Police ‘lateral transfer’ approved

Portland Police Department has been approved for a new recruitment tool.

Police officers will also be paid for the unused vacation and holiday time this year.

Portland City Council on Monday OK’d beginning a “lateral transfer” program for the hiring of new officers and agreed to pay vacation and holiday time because of short-staffing for the bulk of the year.

Portland Police Chief Mitch Sutton asked council to approve a “lateral transfer” program — hiring officers from other departments. Sutton noted that new officers require 240 hours of ride-along time followed by months at the law enforcement academy. Meanwhile, officers hired from other departments in most cases would only need department-specific training and could be on the road and working in a couple of weeks.

He said departments that have a lateral transfer program offer financial incentives to potential employees.

“So we’re paying them for their experience,” said council member Matt Goldsworthy.

Sutton agreed, adding that it costs about $15,000 to put a new officer through the law enforcement academy, so an incentive for experienced officers could represent cost savings.

“I agree that it’s a good idea,” said council member Janet Powers, while expressing hesitancy about setting a sign-on bonus amount during the meeting.

Council members Don Gillespie, Michele Brewster, Mike Aker, Dave Golden, Goldsworthy and Powers, absent Kent McClung, approved the implementation of the lateral transfer program in order to allow Sutton to start recruiting, but held off on setting the incentive amount until its next meeting.

Sutton also explained that the department has been short-staffed — there were several retirements in the first half of the year and another recently — and that officers have been unable to take their days off. (In addition to the retirements, newly hired officers must spend time at Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.)

“Everyone else on the department has stepped up and either been working 12-hour days or working on their scheduled days off, just to make the place run,” Sutton said.

Officers must use their vacation and holidays within the calendar year, Sutton explained, but often this year they have not been able to do so.

Council voted to pay officers for the vacation and holiday time they are unable to use by the end of the year. The payout is good for only this year, with council members expressing hope that the department will be fully staffed in 2022 and not run into the same challenges.

Clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips estimated the payout will cost about $12,000 for vacation pay and $1,900 for holiday pay.

Council also gave final approval of its $8.3-million budget for 2022. The budget, which was approved on first reading last month, includes $3.78 million in the general fund, $1.18 million in the motor vehicle highway fund, $1 million in the insurance surplus non-reverting fund and $372,005 in the park and recreation fund. The projected tax rate is $1.92, down from the current $2.08.

In other business:

•Council set its next meeting — Nov. 1 — as the day it will consider a rezoning request from Oakland Gaerke to allow for the construction of a new site for his Clear Choice Chiropractic practice. Portland Plan Commission recommended approval of the request to rezone the portion of the former First Baptist Church property at its Oct. 7 meeting.

•Golden asked when council will be hearing a report from consulting firm Baker Tilly on its water and wastewater rates. The firm provided an update this summer and is expected to return with recommendations. Phillips said the report is likely to come next month.

•Boggs reported the following:

—Volunteers from Asbury United Methodist Church, Portland Main Street Connect and the city’s street and fire departments worked Oct. 10 to help clean-up the community. He thanked all volunteers for their efforts and said he hopes to hold the event again.

—He is working on his own suggestions for how the city should spend its federal coronavirus relief dollars provided through the American Rescue Plan Act. Council members have also been asked to submit suggestions in advance of discussing the topic at a future meeting.

—He, Portland Municipal Airport manager Hal Tavzel and Portland Board of Aviation president John Lyons attended the Aviation Indiana annual conference recently in Michigan City. Boggs said one of his take-aways from the event was the local airports are often underutilized. He said he plans to start efforts to better advertise and promote the opportunities the airport provides.