HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-02-08 City Council Item No. 12CITY OF
LADE ( LSIHORX
DREAM EXTREME-
REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: ROBERT A. BRADY
CITY MANAGER
DATE: FEBRUARY 8, 2011
SUBJECT: LAKE ELSINORE MARINE ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM
Background
The City of Lake Elsinore contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for
law enforcement services in the City. As part of the contract, the Sheriff's Department
also provides patrol and marine enforcement on the lake. As part of this year's budget
process, City staff explored various methods of reducing the cost of providing lake
patrol services.
Discussion
The City discussed various methods of providing lake patrol services ranging from
developing our own Lake Ranger program using retired law enforcement personnel to a
code enforcement based program that would be supplemented by the Sheriff's
Department for major issues that may require arrest powers such as boating under the
influence. The Sheriffs Administration also offered to prepare a proposal that would
reduce costs by using reserve officers and/or staff that can be billed at a lower rate. In
January, the Sheriff's Administration approved a program that was presented to staff
and to the Budget Sub-committee which consists of Mayor Pro Tern Magee,
Councilman Tisdale and City Treasurer Baldwin.
Regular lake patrol begins in April and runs through to mid September which coincides
with the boating season. This period of time consists of approximately 1,760 hours of
officer patrol time. One boat is deployed on Fridays and Saturdays and two boats are
deployed on Sundays. Each boat carries two officers and each officer works a 10-hour
shift. The current hourly rate is $128.07 per officer. The officer cost to operate one
boat for a 10-hour shift is $2,561.40. The cost for providing patrol for one boating
season is $225,403.20 (1,760 x $128.07).
AGENDA ITEM NO. 12
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Lake Elsinore Marine Enforcement Program
February 8, 2011
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The new patrol program would reduce the hourly rate to an Unsupported Dedicated
Productive Rate of $70.10 per patrol hour on the lake. The Sheriff's Department
indicated that the support costs for the lake patrol are less than automobile patrol.
Using the lower rate and maintaining 1,760 patrol hours, the new cost would be
$123,027 resulting in a savings of $102,027 annually. This represents a 45 percent
cost reduction. The goal was to reduce lake patrol costs by $100,000 annually.
Fiscal Impact
The current total cost for lake patrol is $225,403. The proposed revision to the hourly
cost per patrol hour from $128.07 to $70.10 would save the City $102,027 annually.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council support the Sheriffs proposal to reduce the
hourly cost of lake patrol from $128.07 to $70.10.
Prepared and
Approved by: Robert A. Brad
4
City Manager
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