Greene, Rodman, Solomon Launch Disgusting Attack on Garner

Candidates Greene, Solomon, and Rodman introduce a new low to Oro Valley elections
Today's mail included an 8.5 x 11 inch glossy mailer that was paid for by the campaigns of council candidates Harry Greene, Steve Solomon, and Bill Rodman. It features Ret. Oro Valley Police Chief  Daniel Sharp.

Sharp says Garner is a threat to public safety
Sharp asserts that "Bill Garner's candidacy... is a threat to a very successful approach" to Oro Valley public safety...when on council he practiced 'wedge politics', creating conflict.."

Sharp states that Garner has "...continued to work behind the scenes to undermine the Department."  He concludes that "A vote for Bill Garner is a vote against public safety."

Saying something does not make it so
Sharp makes these outrageous assertions without providing one example.

In addition, Sharp fails to mention that in 2009 while on council, Garner and Oro Valley resident John Musolf worked with Sharp to save 8 police officer positions in the budget. Garner worked for public safety. Not against it! Their work resulted in a 7-0 police budget approval by council. (source)

Sharp's image on mailer fraudulent
The picture of Sharp in the mailer conveys the impression that Sharp is still in charge of the department and that, therefore, he represents the views of the department. It's a picture that was posted on a website in October, while he was Chief of Police. He is wearing his Chief's uniform. The badge on the uniform includes the town logo.  Sharp's signature on the mailer puts the word "Ret" after OVPD Chief of Police. Most people won't even see that.

The Oro Valley Police Department does not support this attack
We asked Oro Valley Police Chief Kara Riley if the  Department was associated in any way with this document. Riley's reply is quoted in the panel at left. Clearly, any inference that the views of Sharp reflect the views of the Department are false.

Council candidate Bill Garner rebuts Sharp's accusation
"Frankly, I was stunned by the political mailer. My campaign has had nothing but positive messaging and support towards public safety. I did not oppose the community policing model nor was it cut or modified while I served on council. I actually advocated for retaining police officers when the former chief removed them from a recommended budget in 2009.

Oro Valley has turned a new chapter in our police department leadership. I’ve met with Chief Riley and have nothing but respect for the manner in which she is running the department. I look forward to working with her."

The repulsive three
We always thought Council Member Solomon capable of low behavior. After all, he led an attempt to recall Mayor Winfield and Vice Mayor Barrett. He's ranted and raved at council meetings. He told one person at a council meeting that they should leave Oro Valley if they don't like it here.

But we never thought that Rodman or Greene would allow their campaigns to participate in something so repulsive. Nor did we ever imagine that a former police chief would allow himself to be used.

Why would anyone want Harry Greene, Steve Solomon, or Bill Rodman on council? 
They have introduced Oro Valley to the depths of depravity with this behavior.

Imagine what they will do to council.
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Kara Riley Approved 7-0 As Oro Valley's Police Chief

The result was never in doubt
Oro Valley Town Council Chambers was packed last night, with civilians and cops on site to witness the 7-0 approval of Oro Valley Police Commander Kara Riley as Oro Valley's new chief of police. Riley will assume her new position later this month.

Winfield introduced motion
Mayor Winfield introduced the resolution to retain Riley. Each council member then spoke in praise of her, the police force, and retiring Police Chief Daniel Sharp.


Riley was the best of 70 candidates
Winfield noted that Riley was the best of 70 candidates. In fact, he observed, that three Oro Valley police members were among the final 10.

Council Member Bill Rodman thanked Chief Sharp for insuring that Oro Valley would have someone from within to assume leadership upon his retirement; a promise, Rodman told the audience, that  Sharp made when he was retained as chief 20 years ago.

After the vote, Riley took the moment to thank Chief Sharp and her fellow officers for their support. She also introduced her family in attendance.

Commander Riley with Dad and Mom

Oro Valley comes together
Last night Council Member Rodman noted all the cops in council chamber. He said that this had to be the safest place in Oro Valley.

Mayor Winfield stated that it was also the happiest place in town.

Things haven't always been that way in council chambers. There have been some very tough decisions that have been made, some divisive to council. But this decision, the one to retain Riley, brought the council and the community together.

It was a great moment for Oro Valley
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The Police Chief recruitment process is underway

As you know, the Town of Oro Valley is currently searching for a new Chief of Police due to the planned retirement of Chief Danny Sharp in February 2020.

The following is an excerpt from HR Director, Chris Brady’s speech to the Town Council during the July 31, 2019 council meeting

“I can tell you from personal experience, I’ve been through, between fire and police, probably about four recruitments on that level of local government. All but one was an internal/external search. The one where we did internal only did not work out. I’m not saying that would be the case here. I absolutely believe that we have good qualified candidates, but my job is to be objective and give you both sides of this for you to make the best decision.

I talked to my colleagues across the state. I asked them who’s had a police chief recruitment in the past five years. Help me out, what did you do? There was nobody that was internal only… Why they didn’t choose that [internal] I don’t know.

…I don’t think you would go wrong either way, but in the past, executive level recruitments, specifically chief recruitments, it was the goal of my previous councils/managers that they wanted to have a process that was transparent, seemed open to the community, and that’s why we did internal/external.

…The advantage you have there is that you’ll be able to compare internal candidates to other people to make sure that we do have the best of the best. Generally, the practice is for this level position, because of how critical it is, I’ve seen internal/external recruitments typically.”

The below options for police chief recruitment were included in a memo sent to the mayor and town council dated July 19, 2019 from HR Director, Chris Brady.

Options for police chief recruitment include:

• Internal Only Candidates. Supplemental services from an Executive Search Firm may be necessary. The time frame is 2-3 months with a cost estimate of $3,500 - $4,500.

Advantages:
• Faster recruitment process
• Relatively low cost to the Town
• Provides growth opportunities to internal employees
• Candidate will have institutional knowledge of the Town and Police Department

Disadvantages:
• Small pool of candidates
• Potential lack of appearance of a competitive process
• Costs could increase depending on level of outside services required

• Internal and External Candidates. Staff recommends utilizing the services of a Professional Executive Search Firm with experience in hiring local government executives. The time frame is 3-6 months with a cost estimate of $25,000 - $50,000.

Advantages:
• Experience working with elected bodies in objectively guiding the selection of high-profile positions
• Opens recruitment to large pool of talent
• Uses specialized expertise, professionally produced recruitment materials, and established contacts to identify candidates that meet Town Council’s preferred criteria
• Can provide for public input into the process working with consultant at direction of Council
• Capacity for a “deeper dive” into each candidate by utilizing services such as:

- Community Surveys
- Community Engagement Meetings
- Pre-Screened Candidates
- Utilization of the firm’s candidate pool and insight into the candidate’s prior interviewing experiences
- Objective, 3rd party Assessment Centers

•Internal candidates are still included in the process

Disadvantages:
• Costs for search firm fees and expenses
• Could result in the hire of a candidate with no institutional knowledge of the department
• There may be additional charges incurred such as travel for out-of-state candidates

The council voted 4-3 in favor of an internal/external search with Winfield, Barrett, Nicolson, and Jones-Ivey voting for this option with Pina, Rodman, and Solomon opposed.
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Note: In November 2019, Chris Brady left his position to work for Tenet Healtcare.
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After Six Years Of Funding Neglect, Public Safety Is On The Front Burner

Lack of public safety funding support during Hiremath years
Last week, Chief Daniel Sharp of the Oro Valley Police Department said that he felt that the town needed 4 additional police positions in fiscal 2020 (Begins July 1) and four more for fiscal 2021. The 2020 recommended budget submitted by Town Manager Mary Jacobs does not include these four positions.

Sharp states that there has been police understaffing for years
Speaking at last week's Town Council Study Session, Sharp said: "We knew there was going to be a point at which we were not going to be able to continue [being short positions]; and we’ve deferred [adding positions] every year. As I signaled last year, we aren’t going to be able to defer [adding positions] any more unless there is going to be a cut in service…. We’ve been band-aiding. This is the year [we need more police]. I tried to defer as long as I could. We’ve started slipping faster in the last few months that I even anticipated....we didn’t have enough officers to dispatch..” (Town Council Study Session of May 8, 2019: 1:16-1:17 minute mark)

Astounding but true
LOVE researched police department staffing over time. The chart that follows confirms that police positions have not been added during the past six years (2013-2019). The budget for these years was determined by former Mayor Hiremath and his council majority.

Double Click On This Chart To  Expand To Full View

Hiremath started his tenure by reducing police staffing from 135 to 125 in his first two years as Mayor. These are years in which current Council Member Solomon served. In 2011, the council doubled the Utility Tax from 2% to 4% to pay for police. This provided about $1.4 million in added funding. According to then Council Member Joe Hornat: "...1 percentage point...is worth $720,000 to the town." (source).

The added utility tax funds did boost police staffing. By 2013, police staffing had increased to about 132 positions.  Since then, however, police staffing has been relatively flat. It was even reduced in 2016, the first full year of town ownership of the El Conquistador Country Club.

The result: Six years, from 2013 to 2019, of approximately the same level of police staffing.  

It's up to Council, not the Town Manager, to properly assess and fund our public safety needs
In 2010, the Hiremath Council voted to have the police department report to council and not to the Town Manager. Town Manager Jacobs plays an advisory oversight role when it comes to the budget for the police department. The police department budget that she submitted this April is her budget. It is not the budget of any member of this council.

It's the responsibility of the Council to listen to the Chief, as they did last week, to truly understand the needs of the public safety. Council should meet again with him, meet without the hoopla of political rhetoric demonstrated at last week's budget study session. Indeed, it may be time to catch up on years of public safety neglect on the part of Hiremath Council.

Guns or Butter? Golf or Cops?
Where should the funds come from to support new public safety positions? The decision is easy. The funds should come from the Community Center/Restaurant/Golf Course budget. That endeavor is a complete luxury. Public Safety is not a luxury.

There is no other place we can see it coming from.

The town must start to property fund its pension lability to ensure that we keep our promise of retirement for our employees. The town should not jeopardize our excellent roads by taking funding from the highway department. The town should not take this money from needed parks for our children. They are, after all, our future. We can't take it from a necessity like our water department, a department that will likely be successful tomorrow in raising rates to cover its costs.

The council can and should fund the public safety needs of 43,000 residents over the needs of 200 users of the town owned country club.

It's time to get real. The town cannot do everything on everyone's wish list.

Now is when the "rubber meets the road."
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Scheming in plain sight. The Hiremath gang continues attempts to undermine the Winfield Council.

On May 8th, The Town Council held a Budget Study Session to discuss the Town Manager’s Recommended Budget for FY 2019/20. A LOVE reader found the following synopsis, posted on the Next Door site by an Oro Valley resident, and sent it to us. We think it’s worth sharing. We’ve added the subheadings.
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Elevating the political discourse
In my opinion, Mayor Winfield and the three new council members are to be commended for embodying the spirit of "more elevated political discourse" in last night's budget meeting for Oro Valley.

Solomon makes a spectacle of himself…again
In terms of substance, the most controversial and contentious issue in my opinion was that the budget requested from the Town Manager included no additional FTE's [full-time equivalent positions] for any department, including the police. Councilman Solomon made a spectacle of this issue. He pressed the police chief [Danny Sharp] as to whether he had requested more police and not gotten them, and eventually he said yes. He also revealed, apparently for the first time in this budget cycle, that at certain peak times, 20% of requests for police officers had to go unanswered because no officer was available. There was no discussion of how long these peak periods were, how many "not available" situations were simply postponed without danger, like fraud reporting. All council members were shocked.

Chief Sharp admits that there is no crisis
This triggered an immediate, persistent, angry tirade from Solomon. He said that Oro Valley's sterling reputation for safety was being endangered, this was unacceptable, and that a firm and final decision should be immediately made to give the chief whatever he needed. Under questioning and clarification as to why the chief had not sooner made the danger clearer, the police chief confessed that it is normal to have peak periods with no officer immediately available for around 10% of requests; that the statistic had worsened slowly over the years; and that there was no immediate crisis. Eventually, he [Chief Sharp] apologized that the issue had arisen in this manner at this time.

Mayor Winfield remains composed
Winfield graciously said that of course it would be given another look and asked that the Town Manager give options for moving money around to make room for more police funding. Solomon was undeterred in his crusade for immediate action. He did not want options; he wanted a decision, now, with instructions to the Town Manager. This, despite that the meeting was a study session where no decisions were to be made, said Winfield, several times, very politely, until Solomon grudgingly capitulated.

It was an ugly, inappropriate, and unnecessary display in my opinion. People were relieved when the topic changed to parks and recreation, which began with the joke: "Next year, I refuse to be put on the agenda after the police." The tension finally broke.

Dave Perry’s lead balloon
Quite some time later, after much post-police discussion had occurred, Chamber of Commerce President Dave Perry asked to speak and gave an impassioned plea for more police funding, complete with extended anecdotes designed to project poignancy, like the Target employee who told him that in Tucson, police didn't even bother to come when called about shoplifting incidents. His performance had the buoyancy of a lead balloon.

Solomon’s palpable antagonism
After 4 hours of discussion and very few people were left, Solomon yet again found a back door into re-raising "prioritization of public safety." He pointed out that while no department, not even police, had gotten a single FTE, the Town Council had gotten a net increase of approximately ½ of an FTE in legal services. This triggered another hammering from Solomon. Why more legal service and not the police? Exactly why? What message does this send? Why did we never need this before? Was this a temporary increase just until the new and inexperienced council members are trained? No? What then?

It was tiresome and overdone; nothing more than political grandstanding in my opinion. Winfield and his allies met all this palpable antagonism with patience, forbearance, politeness, facts, perspective, and logic.

Hiremath’s cowardly absence
Conspicuous in his absence was Satish Hiremath who, [as published in his Explorer Op-Ed on May 1st] characterized them as liars who are threatening and intimidating the Town Manager into formulating an austerity budget guaranteed to result in an exodus of key personnel and a crime-ridden community without adequate police protection.

I have to say the Town Manager did not look in the slightest bit intimidated or threatened. She projected 100% calm professionalism. Moreover, her budget summary was exceptionally well-written so she is obviously competent and can find another job; she makes $180,000/year and probably has savings to carry her through a job loss, should that happen. I doubt that she perceives herself as "succumbing to threats of retaliation and intimidation by liars who are forcing her to compromise on principles."

Hiremath's method of elevating public discourse is apparently to let the remnants of his administration and former allies act as proxies for his bitter partisan rhetoric while he remains above the fray of face-to-face public meetings via cowardly absence. What a negative role model for the children and young adults who will lead us in the future.

A kinder, gentler mayor
What a refreshing and promising display of hope I saw last night for a kinder, gentler, unified community where elected officials are role models of public service for all citizens, regardless of age.
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LOVE’s Analysis
There is clearly a concerted effort going on by defeated former mayor Hiremath and his proxies to take down Winfield, Barrett, Jones-Ivey, and Nicolson. Solomon has spent the past 6 months using his position as a council member to launch into his bi-weekly lecture series attempting to discredit and minimize Winfield, et. al., while Hiremath and former councilmember Joe Hornat, along with the incorrigible Don Cox, take their phony rhetoric to the pages of the local newspaper.

Pavlov’s Dogs
It’s no coincidence that Hiremath’s May 1st Explorer op-ed, followed by defeated council member Joe Hornat's May 8th letter to the editor have both come exactly 6 months into the reign of the Winfield administration. What’s the significance of rearing their heads at the 6-month mark? You have to wait 6 months before initiating a recall against a newly elected mayor and council members.

It appears that the Hiremath posse is salivating in anticipation of a recall in hopes of retaking their majority voting block on council. And it appears that they are planning to use their repetitive and worn out scare tactic of being the only ones who will make public safety a priority.  And we all know that is not true. 

Be sure to read tomorrow's article on public safety funding during the Hiremath years.

Guest View: Brian Gagan ~ Oro Valley’s epic fiscal mismanagement from the Town Hall to the OVPD. Part 1.

My background
In addition to corporate engagements around the world, I do a great deal of work with municipal, county and state governments on many subjects related to contemporary and ethical governmental practice and human capital efficiency/capability improvement. Our goal is that no taxpayer funds are wasted by incompetent and/or malfeasant governmental leaders.

Additionally, I am a former police officer with two separate agencies and a 100% conviction rate for misdemeanor and felony arrests over almost 7 years. I make it a practice to back up police officers throughout the USA.

I bought a home in Oro Valley exactly 3 years ago after having owned multiple homes in multiple states from Massachusetts to California and from Minnesota to Florida. Each of the 10 municipalities in which I have lived have been run highly competently and ethically except for Oro Valley.

My Oro Valley Experience ~ Group Grope
Since moving to Oro Valley in 2014, it has become directly evidenced that few persons at the elected or high appointed levels in Oro Valley have any capability whatsoever in terms of financial, spending and budget skills…or in terms of learning and citizen connection skills.

Mayor Hiremath rejected my request for a meeting, there have been no responses from Chief Sharp to my repeated emails regarding police department failures and malfeasance, and also no response to a Certified Letter that I sent to our new Town Manager, Mary Jacobs back in June.

That does not mean that they are all bad; only that some of them are poorly intended and that most them are poorly led by the current Mayor, Town Council and many current department heads. In my professional life, this is called “group grope.”

They all hire in their own image
The above trait is a common characterization that we use in our firm to describe organizations in dire trouble. Neither poor leaders nor their poorly led teams are self-correcting. In cases such as these, employees are rewarded by their leaders for learning nothing, correcting nobody, and ensuring that incompetence and/or malfeasance remain undiscovered and/or accepted. This is precisely the circumstance here in Oro Valley.

Seismic Overspending without useful outcomes
Through my interactions with Mayor Hiremath, two council members, two department heads, several dubious highly paid leaders, and through endless fact and evidence tracking (direct and publicly available documented evidence) I have observed that between $4,000,000 and $11,000,000 of taxpayer money is being wasted. We refer to that as “stranded spending;” money spent either ignorantly or criminally without positive effect to those providing the revenue. It is time to cease this financial death spiral at the expense of Oro Valley residents.

As one factual example of seismic overspending without useful outcomes, the Oro Valley Police Department is evidenced as being very significantly overstaffed, monumentally under-led, and as a result, significantly incompetent and expensive.

Oro Valley has a population of 43,000 and a low Uniform Crime Report (UCR) incidence (felony crimes of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson) and contains almost no industry and no entertainment or tourist districts.

According to population, UCR data, and best practices for similar size municipalities in Arizona (and also within 50 miles of Oro Valley), the OVPD should consist of approximately the following staff:

Total Sworn and AZPOST Certified Officers: 84

Command Staff (Lieutenant through Chief): 6
Sergeant: 9
Investigative: 6
School Resource Officer (SRO): 7 (one officer per school)
Evidence Technician: 2
Patrol/Uniformed, Non-Rank Officers: 54

All Other Staff, Non-Post Certified: 26

Includes dispatch, office services, records, systems, crime analysis, fleet, secretarial, animal control, etc.

Total Necessary OVPD Staff Count: 110


For comparison, OVPD current headcount is 133 full-time equivalents (FTE’s) including 9 Command Staff, 12 Sergeants, 10 SRO’s, and 60 Patrol Officers, with a proposed budget for 2018 of 136 employees. This indicates planned 2018 over-staffing by 26 FTE’s.

The average annualized cost of a Sworn Police Officer (including benefits and liability insurance) is $81,000 to $87,000 per year in most cases. The average annualized cost for Non-Sworn Staff is $54,000 to $59,000.

…………………………….

UCR is all of the crime data in the USA that is collected by the FBI and is required to be submitted monthly by all U.S. law enforcement agencies.

AZPOST: Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training Board

SRO’s: The number 7 assumes that Oro Valley desires a police officer in each school. (The problem is that the OVPD mistakenly classifies SRO’s as a separate division with a separate Sergeant with all of the additional related expenses).

Part 2 will be published tomorrow.