Council approves new officers for South Lake Tahoe Police Department

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The current staffing level of the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) is 30 authorized, sworn officers, and even with this low number they are rarely at full staffing. During the summer of 2018, the department handled an average of 99 calls per day and had 196 incidents where no officer was available to respond immediately, and about 15 times a day they told callers to 911 the officer would be delayed.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council took action on Tuesday night to add two full-time officers. The vote was unanimous at 4-0, with Councilmember Bass in Washington DC on business.

Most shifts operate with three officers and one sergeant/watch commander. At the end of the 1990s, they had a staff of 54 officers and were able to follow the 4 + 1 model (four officers and one sergeant), but cut back during the budget crisis of 2011/12, something SLTPD hadn't thought was going to be a permanent staffing level.

Besides fewer positions, the department has had to deal with attrition due to retirement, medical reasons, transfer to other agencies, termination, resignation, and failure to complete training. Between 2007-2018 the average staff members lost were 4.25 a year though that number is starting to increase this year.

Injuries in 2018 led to 572 lost work days, a tough year for SLTPD since that number is about equal to two full-time officers. Having a larger staff would make it easier for the department to cover those missing days. Last year they paid out over $524,000 in overtime and this fiscal year looks to top that.

SLTPD Chief Uhler told the Council that while overtime is necessary for any city due to court dates and having to stay late to cover a problem, so it won't go away with two new officers but would be expected to go down. The average for the last five years for overtime pay is $428,598.

Back when there were 54 sworn officers from the police chief down there was a full SLEDNET staff (South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team) and a District Attorney task force. Two members of SLEDNET went to detective division of SLTPD and their department of five has a hefty caseload according to SLTPD Lt. Shannon Laney.

Having different activities to participate in also helps retention, giving officers options in their day-to-day workload. While they are not planning on bringing back SLEDNET or the DA Task Force, there might be other ways to add different tasks with a full staff.

Now that the department is approved for the two new positions it could be the end of 2019 before they are seen on the streets of South Lake Tahoe. The selection process is a lengthy one and includes a background check where about 75 percent of the applicants don't pass.

Laney said locals get bonus points in the process.

He said they have one from the Oakland Police Department that is almost ready to be hired but that person is also being sought by Sonoma, Calif. Departments across the state are looking to fill their forces, not just South Lake Tahoe. Laney said they offer average pay and benefits.

Of the 30 officers already approved by Council prior to Tuesday's meeting, only 15 are protecting the community on the streets via patrol 24/7. Five are in detectives, two are in the academy, three on in the SLTPD training program, two are injured and one spot is vacant. One is the high school's resource officer (where he is nine months of the year) and one is transitioning into the new position of Marijuana Mitigation Officer.

The cost to the City on the two new officers is estimated at $93,590 for the remainder of the fiscal year (FY) 18-19. In future years, the total additional annual cost is estimated at approximately $280,000. Chief Uhler will have to reduce other expenses in the Police Department budget and City Staff will need to look at cuts in other City departments to absorb this additional annual cost. It is likely that overtime savings and other salary savings due to vacancies will cover much of the additional annual cost.