Council
Communication

Office of the City Manager
 
 

Date

March 24, 2008

 

Agenda Item No.         33

Roll Call No.                08-

Communication No.    08-171

Submitted by: Richard A. Clark, City Manager

 

 

 

AGENDA HEADING:

 

Submitting training requests for Nancy Bobo, Robert Crouse, Jennifer Dakovich, Mike Matthes, James McKinney, Mark R. Miller, Rodell Nydam, Benjamin R. Page, Douglas C. Romig, Luke Wilson, and travel requests for T.M. Franklin Cownie and John Scarlett.

 

 

SYNOPSIS:

 

Recommend approval for training and travel requests listed below.

 

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

 

Amount:

 

  • Training
    • $1,443.00 (Bobo); $3,742.00 (Crouse); $1,500.00 (Dakovich); $2,500.00 (Matthes); $1,650.00 (McKinney); $3,505.00 (Miller); $4,626.00 (Nydam); $2,232.00 (Page); $2,382.00 (Romig); $5,275.00 (Wilson)
  • Travel
    • $2,154.00 (Cownie); $1,482.00 (Scarlett)

 

Funding Source:

 

·        GE001 HRI010000 – Human Rights – Services (Bobo)

·        SP324 POL982200 – Police – State Forfeited Funds (Crouse)

·        GE001 ENG100421 – Traffic & Transportation – Right of Way Management (Dakovich)

·        SP720 HRS980100 – CMO – City Wide Training/Benchmarking (Matthes)

·        EN002  POL100200 – Police – Airport Section (McKinney)

·        SP324 POL982200 – Police – State Forfeited Funds (Miller)

·        SP324 POL982200 – Police – State Forfeited Funds (Nydam)

·        SP720 HRS980100 – Parks – City Wide Training/Benchmarking (Page)

·        SP720 HRS980100 – Parks – City Wide Training/Benchmarking (Romig)

·        SP324 POL982200 – Police – State Forfeited Funds (Wilson)

·        GE001 MCC010000 – Mayor – Mayor & Council (Cownie)

·        SP324 POL982200 – Police – State Forfeited Funds (Scarlett)

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Nancy Bobo (R-0), Human Rights Commissioner, to Atlanta, GA, from April 8 – 12, 2008 ($1,443.00), to attend the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “2008 National Fair Housing Policy Conference.” The Conference addresses legal issues, Fair Housing Assistance Programs, and related issues/concerns.

Robert Crouse (NR-0), Sergeant, to Port Clinton, OH, from August 2 – 14, 2008 ($3,742.00), to attend the 2008 National Rifle Matches conducted jointly by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) and the National Rifle Association (NRA).  The competition provides officers a chance to enhance their skills while competing with other officers on a national level.  Officers Steve Schinkel, Stew Drake and Ben Carter will accompany Sergeant Crouse to the competition.

Jennifer Dakovich (R-0), Principal Traffic Engineer, to Chicago, IL, from July 6 – 9, 2008 ($1,500.00), to attend the Illinois Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineer’s 2008 annual conference. The conference will provide informational presentations regarding traffic engineering and how transportation, right-of-way, and safety issues are being handled throughout the Midwest and throughout the country.

Mike Matthes (R-1), Assistant City Manager & Acting IT Director, to Miami, FL, from May 5 – 9, 2008 ($2,500.00), to attend the Public Technology Institute’s (PTI) Technology Leadership Conference and Exposition.  The conference will examine emerging tools and solutions that governments are using to connect the different constituencies we serve: citizens, businesses and other agencies.

James McKinney (R-0), Sergeant, to San Antonio, TX, from April 8 – 11, 2008 ($1,650.00), to attend the Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network’s (ALEAN) Spring Conference.  The conference will facilitate the communication of law enforcement administrative leaders and intelligence officers of airport law enforcement agencies to address mutual problems common to the field of airport law enforcement and security.

Mark R. Miller (NR-0), Senior Police Officer, to Evansville, IN, from March 28 – May 8, 2008 ($3,505.00), to pick up and train a new police canine at the Top Dog Canine School.

Rodell Nydam (R-0), Senior Police Officer, to Huntsville, AL, from April 19 – June 1, 2008 ($4,626.00), to attend the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Hazardous Devices School.  The six week school consists of advanced training related to explosives safety, explosives range operations, explosives ordinance disposal techniques, threat evaluation, safe operations and tool use, robotics operation, and weapons of mass destruction site operations.

Benjamin R. Page (R-0), Assistant Park and Recreation Director, to Wheeling WV, from August 22 – 29, 2008 ($2,232.00), to attend the National Recreation and Park Association’s (NRPA) Directors School.  The school is designed to prepare new and potential directors of park and recreation programs for the challenges of leading and managing effectively. 

Douglas C. Romig (R-0) Park and Recreation Services Manager, to Wheeling, WV, from August 22 – 29, 2008 ($2,382.00), to attend the National Recreation and Park Association’s (NRPA) Directors School.  The school is designed to prepare new and potential directors of park and recreation programs for the challenges of leading and managing effectively.

Luke Wilson (NR-0), Senior Police Officer, to Huntsville, AL, from April 19 – June 1, 2008 ($5,275.00), to attend the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Hazardous Devices School.  The six week school consists of advanced training related to explosives safety, explosives range operations, explosives ordinance disposal techniques, threat evaluation, safe operations and tool use, robotics operation, and weapons of mass destruction site operations.

T.M. Franklin Cownie (R-2), Mayor, to Kofu, Japan, from April 3 – 9, 2008 ($2,154.00), to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Greater Des Moines Sister City Commission’s relationship with Kofu, Japan.

John Scarlett (NR-0), Senior Police Officer, to Washington, D.C., from May 13 – 16, 2008, to officially represent the Des Moines Police Department in providing a uniform memorial escort for the family of Officer Sean Wissink during a dedication ceremony for Officer Wissink at the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial on May 15, 2008.  Officer Wissink’s name will be officially placed on the Memorial Wall. 

The amount budgeted for travel in the Amended Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget is $502,726.  The amount expended for travel in FY 2008 as of March 18, 2008 is $217,243.  The amended FY2008 budgets for travel increased from $294,000 to nearly $503,000 primarily in two funds:  Airport (Enterprise) $7,500 and Police Seized Funds (Special Revenue) $197,000.  The General Fund budget actually decreased $1,000.  The Airport increase was to accommodate lobbying efforts in Washington D.C.  The Police Seized Funds are only available for use if there is current year generated cash or carryover cash balances from the prior fiscal year.  These funds are used by the Police Department to augment their general fund budget primarily in the area of specialized training and capital outlay.  The change in the budget for travel and training was as follows:

 

TRAINING DESCRIPTION                                       ADOPTED      AMENDED

Travel (more than 50 miles from Des Moines)      $  12,500         $210,000

Training (less than 50 miles from Des Moines)      $137,500             30,000

 

In FY07 the Seized Funds financed approximately $137,000 of travel for training purposes and with sufficient cash available, appropriations were adjusted to more accurately reflect police department activity.

 

 

PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION(S):

 

Date: January 20, 1992

 

Roll Call Number:  92-214

 

Action:   The City Council approved a revision to the policy for travel authorization requests.  Such revision requires trips that exceed three days and $1,250 be approved by the Council.  The number in parentheses indicates the total number of trips previously authorized for that individual for the current budget year.

 

 

BOARD/COMMISSION ACTION(S): NONE

 

 

ANTICIPATED ACTIONS AND FUTURE COMMITMENTS: NONE

 

 

 

 

For more information on this and other agenda items, please call the City Clerk’s Office at 515-283-4209 or visit the Clerk’s Office on the second floor of City Hall, 400 Robert D. Ray Drive.  Council agendas are available to the public at the City Clerk’s Office on Thursday afternoon preceding Monday’s Council meeting. Citizens can also request to receive meeting notices and agendas by email by calling the Clerk’s Office or sending their request via email to cityclerk@dmgov.org.