Menifee city budget proposal includes 8 more police officers

Bruce Foltz made an announcement Wednesday he feared he might never be able to make.

"I've always considered us as working in a defensive mode," the City of Menifee's finance director told City Council members during a budget workshop at City Hall. "This is the first time we've actually had additional funds. It looks like we'll have a balanced budget, rather than what we faced in the current year.

"The last year has been very depressing. But now, thanks to Jerry Brown ... and I never thought I'd say that, because I've been cursing his name the last two years ... we're in much better shape."

Foltz's reference was to the governor's May 12 signing of SB 130, which restores Menifee's share of vehicle license fees Brown took away in 2011. That legislation is expected to bring the city an additional $6 million or more in the next year, Foltz said.

But that's not the only reason Foltz was encouraging with the numbers he presented to council members on Wednesday. His budget proposal for fiscal year 2017-18 -- to be formally presented at the June 7 City Council meeting -- also is boosted by an estimated $8.4 million to be collected through a 1 percent sales tax increase approved by voters through Measure DD last November.

Add to that an estimated $500,000 to be received through the recent state gas tax increase and you can understand why Foltz, city staff and City Council members are looking forward to city improvements that can be made in the next year.

One of the biggest benefits in the budget proposal is an increase in public safety -- a hot topic of discussion in recent years as crime rates have begun to increase. Foltz told council members on Wednesday he built an expected increase of 8 percent for public safety into the budget, which at this point projects total general fund revenue of $37.4 million and the same total expenditures, primarily thanks to the income from Measure DD and SB 130.

Foltz said that although the Measure DD sales tax income is considered part of the general fund, it is being kept as a separate category for easier accountability with members of a five-person oversight committee made up of residents and the general public. When you add those funds to the general fund operating revenues, the total projected revenue is more than $45.8 million.

The budget proposal, which could be amended before it is presented to the council for adoption on June 7, calls for $23.1 million to be spent on public safety. That is an increase of more than $2 million from last year's budget.

So how will that translate into increased manpower for public safety? The manpower increase, Foltz said, will come from the Measure DD funds, which he proposes the city spend in this way:

Additional police services staffing:  $3,499,420
Additional fire services staffing:  $1,999,000
Scott Road interchange project:  $2,000,000
Pavement management program:  $910,850

The police and fire budgets are based on proposals made to the city's public safety committee this week by those departments. According to those proposals and Foltz's budget presentation, those amounts translate to the following additional public safety services:

-- 8 additional sworn police officers through the Sheriff's Department contract:  4 patrol officers, 1 sergeant dedicated to Menifee, 2 motorcycle officers dedicated to Menifee, and 1 dedicated Crime Prevention Officer.

-- 4 Dedicated Community Service Officers, two of which will be based in the city's new substation in the Cherry Hills Plaza.

-- 1 dedicated office assistant

-- 1 paramedic squad unit with 5 additional staff

-- Purchase of a paramedic squad vehicle

-- Municipal staffing, meaning fire inspections and other matters will be locally based rather than based in Riverside.

Interim city manager Ron Bradley told council members that additional police officers wouldn't be ready immediately, however. As he put it, "These people are not on the shelf." Unless existing officers transfer from other departments, additional officers would have to come out of the Sheriff's academy. That, said Bradley and Sheriff's Lt. Greg Fellows, could take up to 18 months.

However, said Bradley, the Sheriff's Department will offer its officers voluntary overtime to help put additional boots on the ground in the interim.

"You will see a much higher presence as soon as we can work it out," Bradley said.

The Sheriff's Department will be paid once invoices are received for services performed, Bradley said. Therefore, it is very likely that not all $3.49 million of the budgeted funds would be paid out in the next fiscal year, saving the city additional money.

According to Fellows' proposal, total police department staff included in Menifee's contract would be 87. That includes all support staff based out of the Perris station that handle any issues involved with Menifee. That will increase Menifee's officer-to-resident ratio to .64 per 1,000 -- still below the average of about .8 per 1,000 in most local cities but an improvement over the city's previous ratio of about .5 per 1,000.

Wednesday's meeting was only a workshop for information purposes. The complete budget proposal will be presented to the City Council for approval June 7 and could be adopted at its next meeting on June 21.