HomeMy WebLinkAbout11 - Conversion of Boardwalk Ambassador Program to Boardwalk and Quality of Life Enforcement ProgramQ �EwPpRT
CITY OF
s NEWPORT BEACH
`q44:09 City Council Staff Report
May 23, 2023
Agenda Item No. 11
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Joe Cartwright, Chief of Police - 949-644-3701,
jartwright@nbpd.org
PREPARED BY: Corey Wolik, Lieutenant, cwolik@nbpd.org
PHONE: 949-644-3681
TITLE: Conversion of Boardwalk Ambassador Program to Boardwalk and
Quality of Life Enforcement Program
ABSTRACT:
This item serves as notification to the City Council that the Police Department will be
converting the Boardwalk Ambassador Program to a new Boardwalk and Quality of Life
Enforcement Program using existing funding allocated to the Police Department budget.
The Boardwalk Ambassador Program uses contracted services from Contemporary
Services Corporation (CSC) and is currently funded at $200,000 per fiscal year. The new
program will use the existing funding to deploy police officers and parking control officers
on overtime to work directed enforcement assignments dealing with boardwalk safety
issues and quality -of -life issues throughout the City. The existing contract with CSC will
be cancelled in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because
this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly;
and
b) Receive and file.
DISCUSSION:
The Police Department began the Boardwalk Ambassador Pilot Program in February
2021 using contracted services from CSC. The boardwalk ambassadors worked the area
of the boardwalks, piers and adjacent areas, proactively addressing problems with
bicycles speeding on the boardwalk, surreys on the boardwalk, skateboarding, and similar
issues that are important to residents. The boardwalk ambassadors were tasked with
providing guidance to users of those areas on relevant municipal codes and state laws,
seeking to gain voluntary compliance while providing a positive presence representing
the City of Newport Beach (City).
Conversion of Boardwalk Ambassador Program to
Boardwalk and Quality of Life Enforcement Program
May 23, 2023
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Upon completion of the pilot program, the City Council approved funding for a permanent
program in the amount of $200,000 per year. A Request for Proposals (RFP) process
was then conducted to select a long-term vendor. Upon completion of the RFP process,
the pilot program vendor, CSC, was awarded a five-year contract with the City. The term
of this agreement was effective January 1, 2022 through December 1, 2026, unless
terminated earlier as set forth in the agreement.
In April 2023, discussions took place regarding converting the Boardwalk Ambassador
Program to a new "Boardwalk and Quality of Life Enforcement Program" using the
existing funding. This program will allow for the deployment of Newport Beach Police
Department employees — police officers and parking control officers (PCOs) — to work
directed enforcement assignments dealing with boardwalk safety issues and quality -of -
life issues throughout the City on overtime.
Unlike the Boardwalk Ambassador Program, Police Department employees assigned to
the Boardwalk and Quality of Life Enforcement Program will be able to take enforcement
action in conjunction with providing education on relevant statutes and codes. This will be
achieved with verbal counseling and guidance, but also with citations written for California
Vehicle Code (CVC) and Newport Beach Municipal Code (NBMC) violations, and arrests
when appropriate. Furthermore, officers will be working with and at the direction of the
Peninsula Enforcement Team sergeant and lieutenant. They will work specific and
directed operations, providing enforcement and education along our boardwalks and
working with our Homeless Liaison Officer to offer education, outreach and enforcement
(when appropriate) with our homeless and unsheltered community.
Objective: Officers will work directed enforcement in various capacities, with time split
60/40 between patrols directed at boardwalk safety and homelessness outreach efforts.
These assignments will be needs driven and tasked with both emerging and ongoing
issues.
Staffing: Two officers on overtime shifts of approximately six hours in length will work
primarily on Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the year, starting on Saturday,
July 1, 2023 and running through June 30, 2024. There will also be shifts scheduled on
holidays, such as Labor Day and Memorial Day. Hours of assignment are flexible and
dependent on tasking for that day. Options are as follows:
• 12 p.m. — 6 p.m.
• 2 p.m. — 8 p.m.
• 4 p.m. — 10 p.m.
• 6 p.m. — 12 a.m.
A total of 158, two -officer shifts would be scheduled throughout the fiscal year as
described above, with officers working Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays as needed,
for a total of 316 six -hour shifts as described in the table below.
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Conversion of Boardwalk Ambassador Program to
Boardwalk and Quality of Life Enforcement Program
May 23, 2023
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Costs, discussed in detail below, are also included for reference.
ANNUAL STAFFING
Days
158
Six -hour shifts
316
Total hours
1,896
Costs (@$100/hour)
$189,600
Costs - Future Fiscal Years: Costs for the program are calculated using an average
overtime hourly rate of $100 per hour, a similar estimated figure used for Office of Traffic
Safety grant funded activities. The 1,896 hours listed are estimated to cost $189,600 per
year, based on current negotiated rates of pay. The remainder of the $200,000 annual
funding ($10,400) will be used to increase staffing as needed for special events or to
address unforeseen demands.
This is relatively consistent with the current staffing model with the CSC Boardwalk
Ambassadors, with the exception of the summer months (July and August) where CSC
staff is scheduled to work every day of the week.
Costs - Current Fiscal Year: Current estimated Boardwalk Ambassador Program
expenditures for FY 2022-23 show a projected savings of $27,147. These savings will be
utilized in the months of May and June 2023 to begin the new Boardwalk Safety and
Quality of Life Enforcement Program by filling overtime shifts as described above.
Focus of Effort / Operational Enforcement and Outreach Plan
Peninsula Enforcement Team (PET) Enforcement Duties:
1) Officers will work directly with the PET on any given occasion, and at the direction
of the PET sergeant, on boardwalk safety and enforcement. This will include
education, citations, and arrests as appropriate.
2) Officers will also work on targeted problems in hot -spot areas and they will
coordinate with other divisions such as Traffic. They will conduct speed
enforcement operations on the boardwalk, enforce CVC violations, and deal with
other community issues and concerns regarding quality -of -life issues.
3) They will utilize a patrol vehicle, bicycles, beach quad runners, beach truck, and
conduct foot -beat patrols. Officers will also serve as a visual deterrent while out on
patrol. They will make themselves available to community members and visitors
during this assignment.
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Conversion of Boardwalk Ambassador Program to
Boardwalk and Quality of Life Enforcement Program
May 23, 2023
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Homeless Liaison Officer (HLO) Enforcement and Outreach:
1) Officers will work directly with, and at the direction of, both the PET sergeant and
the HLO. Their duties and assignments will be task- and needs -driven. They will
focus on such things as quality -of -life issues and outreach, and will take action
when necessary (including, but not limited to: warnings, NBMC and CVC citations,
and arrests when appropriate). Officers will also work with City -contracted
agencies, such as Be Well OC and City Net.
2) Officers will conduct regular checks of parks and restrooms occupied by the
unsheltered community.
3) PCOs will be utilized to assist with directed enforcement for our public parking
lots. They can assist with parking and camping issues, as well as directed
enforcement regarding Municipal Code violations, in those affected areas. PCOs
can also help find and locate individuals living in their vehicles who have not yet
been identified. (There is an aging community that shelters in their vehicles and
may be in need of outreach or assistance.)
4) We will also work in partnership with Code Enforcement to better address and
properly handle calls for service utilizing assets from each department.
This is a general guideline, which outlines the majority of duties and tasks expected of
those officers who are assigned to work the Boardwalk and Quality of Life Enforcement
Program.
There are numerous benefits in utilizing police officers to focus on the aforementioned
issues. Having the ability to take enforcement action when necessary, coupled with the
education and outreach component, gives the Police Department the ability to have a
greater impact in our overall efforts to address the problems and issues within our
community.
Performance Measures: Measuring the performance of the Boardwalk and Quality of
Life Enforcement Program will be accomplished by tracking funding, staffing hours, and
field activity. Funding will be allocated to an account separate from general Patrol
overtime and a new payroll code will be used to track staffing hours utilized. In addition,
two new dispatch call -types have been created to enable tracking of operational activity,
including time spent on dispatched or officer -initiated calls for service. Output measures
such as number of citations, incident reports, and arrests can also be tracked to measure
program performance.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The adopted budget includes sufficient funding for this program. $200,000 in annual
funding will be transferred from the Contractual Services account in the Police
Department (01035353-811008) to a new overtime account in the Police Department
specific to this program (01035353-713001-BRDWK).
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Conversion of Boardwalk Ambassador Program to
Boardwalk and Quality of Life Enforcement Program
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ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not
result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment)
and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA
Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no
potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of
the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
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