Worksession Minutes
February 1, 2010

The meeting was called to order at 7:06 p.m. Present were Mayor Calvo, MPT Lofgren, CMs Ahrens, Dennison and Wilkinson. CM Wilkinson arrived 10 minutes late. Also present were TA Murphy, Chief of Police Murphy, Clerk Harper, Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness (NW/EP) Chair Mike Attick and NW/EP Secretary Jodie Kulpa Eddie.

1. Mayor

Announcements: MPT Lofgren has a new grand daughter, Sage Merriam.

Calendar: A PGCMA meeting was added for March 18, 7 p.m.

Minutes: The January 13 Town meeting minutes were distributed for approval at the February Town meeting.

Department reports: CM Ahrens reported that the Code Department collected several permit fees. CM Dennison reported that the Education Advisory Committee (EAC) is working with Mayor Calvo to draft a letter of support for the Creative & Performing Arts Program at  Hyattsville Middle School. She has been in touch with the Executive Assistant of the Board of Education to find out more about the new sibling enrollment policy that failed on the First Reader. She urged all residents to participate in this year's Census. MPT Lofgren reported that the Public Works crew is preoccupied with snow removal and is preparing for a couple more storms announced for later in the week.

Mayor Calvo reported that he and CM Dennison attended the Four Cities Coalition meeting in College Park last week. Items discussed included how the cities are dealing with budget cuts and the opening of an estate sale shop on Greenbelt Road in front of the Washington Post building. This is the same place where the owner wanted to open a pawn shop several years ago but was denied a license. He believes there is a connection between the opening of the estate sale shop and the rash of burglaries Berwyn Heights and surrounding neighborhoods have been experiencing in the last month. County Councilmember Olson is drafting legislation to address the matter.

Mayor Calvo continued that Berwyn Heights had 4 day-time burglaries in the last month. Residents are urged to report anything and anyone unusual to the police. Chief Murphy added that he believes the burglaries were not all carried out by the same suspects. Howard County police arrested a young couple from Florida after they were fleeing the scene of a burglary in Jessup. They had stolen goods from two of the Berwyn Heights homes in their possession. All said, there were 18 burglaries in Berwyn Heights and neighboring communities in January 2010. Berwyn Heights police has cooperated closely with Prince George's County police in trying to solve the crimes. CM Dennison noted that a check cashing establishment opened in the location of the former Chevy Chase Bank, which may also bring problems with it.

Citizen comments: CM Dennison received several comments regarding the burglaries, one asking whether the police can notify residents by methods other than e-mail or cell phones. MPT Lofgren received a comment regarding water backing into their home's laundry tub. Mayor Calvo received a number of e-mails on burglaries and had a long conversation about power outages on January 25th.

Mike Attick said that the County has another alert system besides Nixle that the Town may want to look into. He also forwarded a suggestion that Berwyn Heights police hold a crime prevention workshop for the seniors and other residents who are interested. NW/EP would help coordinate it. Lastly, he asked how one can request to put up a No Loitering sign. He was informed that he would send in a written request to the Council.

At 7:38 p.m., the Council took a 5 minute break.

Police Department budget request: Chief Murphy presented the Police Department budget. He said that he is submitting the most bare-bones budget yet in recognition of the fact that this will be a tight budget year. It includes proposals for generating additional revenues from increased returned check fees, vehicle impound release fees and parking fines. Increases in expenditures have been mostly held at last year's level. Exceptions include a 5% increase in rent for the police offices, purchase of 1 new police vehicle at the same price as last year ($28,500 including outfitting) and purchase of 3 new laptops for the police vehicles ($1,100 per laptop). The budget also includes roll up costs associated with 1 promotion to Private First Class (PFC). Further, Chief Murphy recommended appropriating funds for a second in command position (e.g. Sergeant or Lieutenant) as an incentive for long-serving officers to remain in the service of the Town. Similarly, he recommended an increase in the shift differential for working night hours from $1.00 to $1.50. The shift differential has been the same for 9 years. While these things may not be possible this year and were not included in the budget, they might be considered in the future so as to remain competitive with surrounding municipalities.

Mayor Calvo asked Chief Murphy to talk more about a possible switch from the Ford Crown Victoria, which will go out of production in 2011, to a smaller, more fuel-efficient police vehicle, such as the Ford Taurus. Chief Murphy said that the Police Department's current fleet consists entirely of Crown Vics, which has the advantage that they can be used interchangeably and equipment can be transferred from a decommissioned to a new vehicle. Crown Vics are made specifically for law enforcement and have heavy duty suspension and electrical systems as well room for all the equipment officers need. Hybrid vehicles are not yet a good alternative as they are smaller, slower and more expensive. Standard gasoline powered vehicles currently used in law enforcement such as the Chevrolet Impala are front wheel drives, while Berwyn Heights officers are trained on the rear-wheel drive Crown Vics. Officer need to be retrained if the Town switches to front-wheel drive vehicles. Chief Murphy recommended the Council consider the Chevrolet Caprice as potential replacement for the Crown Vic. Beginning 2011, it will be made only for law enforcement use and with all specifications desirable in a police vehicle.

In response to Mayor Calvo, Chief Murphy said that he has no indication that Ford will come out with a Taurus police model. Ford has announced only that there will be a replacement for the Crown Vic police model. Mayor Calvo said that, if a viable fuel-efficient alternative to the Crown Vic cannot be found, he wants to look at changing the take home car policy. Currently, officers can take their police cars home if they live within 40 aerial miles of Berwyn Heights. Now would be a good time to change the cutoff to 40 road miles as all Berwyn Heights officers live within 40 road miles. Chief Murphy offered the suggestion of grandfathering current officers in at the 40 mile radius but reducing the radius to 25 miles for new hires. This would be more in line with policies of other Prince George's municipalities.

MPT Lofgren referenced University Park's police structure, which was evaluated by the National Association of Chiefs of Police and others. One finding was that the department had too many ranking officers. Chief Murphy said that he and most other police officials in the county disagreed with the finding. One of the most valuable commodities at small Town agencies is institutional knowledge. Long serving police officers tend to have a much better rapport and lines of communication with citizens than recent hires. He believes that promotions to a higher rank are needed to give officers a reason to stay with a particular agency and maintain its institutional knowledge of the community. The boost to morale in an agency from having higher ranked positions available are substantial because they are not only based on higher pay but also prestige that come with the higher rank. He would ask for funding for such a position if the budget situation were different.

CM Dennison asked whether the salary estimates take Chief Murphy's departure into account. She was told that they do not. She further asked whether there is money in the budget to train a successor should someone from within the agency wish to apply. Chief Murphy said that he has mentored Detective Antolik for the position and arranged for some the required ex FBI executive training. CM Dennison asked if Chief Murphy has talked to other police agencies about their use of smaller police cars and savings they may have realized. Chief Murphy said that he presented this type of comparative information to the Council last year. He will collect information about any particular models if desired.

CM Ahrens asked if officer performance would be negatively affected if the Town switched to front-wheel drive vehicles as they are trained on rear-wheel drive vehicles. Chief Murphy believed it would a liability especially in high speed pursuits. This could be remedied by sending officers to a 1-week emergency vehicle operations training course. But the cost of doing so may outweigh savings from purchasing a cheaper police vehicle.

CM Wilkinson thanked Chief Murphy for outlining the intangible benefits obtained from offering officers the possibility of promotion. He asked if special training is required when privates are promoted to Private First Class. Chief Murphy said that all officers must complete 18 hours of in-service training each year to maintain their certification. In addition, he provides them with an additional week of training in a subject that interests them and is relevant to their job, such as training in Spanish, investigation or grant writing. Additional supervisory training and administrative training is required when an officer is promoted to the rank of Sergeant or Lieutenant. He is a believer in training and tries to take advantage of any free training opportunities that present themselves. CM Wilkinson asked if the recruitment might be affected if the Council changes the take-home car policy to 40 road miles. Chief Murphy replied that he does not think this would have a noticeable impact. However, it would probably be more difficult to recruit if the policy were limited to 25 road miles.

Mayor Calvo commented that he price of gas is hard to predict and this year has been below budget. He asked if gas usage has changed in recent years that would warrant reducing this appropriation. Chief Murphy said that is has gone down due to officers moving closer to Berwyn Heights, one officer with a long commute leaving the agency and being replaced by an officer who lives close enough to receive locality pay. Mayor Calvo asked if Chief Murphy could provide a monthly update on gallons of fuel used, which would be useful for cost projection.  Mayor Calvo asked how the Department is doing with regard to the maintenance and repair budget. Chief Murphy said that with the purchase of new police vehicle every year that line item has gone down. This year there were also no big repair expenses. Mayor Calvo asked if Chief Murphy can provide a breakdown of expenses in terms of scheduled maintenance versus unexpected repairs. Chief Murphy said he could, noting that the line item also covers weapons, computers and radios. Mayor Calvo noted a decline in postage expenses and asked if it reflects a change in practice. Chief Murphy said that it reflects a decline in parking tickets and impound notices.

CM Dennison asked if  the miscellaneous line item could be cut as the actuals are substantially lower than this years budget. Chief Murphy said that the appropriation pays for all expenses related to hiring a new officer. If no new officer is hired the item could be cut. Chief Murphy further noted that the Public Safety Taxing District budget reflects the expenses for 1 officer, in this case PFC Unger.

Police radios (discussed out of order): Mayor Calvo explained that Chief Murphy received a grant worth $34,164  to pay for 9 portable police radios from the Governor's Office of Crime Control & Prevention. The Town still has to pay for the counterpart mobile radios that are to be installed in the police cars at a cost of $34,640 plus $920 for their installation. Money for the radios was budgeted for FY 2009 but reverted to the surplus when the County postponed conversion to the 800 MHz communications system. He asked the Council to approve purchase of the radios with the understanding that it will require a year-end budget amendment to pull the money from surplus.

Chief Murphy added that the grant spells out what features the portable will have. He recommended adding a GPS feature, costing an additional $360 per radio, when the County 911 emergency center has been completed. In response to CM Dennison, he said the County has plans to build a 911 emergency center probably in Upper Marlboro. The police radios might be expected to last for at least as long as the current radios, which have been used about 15 years ago.

Mayor Calvo requested a motion to approve the purchase of the new radios and take out $34,164 from surplus. CM Dennison so moved. CM Wilkinson seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0.

Chief Murphy said that he needed $68,804 to purchase both the portable and the mobile radios. The portable radios will be reimbursed from the grant. CM Dennison moved to amend the motion to approve $68,804 to be taken from surplus to purchase the radios. CM Wilkinson seconded. The motion passed 5 to 0. TA Murphy noted that an additional $920 will be needed for installing the radios in the police cars. This will be paid from the current year budget.

Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Preparedness budget request: Chair Mike Attick presented the NW/EP budget request. The total request is $3,000 with a larger share than in previous years going to the Neighborhood Watch functions of the Committee.

• $920 for 12 all-season reflective coats;

• $495 for 15 Neighborhood Watch reflective street signs

• $427 for 30 Neighborhood Watch polo shirts;

• $225 for 20 Neighborhood Watch hats.

Funds requested for the maintenance of the emergency trailer include:

• $520 for general maintenance

• $300 for 10 cases of packaged water

• $112 for batteries

• 2-year CPR refresher course

Mr. Attick said that, looking toward the future, he would like to replace the current 24' trailer with two 12' trailers when it has reached the end of its useful life. Smaller trailers would be much easier to maneuver. A defibrillator ($1,500 to $2,000 per unit) for the Senior Center would be desirable but requires that there be someone trained to administer it. He is working on setting up a 2-year CPR refresher course as the certification of a couple of NW/EP members has expired.

Mayor Calvo commented that he thinks it is good idea put more money into Neighborhood Watch.  He suggested putting the police non-emergency number (301-333-4000) on the sign to get more value out of the new signs. It would help residents get in touch with the County's dispatch center when asking for Berwyn Heights police to respond to non-emergency situations. He also suggested purchasing reflective vests rather than than coats and polo shirts. Vests would be more versatile and could be worn over a variety of clothing. Generally, Town organizations are required to buy shirts and clothing with their own funds as they can be worn as regular clothing. Further, he suggested that the NW/EP start a fund in which unspent money would roll over to the next fiscal year and saved for capital equipment purchases and other big ticket items. As for replacing the emergency trailer, he recommended instead to supplement it with a smaller trailer that could carry some tools and equipment to a site where it is needed.

CM Wilkinson asked if the expense for a CPR refresher course is in the budget. Mr. Attick said it is not. But he is negotiating to have it provided for free or very little expense. CM Wilkinson also requested that the new reflective street signs have the “eyeball” logo rather than the “no criminals” logo.

Mayor Calvo instructed TA Murphy not to include 6 months estimates in the budget tables. If done correctly 12 months estimates are more reliable. Instead he would like to have a column for the FY 2007 actuals to provide more history.

Refuse Ordinance revision: TA Murphy highlighted the latest changes to the Ordinance. In Section 9B, enforcement of the Ordinance provisions was limited to Code Compliance and Police officials. However, warning notices, violation notices and abatement notices can continue to be delivered by any Town employee. In Section 10, Code Compliance officials are authorized to fine a property for any violation of the Ordinance that is not corrected after receipt of a warning notice and within 24 hours after receipt of a violation notice. Repeat violations of the same provision can be fined or abated immediately.

CM Wilkinson noted that no time frame is specified in which violations become repeat violations. TA Murphy said he did not specify a time frame because he wanted to give Code officials more flexibility. Mayor Calvo said that a time period must be specified. He suggested 12 months, as for Clean Lot Ordinance violations. CM Wilkinson also asked to permit commercial paper bags as receptacles for loose leaves discarded when the leaf machine is not in operation. TA Murphy said that he intended to do so. MPT Lofgren said that loose leaves are considered yard waste from January through October. As such, they do not need to be listed in Section 5K but should be listed in 5Q.

Mayor Calvo asked TA Murphy to make the requested corrections and tie up loose ends and then bring it back for Council review. The Ordinance will not be introduced at the February Town meeting. MPT Lofgren noted that a Resolution detailing all fees and fines also needs to be adopted, which could be done during the budget discussions.

2. Administration

Bulletin cover: The following items were approved for the cover of the March Bulletin: St. Patrick's Day theme, announcements of BHES talent show and candidate filing deadline.

3. Code Compliance

Code car: CM Ahrens submitted two proposals for applying lettering to the code compliance car. The more expensive proposal is for reflective lettering, which increases visibility at night. CM Ahrens recommended the reflective lettering. Mayor Calvo thought that the reflective lettering is not necessary because the code officials do not patrol much after dark. At the moment, it is more important to save money than to have best lettering available. CM Dennison said she supports the less expensive lettering. There is no need to patrol at night time. CM Wilkinson said that he would purchase the reflective lettering because the dark comes early in winter. He prefers code officials to be safe when patrolling in the evening. MPT Lofgren said he does not have strong feelings one way or another, but would go with the less expensive version. On a motion by CM Dennison and second by CM Ahrens, the Council voted 4 to 1 to approve the non-reflective lettering at a cost of $440. CM Wilkinson was opposed.

Nothing was discussed under 4. Parks & Recreation, 5. Public Safety or 6. Public Works.

Signed: Kerstin Harper, Town Clerk

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