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Council directs six-month evaluation of police staffing model after debate over outsourcing backup coverage
Summary
Faced with staffing shortfalls and rising overtime, the Windsor Heights City Council heard a police presentation on options including hiring to the budgeted 13 officers, operating at 12 with overtime adjustments, or entering a supplemental 28E agreement with a neighboring agency; the union opposed outsourcing and council authorized a structured evaluation period instead of immediate 28E implementation.
The Windsor Heights City Council received a detailed briefing from Police Department leadership and staff on May 4 about patrol staffing, overtime trends and a proposed supplemental 28E agreement with a neighboring agency to provide predictable backup coverage. The police chief said overtime runs hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in years with vacancies and presented a one‑year pilot 28E option with a flat fee estimated between $43,000 and $65,000 per year and a six‑month review to assess effectiveness.
Union opposition and operational tradeoffs: A union representative and Officer Nissen (union steward) spoke at length against outsourcing core patrol coverage, arguing the department already provides mutual aid, that sending overtime dollars out of the department would harm morale and retention, and that the union can manage coverage in-house for the near term. The union asked for a temporary in-house 12-officer model with reduced overtime for six months and promised to step up on overtime to cover gaps if needed.
Council direction and data collection: Council members pressed for baseline call-volume data and clarified that any evaluation must compare apples-to-apples: e.g., staff were asked to collect daily CAD-derived metrics (incident arrival times, duration, mutual-aid calls, and instances requiring a secondary responding officer). Council agreed to pursue a structured evaluation period (six months with a three-month interim check) rather than immediately entering a costly long-term 28E contract. Staff will track calls for service, supplemental aid usage and overtime to determine whether a supplemental 28E would be necessary or cost-effective.
What’s next: Staff will implement the agreed data collection and report back to council, including potential cost offsets from overtime savings and a recommendation on whether to move forward with a 28E after the evaluation period.
