Report: City shortchanged by Metro

Erin Neff

Thursday, Nov. 4, 1999 | 11:17 a.m.

Metro report The city's report about the Metropolitan Police Department can be read on the city's website at: www.ci.las-vegas.nv.us

A study released Wednesday by the city of Las Vegas proves Metro Police employees had reason to fear that a huge change in their 26-year-old department was inevitable.

The sweeping 150-page document suggests the city could save about $4.1 million annually as a result of shifting some police costs to the county and streamlining the department, which has 3,600 employees.

Mayor Oscar Goodman, who quieted talk of deconsolidating Metro by declaring such a move a nonissue weeks ago, said the report highlights room for improved efficiency.

"I think that as a general proposition it's instructive," Goodman said of the report he received in draft form last Friday before Metro, Clark County or his council colleagues got it Wednesday afternoon.

Goodman said he would reserve specific comment until the public had a chance to read the report and city officials had a chance to meet with Sheriff Jerry Keller, who is out of town this week.

But when asked if Keller should be concerned by the report's suggestions, Goodman replied: "I think the whole community should be concerned about it."

Metro Lt. Marc Joseph, the department's public information officer, also reserved specific comment, saying only: "We just received it. It's a lengthy report, and it will take some time to go over."

The report's length, detail and numerous appendices show the level of work the city's departments of Human Resources, Finance and Business Services, Detention and Enforcement, Information Technology, Administrative Services and Attorney's office put into the document.

Although the study reports in bold face that "This report is not intended to evaluate or promote the withdrawal of the city from the merger," the findings suggest reports of the city forming its own police force to seek greater accountability were based on some type of data.

"The study illustrates a weakness in the current relationship caused by limited communication and limited disclosure," City Manager Virginia Valentine writes in the cover letter to the report. "Communications between the city and Metro should be free of suspicion and innuendo."

Such finger-pointing and rumor crested into a political tsunami beginning Sept. 17 when the first reports surfaced that the city was studying Metro. The report was labeled a deconsolidation study and was met with staunch opposition from Metro's administration and police officers on the street.

Goodman agreed last month to remove talk of breaking up Metro from what he labeled a cost-efficiency study as a result of mounting protests and reports that officers were preoccupied with worries about their job security.

The report dated Nov. 3 highlights 16 areas of concern with Metro, including revenue from forfeitures, real property donated for Metro's use and the fiscal impact of police services on the city's budget.

Among the biggest findings is the suggestion that the city is owed roughly $850,000 annually from $2 million in crime-related forfeitures that Metro collects and sends to a separate county fund.

The study suggests the county's share of such revenue should be $1.15 million.

Metro's $239 million budget is funded with $50.2 million from voter-approved tax overrides, $15.8 million from miscellaneous revenue and $173 million paid for by the county and city.

The city allocates $73.2 million, and Clark County allocates $99 million. However, when the city's portion of the tax override and debt service on new facilities is added, the city's residents give Metro $92.6 million, or roughly $220 per citizen, the study says.

Several issues identified in the study suggest shifting the cost of certain operations from joint city-county funding to county-only funding.

The study recommends funding nonurban operations like search and rescue solely with county funds. Such a shift would net the city about $400,000 while it adds $600,000 to the county's share of Metro funding.

Another suggested shift -- in detention support costs -- would net the city $900,000 and cost the county $1.2 million, the study says.

Eliminating redundancy of certain management and personnel could result in $2 million in total savings -- with $1.2 million in reduced costs to the county and $800,000 in reduced costs to the city, the study says.

"The city's perception is that there are several administrative areas that have unusually high staffing levels," the report says.

The study also recommends Metro consolidate all of its space needs into a new facility, thus releasing the space they occupy in city buildings. If that cannot occur, the study suggests giving the city an estimated $900,000 in credit for contributing the space and parking in City Hall and other locations.

Other potential city savings include an estimated $100,000 in building leases and $100,000 in reduction of unnecessary vehicle costs.

When all shifted costs and potential savings are considered, Clark County also stands to gain $350,000 annually from a streamlined Metro, the report says.

But cost savings aren't the only recommendations in the report.

The study discusses the city's role in police deployment policies and practices; city audits of Metro's books; starting performance measures and goals for annual review and expanding the city's role in labor negotiations, risk management and training.

The risk management issue suggests Metro's industrial insurance costs are $978 per employee compared to the $679 per employee in the city's Detention and Enforcement division.

A DMG Maximus audit, conducted in 1998 at the city's request, determined Metro was among the most highly regarded police forces nationwide in terms of management strategy. So impressed were auditors that they did not complete the second phase of their study.

But the city report says that the recommendations DMG Maximus did suggest included encouraging Metro and the city to both set performance measures and improve communications.

Such goals could include identifying the top crime areas targeted for the city's commands with reducing crimes in those areas by a set goal.

Goodman said he expected the report to be presented at the Nov. 17 council meeting, by which time he hopes to have a chance to talk with Keller.