To: Martin L. Cousineau, Finance Committee Chairperson
From: Sheriff Christopher R. Swanson
title
RE: To create, post, and fill four (4) Deputy positions assigned to Operation Arrowhead.
recommendation
BOARD ACTION REQUESTED:
To create, post, and fill four (4) Deputy positions assigned to Operation Arrowhead.
BACKGROUND:
There continues to be need for increased public safety resources within the City of Flint. Flint, our county seat, consistently ranks among the most violent cities in America. Due to dwindling resources, the Flint Police Department has been forced to take a mostly reactive posture related to crime. There are limited resources to target crime hot spots in a proactive manner. In June of 2022, (See RESO-2023-255) the Genesee County Sheriff, in collaboration with the Mott Foundation, began a targeted crime enforcement initiative in the central business district and surrounding college campuses. This pilot grant program targeted an area defined as Robert T. Longway on the north, Dort Hwy. on the east, Dupont St. on the west and I-69 on the south. This area is approximately 4.8 sq. miles. This enforcement initiative allowed the Flint Police Department to redeploy to areas outside of the central business district and college campus areas and focus on crimes that are negatively impacting neighborhoods. To date the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office average response time was 4.2 minutes. The Sheriff’s Office has responded to 4,360 police calls, conducted 2,353 business checks, and 1,953 neighborhood checks. The Genesee County Sheriff Office also conducted 516 felony arrests and 1165 misdemeanor arrest. This program has been ultra successful, and C.S. Mott Foundation has requested this partnership continue.
DISCUSSION:
Currently the Sheriff’s Office is projected to have a surplus of funds for this operation. This surplus is due to a carryover from the previous year and lack of available supplies and equipment that were budgeted for. The requested positions will be paid for out of this current year’s surplus. If funding is not secured in the future these positions will be eliminated.
IMPACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES:
Create, post, and fill four positions with the appropriate backfill.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
The cost for these positions will be paid for out of the current grants budget.
IMPACT ON FACILITIES:
None
IMPACT ON TECHNOLOGY:
None
CONFORMITY TO COUNTY PRIORITIES:
This grant conforms with the County Priorities by protecting life, property, and vital infrastructure in Genesee County.
resolution
TO THE HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE GENESEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
BE IT RESOLVED, by this Board of County Commissioners of Genesee County, Michigan, that the request by the Office of Genesee County Sheriff to authorize establishing, posting, and filling four (4) Police Deputy positions to be assigned to Operation Arrowhead, said new positions to be funded from the same grant as the current Operation Arrowhead positions, is approved (a copy of the memorandum request and supporting documents being on file with the official records of the February 7, 2024 meeting of the Finance Committee of this Board).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Board finds that extenuating circumstances exist supporting waiver of the hiring freeze, and directs the Director of Human Resources to have the necessary personnel position numbers created, as necessary, for said positions and to commence the hiring process so that the positions may be filled as soon as practicable in accordance with County policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreement.