By now our readers should all be familiar with the work John Musolf puts in on the issue of the Oro Valley Police Budget---which is a major impact on our overall budget.
As John has consistently pointed out, the Super Majority of this council saw fit to rescind the Police Department Management Study approved by the prior council. To date, nobody in the town has given any satisfactory responses to any of John's questions.
John has forwarded his questions and concerns on the $850,000 budget for the motorcycle division of the police force to the mayor & council.
As John stated: "The following analysis on the Police Motorcycle Unit attempts to illustrate why any independent management study (analysis) can question the effectiveness of any governmental program and gauge how critical and/or costly it might be to the community."
Police Department Motor/Traffic Unit
The goals of the Oro Valley Motor Unit are to respond to citizens traffic concerns; be highly visible to the public and; enforce traffic laws. By staying proactive and achieving these goals, the Motor Unit is able to deter criminal behavior from residing in or targeting Oro Valley. The three measures deploying the Motor Unit are: highest collision intersections, special events, and citizen traffic concerns.
1 Sergeant
1 Lead Officer
1 Officer/Special Events Coordinator
7 Motorcycle Officers
$717,565 2009 Budget
$ 860,8912010 Budget
$850,284 2010 Adopted Budget
Why have a motorcycle unit versus standard patrol cars?
The U. S. National Transportation Agency discusses the formation of motorcycle units:
nhtsa.gov/.../motorcycle/motorcycle_traffic03/planning.htm
“The decision to start a motorcycle unit should not be made lightly. Agency planners should conduct an exhaustive budget review, cost benefit analysis, and forecast available resources before moving forward with implementation. A feasibility study may also be necessary to identify the benefits a motorcycle unit will bring to a particular agency”.
I’m sure the Police Department performed a feasibility study on the benefits of a motorcycle unit. It was then followed by an exhaustive budget review, cost benefit analysis and forecast of available resources before moving forward with implementation. Of course, all of this was then fully vented and documented and approved by the Mayor and Council at the time of creation?
General Questions:
How are the motor unit traffic personnel deployed for 7/24 traffic enforcement service (e.g. by days/shifts)?
Do motorcycle officers cover third shift?
How many special events are held per week, month or year?
Is it necessary to have a full time officer to cover special events?
What does the special event officer do to coordinate these special events?
What percentage of time does each motorcycle officer
spend on special events versus regular traffic duties?
Are any motorcycle officers paid overtime for any special event and does the special event organizer pay for overtime?
Do regular patrol cars and officers spent any time at special events or is it strictly a motorcycle unit function?
