Resolution 2018-30316 RESOLUTION NO. 2018-30316
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH AND ITS POLICE DEPARTMENT TO PARTNER WITH
THE OCEAN DRIVE ASSOCIATION TO IMPLEMENT THE OCEAN
DRIVE TOURIST ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES PILOT PROGRAM
IN JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST OF 2018, WITH A TOTAL COST TO THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $46,000.
WHEREAS, the Ocean Drive Association has supported the concept of off-duty
policing, which has proven to be successful in providing a police presence on Ocean Drive,
the top tourist destination in South Florida; and
WHEREAS, Ocean Drive is in the public domain and across from acres of public park
and beach making public safety a critical priority and top concern for businesses and
residents of the community; and
WHEREAS, the Ocean Drive Tourist Oriented Policing Services ("TOPS") pilot
program combines the support of local Ocean Drive businesses and the City of Miami Beach
to emphasize and enhance public safety for residents and visitors on Ocean Drive in June,
July and August, some of the highest density months for tourism during the year; and
WHEREAS, as part of the TOPS pilot program, four (4) police officers and one (1)
police sergeant will work on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, targeting issues
threatening a positive Ocean Drive experience, including the sale of narcotics, prostitution,
illegal vendors, excessive car noise, aggressive panhandling, theft, assault and fraud; and
WHEREAS, the Ocean Drive Association has committed to fund the positions for three
(3) of the off-duty police officers, and the City of Miami Beach has agreed to award the Ocean
Drive Association a grant covering the cost of the fourth (491) off-duty police officer, and the
Miami Beach Police Department will bear the cost of the police sergeant, to be paid overtime,
in a total cost to the City of Miami Beach in an amount not to exceed $46,000.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City
Commission hereby authorize the City of Miami Beach and its Police Department to partner
with the Ocean Drive Association to implement the Ocean Drive Tourist Oriented Policing
Services pilot program in June, July and August of 2018, with a total cost to the City of Miami
Beach in an amount not to exceed $46,000.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 4 day o 4/6 , 2018.
ATTEST BY:
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Jw+e z o, tai Y t* •I4CORP hRATED • • EXECUTION
RAFAE E. GRANADO, CITY CLERK , ti
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New Business and Commission Reouests-R9 K
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Commissioner Mark Samuelian
DATE: May 16, 2018
SUBJECT: DISCUSSION REGARDING OFF-DUTY POLICING PROGRAM FOR OCEAN
DRIVE.
ANA'YSIS
A discussion on the respective roles of the City and certain Ocean Drive businesses in ensuring the addition of off-duty police to
promote public safety.
Motion (Finance Commttee, 3.13):Commissioner Samuelian motioned to move this with a position recommendation.
Conceptually the City is on board with funding pad of this and the businesses are going to fund part.As soon as the details are
worked out from Chief Oates,go directly to Commssion.Commissioner Steinberg seconded.
Looislative Tracking
Commissioner Mark Samue6an
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
After Action from 3.13 Finance Committee Meeting
D Ocean Drive TOPS Program Overview
31. DISCUSSION REGARDING POTENTIAL SHORT TERM PUBLIC SAFETY
ENHANCEMENTS SUCH AS HIGH-INTENSITY LIGHTING ON COLLINS
COURT
February 14, 2018- R9 V
Sponsored by Commissioner Samuelian
Police
ACTION
Commissioner Samuelian said that he would like to speak a little bit on the item and then
hear from a few people, one of them being Mike Palma from the Ocean Drive Association.
This item came up at Commission; there were some high profile incidents from a public
safety standpoint. He said we have tried to accelerate lighting which there has been
progress and license plate readers. This is an idea that has been floating around, related
to more policing on Ocean Drive. This discussion is about a collaborative effort where the
Ocean Drive Association would be participating and providing funding and also looking for
some support from the City. From April to August during the weekends, the first question is
whether we want to see more policing on Ocean Drive specifically on the West side of the
street, the second question is are we okay considering funding incrementally from the City
if the businesses step up. He thinks it is an intriguing concept and is well worth the time.
He thinks what we are going to hear is conceptually support from the business community,
our residents, and the Police Chief as well.
Mike Palma, Ocean Drive Association, spoke. He said that the Ocean Drive Association
began a due program and they are collecting dues, but this would be separate from that
program because he doesn't want to put more pressure on the members. This is basically
a cut out of 5 different businesses that have agreed to fund additional 5 officers for the
West side of Ocean Drive with a sergeant in charge of the group.We need to make it a
safer, cleaner environment. These officers would be looking at the quality of life issues that
they are having. He personally went to the businesses with Ceci Velasco, Executive
Director of Ocean Drive Association and they came up with a number they thought they
can handle for a budget. He recognized Chief Oates in being open with them and trying to
figure out how to do this and Ian Robinson as well has been helpful.
Daniel Oates, Police Chief, spoke. He said that they are excited to add up to 5 additional
officers on Ocean Drive in the concentrated area with the highest activity on Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday nights. He said we want to find a way to make this work. There are
some nuances associated with this; the most significant for him is that the labor union has
to agree to a different off-duty rate to work on Ocean Drive versus anywhere else in the
City. He said he has not achieved that agreement yet, there have been discussions about
it and he thinks we can get there. He thinks Mike has had some discussions with the union
president as well. Any time there are changes with the workforce there are some
concerns. The other challenge is finding the set of officers willing to work those hours. The
Ocean Drive Association generously offering a higher rate of pay is probably going to
make it easier to fill those spots. This is something that can be worked out, it obviously a
policy decision for the Committee whether it will be supported by paying for a portion of
those costs.
Jon Guzman, Miami Beach Crime Prevention and Awareness Group, spoke. He said that
they full support any action the City can take to make the place safer; there have been a
couple of videos on their site. He spoke on behalf of the group by saying they don't want to
take this anymore.There has to be more urgency, they support any type of urgency to
resolve these situations. People could have gotten killed; these videos could blow upon
us nationally and internationally. We have to be more urgent about it.
Commissioner Samuelian said the spirit here is short term, things we can do right away to
move the needle. This proposal that is not finalized yet will have incremental police,
potentially up to 5 officers on the west side of Ocean Drive as soon as April, if the logistics
get worked out. Specifically what we are talking about is if we are willing to fund a
sergeant,there has been a request for an additional officer, we can consider that. If there
is support, we should allow the Chief to work with the union; the businesses involved and
perhaps favorably move forward to the Commission pending those details get worked out.
He said that is the gist of what is on the table.
Commissioner Arriola said to Mr. Guzman's point there is a sense of urgency and he
thanked Commissioner Samuelian for bringing this up again. He said he wants to solve the
problem , he said the past 2 years he has been on the Commission we have thrown
money at the problem, we have closed down some problematic businesses.We have
increased lighting as well and still the problem persists. He said that Mr. Guzman's group
has been instrumental in identifying some chronic bad actors and making sure they go
away. He said he is willing to do everything to make the problem go away, but he is
looking to Chief Oates for any recommendations. He said we tried the 2 am, which was
one of the Chiefs recommendations and that didn't pass. He is willing to do everything
and anything to solve this problem. He said he is open to ideas including more police.
Chief Oates said it will be fabulous to have 5 extra police officers during those windows of
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights when they are needed. He said he is confident that
the union issues can be worked out. It is a policy decision from the Committee whether or
not some portion of the costs was traditional paid for by the operators and some portion by
the City.
Commissioner Arriola asked if we have dollars on this yet. John Woodruff, Chief Financial
Officer, said this just came up. Commissioner Arriola suggested some ball park figures to
know what 5 police officers and a sergeant would cost and what the businesses are
prepared to pay for.
Mike Palma said they put together a quick analysis and they sent it to the Commission.
Ceci Velasco passed out the analysis. Commissioner Arriola asked for Mike Palma to walk
the Committee through the numbers.
Mike Palma said this is for Friday, Saturday, 9 p.m.-5 a.m. and a 6 p.m.-3 a.m. on
Sunday. There would be 3 officers that the businesses would take the majority of at
$97,000 and the 1 additional officer and 1 sergeant are at $32,000 and $35,000, which
equals $67,000.
Commissioner Steinberg said she is a little bit confused because this said this was an item
about high intensity lighting and now are talking about police officers.
Commissioner Samuelian said this was referred from the Commission as under the
umbrella of short term public safety enhancements. We talked at the last meeting about
lighting on Collins Court, about license plate readers. The idea was what things we could
do in the short term. That was the umbrella and we have covered a couple of them,this
was another idea that surfaced for short term.
Mike Palma said this is a short term attempt. As they get Ocean Drive organized and the
membership fees are coming in, he is hoping by next year there is an allocated item and
they can in fact put more police and pay for it, whatever they need to do to keep it safer
and cleaner. This is a start, but they are dedicated on the back end to get the Association
to front more in the future.
Commissioner Arriola confirmed the days and hours that this would apply. Monday-
Thursday this wouldn't apply because they are fairly quieter.
Mike Palma said there would be 4 total officers and a sergeant, the businesses are going
to pick up the 3 and they are asking the City at some point to figure out how to pay for the
sergeant and additional officer.
Commissioner Arriola asked if the total numbers that were provided earlier would be for 18
week period. Mike Palma said yes. Commissioner Arriola said that the City's exposure
would be about$67,000 in salary and asked if there would be any additional costs. He
asked about any pension and benefits.
Chief Oates said that there are some nuances that need to be worked out; he believes that
the proposal is a stipend to go to the Ocean Drive Association and then all of this would be
off-duty work. Mike Palma confirmed, he said we need some money to be fund the
program because it would alleviate some of the other issues related to the City paying
directly which is more expensive.
Commissioner Arriola asked Chief Oates if we can find the officers to fill these positions.
Chief Oates said they have worked cooperatively in the past to try and fund a regular
group on these nights, the challenge has been getting police officers to volunteer to work
off-duty on Friday and Saturday nights, there are a few reasons why. The idea that this
rate is significantly higher than what we are paying for off-duty in the rest of the City, the
problem with finding volunteers they hope will go away. They are hopeful they will be able
to find the officers.
Commissioner Arriola said the City's financial exposure would be $67,000 for 18 weeks.
He is comfortable. This will give us some important data whether it works or doesn't work.
If it prevents chronic bad behavior, then it is a small investment with a high payout.
Ceci Velasco, Executive Director of the Ocean Drive Association, said 2 years there was a
pilot program with off-duty and it showed a significant decrease in crime during that time.
She said they did the security ambassadors last year, which was positive because of the
visual presence, but what they all determined was that off-duty was really the critical
solution that worked.
Commissioner Samuelian said this will have to go to the Commission of course and said if
Ceci Velasco has some of that data for the full Commission that actually showed we had
an impact he thinks that would be very helpful.The motion on the table and he is happy to
make it is that conceptually the City is on board with funding part of this and the
businesses are going to fund part. We look to Chief Oates to work the details and as soon
as he has the details worked out, given the urgency we would then want it to go directly to
the Commission.
Chief Oates said that the critical detail is reaching an agreement with the union. He thinks
that can be achieved, but he doesn't want speak for the union president.
Commissioner Steinberg said she is fine seconding the motion, but she asked John
Woodruff where this money would be coming from. She wants to make sure we can do
this if we say we are going to.
John Woodruff said that he would describe the City's situation as tight right now. He said
we would probably work with Chief Oates to take another look as we get to the second
quarter of the year we will have a much better idea if there are any potential savings within
the Police Department. Thankfully this is a number we can probably work with and we will
see what we can do. He said he thinks we can get there.
Commissioner Arriola said from what he remembers we still have a number of open
positions in the Police Department, he asked if that is correct, that maybe we budgeted for
but aren't yet filled. Chief Oates said yes, but we also have some challenges around
overtime this year too. Sometimes vacant positions translate into overtime.
Commissioner Steinberg said we are going to have a conversation about police officers in
schools for the remainder of the school year, which is going to tap into overtime also. She
wants to make sure that we are thinking of all of the priorities.
Jon Guzman said when talking about budget and number of police officers, etc, he said he
met with Mayor Gelber a week ago or so and we keep saying we are adding more officers,
but the chart he has seen here are about 400 officers and it dips a little bit but then comes
back and forth. That has been the level for 10 years we aren't adding police officers, we
still have the same amount. The officers cannot just keep doing shifts on overtime,
someone needs to make a policy decision, and we need more total police.We have the
same amount of officers and a lot more challenges. There are rougher crowds on Ocean
Drive and many other crazy people, that has changes dramatically and the personnel has
not changed to address it. He knows it is going to cost money, but this has to be the top
priority.
Commissioner An-iota agreed.
Commissioner Steinberg said overtime ends up costing more sometimes.
Commissioner Arriola said this Commission has been fully committed to funding and
adding police resources, technology, doing things to go after bad businesses.
Chief Oates gave some information on where we stand now in terms of hiring. There are
18 vacancies today, they are hiring 10 graduates of the police academy on Monday and
they hope another 6 people will be ready by April 2"d, they will be at virtually full staffing by
early April. The problem is that those 16 or 18 whatever they end up with is that it is
roughly 6 months before they count towards staffing because of all of the high level of
training they are required to do. He said they also expect 7 additional retirements in
August. They hope to be at near full staffing within a couple of weeks the department will
be paying for the officers, but they don't count towards staffing. They cannot be deployed
on the street for 6 months.
MOTION: Commissioner Samuelian motioned to move this with a position
recommendation. Conceptually the City is on board with funding part of this and the
businesses are going to fund part. As soon as the details are worked out from Chief
Oates, go directly to Commission. Commissioner Steinberg seconded.
Ocean Drive
association
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Mike Palma,Chairman
DATE: March 12,201.8
SUBJECT: Request for partnership in Tourist Oriented Policing Services—TOPS program
Ocean Drive businesses have supported the concept of Off-Duty Policing,which has proven to be successful in
providing a Police presence on Ocean Drive,the top tourist destination in South Florida.
This destination is in the public domain and across from acres of Public Park and Beach making public safety a
critical priority and concern for businesses and residents of the community. As such ODA is recommending a $10
per hour increase for this detail from $65 to$75. In this way we are ensured to fill the spots with a cohesive team.
An Ocean Drive Tourist Oriented Policing Services(TOPS)Program would combine the support of local businesses
and the City to emphasize public safety for guests and locals in this high traffic area. The upcoming months(April-
August) represent the highest density of tourism in the year. Hence,TOPS officers will target the following issues
which create the greatest threat to our customer's experience:
- Drug dealing -Panhandling -Solicitation
- Prostitution -Theft -fraud
- Illegal vendors -Assault
- Excessive Car noise -Vagrancy
This TOPS program is based on an 18-week term with 3 officers paid by business participants and 1 officer plus 1
sergeant paid by the City of Miami Beach. The 18 weeks would be from April 20'h—August 31". We have been
working closely with the Chiefs office on this program and feel confident that this program has the support of the
department.
The project would be active on every Friday,Saturday from 9pm until Sam and Sunday from 6 pm until 3 am. It
would cover the 81h-11th block of Ocean Drive.This cohesive effort would provide a visible and consistent presence
on the west side of Ocean Drive.
The total hours weekly for the scheduled program and costs—
8 hours per day x 3 days per week=total hours 24 hours
3 officers x 24 hours=72 hours x$75 per hour=$5,400 weekly x 18=$97,200
1 officer x 24 hours=24 hours x$75 per hour=$1,800 weekly x 18=$32,000
1 sergeant x 24 hours=24 hours x$82 per hour=$1,968 weekly x 18=535,424
The businesses are requesting that the City support the collaborative effort and fund the position of one Officer
and Sergeant for the 18-week program.
Participating Primary Businesses:
Wet Willies, Fat Tuesday, Mango's Tropical Café,Ocean's Ten,Clevelander