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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20090302 - VIII-C-5 H A S T I N G S MEMO P O L I C E D E P A R T M E N T TO: Mayor Paul Hicks Hastings City Council Members FROM: Mike McMenomy, Chief DATE: February 25,2009 SUBJECT: Investigative Position Specialty Pay Request This memo will request Hastings City Council approval for a specialty pay increase for Police Officer Donald Farrington who has been assigned to work in an investigative role with the Dakota County Drug Task Force. One of the goals in our increase of two Police Officer’s hired in 2008 was that we would then be able to assign an Officer to work full time with the Dakota County Drug Task force which the council agreed with and supported. Officer Farrington was selected by the Drug Task Force for this assignment. The duties of a person assigned to work with the drug task force fall under the same duties as an Officer assigned to work in our investigative division for this department. The major responsibilities of an Officer working with the drug task force are all investigative in nature including conducting interviews and interrogations, working with informants, drafting and executing search warrants, under cover plain clothes details, conducting surveillance and maintaining active investigative cases with extensive follow up to leads and evidence. The labor contract between the Police Officer LELS union and the city of Hastings stipulates in section 24.2 that any Officer assigned to work an investigative position shall receive specialty pay of $ 150.00 per month over top patrol rate. Unfortunately this specialty pay for Don Farrington working investigative cases with the Dakota County Drug Task force in a full time role was not stipulated in the recent signed contract agreement between the City and Patrol Officer’s union. I have received a request from Officer Farrington and his union stewards as well as his union business agent to seek this specialty pay for this investigative position Officer Farrington is currently working. As I feel that this position meets the work responsibilities and duties of investigator position I am submitting this request to the Mayor and City Council for approval. Mayor Hicks and I have discussed this request and he agrees that it does meet the contract language of an investigative position and supports the request. I have spoken to Officer Farrington and we recognize that this specialty pay was not included in our 2009 budget process as the specialty pay for this position was overlooked when we submitted our budget requests in June of 2008 for the 2009 budget year. Therefore this request is being submitted for formal city council approval that the specialty st pay of 150.00 dollars per month beginning March 1 2009 ($1,500 total) for an Officer assigned to work in a full time capacity with the Dakota County Drug task Force be approved for the remainder of the 2009 budget year and be included in the 2010 budget year process if we continue to have an Officer assigned full time to the County Drug Task Force. The budget payroll funds to provide this requested $ 150.00 dollar specialty pay per month-($ 1500.00 total for 2009) can be covered by the budgeted payroll funds we are not using for the next several months by not immediately filling the vacancy from the January resignation the city received from Anthony Miller’s Police Officer’s position with the department. Thank you for considering this request and if you have any questions concerning this memo please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank You.