SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE ANNUAL APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE IN THE GENERAL FUND FOR EXPENSES RELATED TO ENHANCING SECURITY MEASURES IN CITY FACILITIES
Council District: City-Wide
It is recommended that the City Council adopt amendments to the 2000-2001 annual Appropriation Ordinance in the General Fund as follows:
a. Establish a City-Wide appropriation for City security measures in the amount of $150,000;
b. Decrease the contingency reserve by $150,000.
Staff was directed by the City Council to conduct a security assessment of public facilities and systems, and to report back with proposals for immediate steps and plans for longer-term actions and needed resources. Recommendations for the initial short term measures have now been prepared and are outlined in this report.
ANALYSIS
A team of City employees including Police, Fire, Emergency Services, General Services, Information Technology, the City Manager’s Office and others have completed an initial assessment of security needs in City facilities and has developed both short term and long term plans to implement various security improvements. Recommendations on three of the short term measures are now proposed for funding and implementation. The three recommendations are as follows:
1. To enhance workplace safety and increase security awareness, all current and future City employees will be required to have a City-issued photo identification card. This will clearly identify all employees to the public and to other employees for appropriate access to work spaces in City facilities. In addition, certain areas of City Hall will be designated as employee only workplaces requiring non-employees to wear visitor badges within the area. The Police, Fire, Airport and CA&E departments already have ID badges that meet security needs. These badges would remain in effect. Of the remaining departments, some have ID badges and some do not. For those remaining departments, the first priority for issuing ID badges will go to those employees without one. For consistency purposes, the existing ID badges will be replaced over time during a phase-in process except for the four departments indicated above. The ID badge program will begin implementation in January 2002. The estimated cost of ID badges is $50,000 which includes a programmable component for future electronic access into City workspaces.
2. To prevent inappropriate access to City Hall after normal business hours, and to provide better security and customer service for City staff and the public needing to be in the City Hall, a uniformed security guard will be stationed at the front door on weekday evenings and on an as needed basis at other times, to admit people attending meetings and assist them in finding their meeting rooms. On evenings when City Council or planning commission meetings are being held, a second security guard will be stationed on the second floor to assist in directing people to the Council Chamber and restricting unauthorized people from the hallway/office areas. The security guard service will start within the next 30 days under an existing contract with a private company. The estimated cost for City Hall security guard coverage for the remainder of the fiscal year is $40,000.
3. A telephone-based computer aided notification (CAN) system is recommended to be installed. During a disaster or an emergency, authorities will be able to deliver notification and instructions to all City staff in the City Hall complex and other City facilities as needed. The CAN system is estimated to cost $60,000, including rapid installation and training, with ongoing costs estimated at $10,000 a year. This system will permit up to 500 phone numbers to be loaded into the memory and is expected to be installed by March 2002.
Many security improvements have already been made by City departments. An evaluation of other possible City security enhancements is currently under consideration by the City security team. Recommendations on these items will be presented to the Council at a later date.
COST IMPLICATIONS
The total estimated cost of the above-mentioned actions is $150,000. It is recommended that this cost be funded from the General Fund Contingency Reserve.
BUDGET REFERENCE
Fund: General Fund
Amount: $150,000
Document: 2001-02 Adopted Operating Budget
Reference: Page II-23
TERRY E. ROBERTS
Deputy City Manager
LARRY D. LISENBEE
Budget Director