communication Center for response and a follow-up investigation by officers working in the field. All calls handled by the TRU are typically documented in a police report and submitted by the end of the duty day for review and approval.
Traditionally, the tele-serve positions have been staffed with officers assigned to light or alternative duty and are unable to work their normal assignments in the field. The appointment of alternative duty officers to this temporary position has generally been intermittent, and the positions have gone unfilled for extended periods of time. The use of tele-serve officers has
shown that it can free up patrol officers to devote more time to proactive patrols and provide greater availability for higher priority calls for service. The tele-serve reporting process also allows victims of crimes to report cases where suspects are gone, like shoplifting or theft from an open vehicle, and the reporting party may only need a report for an insurance claim.
In 2021, tele-serve officers were responsible for taking 6.3 percent of the total calls for service
Item No. 2
Page 2
for the Wheat Ridge Police Department. The TRU handled more than 10 percent of the calls for service during the hours they worked and 14 percent of the citizen-initiated calls. Taking calls by telephone allowed patrol officers to respond more expeditiously to higher priority calls for service, conduct proactive patrols, engage with citizens, and address community concerns on a
more personal level.
As the department continues to look for added methods to reduce the impact on officers in the field and minimize the need for non-emergency calls for service, tele-serve positions should be assessed for permanent designation using non-sworn personnel. Even though the intermittent
use of sworn officers has been beneficial for the organization, a move towards non-sworn
positions would be more effective for reducing the workload for patrol officers. The designation of non-sworn personnel to the TRU would effectively generate a higher level of service for the public by identifying experienced, trained, and selected employees based on their ability to perform the position’s duties. Results from police departments around the country have shown
that full-time personnel assigned to tele-serve positions have performed at a higher level than
intermittent police officers who were temporarily appointed and rotated through a TRU. The use of non-sworn report-takers could further reduce the cost of providing crime reporting services to the citizens of Wheat Ridge. As it stands now, police officers perform the job at a
much higher pay rate than a position filled by a non-sworn employee. The compensation for
similar positions in Colorado is approximately $42,000 to $60,000 annually. Using the City of Wheat Ridge’s pay scale for similar positions, the pay range would be within the Grade 50 designation and save the department between $22,000 - $33,000 for each police officer to perform this function. Providing (two) tele-serve positions to cover seven days a week would
cost the department approximately $110,000 annually. Additionally, the officers no longer used
for tele-serve positions would be reassigned to various other support functions that would provide relief for case follow-up and investigations. This practice has proven to be effective in supporting both the Patrol and Investigations Divisions, as limited duty personnel can handle time-intensive processes, such as case filings, to free up officers and detectives to focus on
proactive case management.
Finally, the evaluation of internal processes is constant and provides our organization with opportunities to improve our methods to deliver the best services to the citizens of Wheat Ridge. The addition of two non-sworn tele-serve positions would allow the police department to take a
step forward to increase the level of service to the community and reduce the impact of an ever-
escalating call load for officers. Respectfully,
Lucas Hunt
Lucas Hunt Patrol Commander