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Ms. Bettman asked if the Police Commission would have an active role in analyzing data and identifying <br />issues. Chief Lehner said the commission had not yet seen the data, but felt it was appropriate for the <br />commission to discuss and prioritize services. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman asked if references to staffing meant staff in the entire department or only in the model <br />components. Chief Lehner replied that meant staff in the whole department, as even the administrative <br />components were affected by changes in staffing and service levels. He said an example was the effect of <br />certain types of police staffing on the courts and other parts of the system. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman asked how comparisons were done with other jurisdictions when the study only looked at <br />certain components of the department. She asked if the comparison included police personnel per capita or <br />police personnel total resource per capita and how those were incorporated in the assumptions. Chief <br />Lehner replied that police per capita and similar measures were very broadly used for comparison, but were <br />not a good way to determine actual staff requirements because of the considerable variations among cities. <br />He said it was a broad indicator of resources necessary to address the public safety issues in a community. <br />He said Eugene had a very high property crime rate compared to other cities and one of the lowest officers <br />per population ratios and, while that was useful from a broad perspective, actual staffing needs were <br />workload-dependent, not ratio-dependent. <br /> <br />Regarding the University of Oregon issue, Ms. Bettman asked if the department would consider a legislative <br />remedy if discussions with the University were not productive. Chief Lehner said a legislative remedy would <br />be preferable and he was working with the University on what legislation might be needed to provide the <br />necessary capacity. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman requested clarification on how comparisons were made when the department only looked at <br />certain components. She asked if ICMA (International City Managers Association) would only look at <br />those components as well. Chief Lehner said that comparison had not yet been done; Magellan had <br />compared staffing that was workload driven rather than support staff. He noted there were major <br />discrepancies that would need to be better understood. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor expressed his appreciation for the department’s efforts to understand staffing needs, service levels <br />and community expectations. He said those should be identified at three levels—optimal, minimal and <br />functional—and the functional level could be defined by the community’s and City’s perspectives, along <br />with the cost. He felt the department’s work would be extremely helpful to the council’s decision-making <br />process. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark thanked EPD for its work and for the Magellan report. He had been concerned for some time <br />about the department’s ability to meet basic needs and agreed that increasing staffing was a substantial goal. <br />He was stunned by the comparison to staffing in other jurisdictions and commended the department for <br />doing a great job with current resources. He wanted to have policy discussions at the Police Commission <br />and council levels about the type of policing that was expected prior to the next round of budget priority <br />setting. <br /> <br />Mr. Poling indicated he was pleased the University of Oregon issue was being discussed. He questioned <br />whether there was something else the City could do to move the matter forward. Chief Lehner said it was a <br />political issue in the State that would require a long discussion and serious work. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 29, 2007 Page 9 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />