City Council Meeting Date: December 7, 2021
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Mark Elliott, Chief of Police
Title
Consider approval of a new three-year School Resource Officer agreement between the City of Northfield and Independent School District No. 659.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council is asked to consider at Motion approving the attached Police-School Resource Officer agreement between Independent School District No. 659 and the City of Northfield and authorizing the Mayor, and City Clerk to execute the agreement.
Summary Report:
The Council is asked to approve the agreement between Independent School District No. 659 (School District) and the City of Northfield for the City to provide a licensed police officer to perform the duties of a Police School Resource Officer (SRO) as described in the agreement.
This agreement is crucial to the partnership between the City of Northfield and the Northfield School District. The SRO has been the center of this long-standing relationship that benefits the City, the School District, and more importantly the students and families of our community.
The agreement has a duration of three years, January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024. Payment by the School District to the City for the SRO is $64,006 for each year of the contract, with the following exception for 2022. The School District budget year ends June 30, so the first payment of 2022 needs to match the current funds budgeted for the SRO payment. From the agreement, “SCHOOL DISTRICT shall pay CITY the sum of $29,361 for the period of January 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022. SCHOOL DISTRICT shall pay CITY the sum of $32,003 for the period of July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.” The second payment of 2022 is one half of the new annual payment amount.
The annual payments are based on fifty percent of the total wage and benefit expenses for the SRO. The reimbursement amount from the School District to the City has been updated to reflect current and anticipated increases to the total wage and benefits expenses for this position.
Generally, the SRO will spend a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of his/her annual hours worked (1040) in or at School District schools and functions during the school calendar year. When school is not in session, the SRO will function as, and perform the duties of, an officer for Northfield Police Department under the supervision of the Chief of Police or his designee.
The SRO facilitates and teaches the Drug Awareness and Resistance Education (DARE) program, acts as an immediate resource for school staff and administration on questions of law, community resources for addressing youth needs, facilitates social service delivery, and ensures safety of all students and staff on school properties. A large part of the role of the SRO is being present where the youth of our community are at, providing the opportunity for building trusting and lasting relationships.
This contract is essentially a continuation of the previous 3-year agreement signed in December 2018. The Northfield City Attorney has reviewed and approved the agreement, and the agreement is pending approval by the School District on December 13, 2021. City staff recommends approval of this agreement.
Alternative Options:
The alternative to this option is to not provide a Police School Resource Officer in the School District. Staff does not recommend this course of action as it is detrimental to both organizations and more importantly to the families and students of Northfield.
Financial Impacts:
With this agreement in place, the City will receive $64,006 annually as a 50% reimbursement for costs associated for one police officer assigned as the SRO; this is a significant impact on the Police/City Budget. However, more important are the non-financial impacts of this agreement and cooperative work between the Northfield School District and the City of Northfield in serving the youth and the families of the Northfield Schools.
Tentative Timelines:
After approval by both governing bodies, the agreement will be effective January 1, 2022.