Rude patrolman? Irate city co-worker?

    HPD's free mediation program may help

A patrol officer pulls over a speeding driver. The driver waits anxiously. The officer approaches the car with his hand on his gun. The driver's blood pressure zooms up.

“License please,” he demands gruffly. “Is this your car? Why are you out so late in this part of town?” he asks as he writes a ticket for an expired inspection sticker. Is he insinuating something?

The ticket must be dealt with. (There are instructions on the back.) But you think that officer was out of line and needs to be reprimanded. What can you do about it?
___________________________

Controller's Perspective ________

You could try filing a complaint with the police department's Internal Affairs Division (IAD). IAD, however, is designed for criminal complaints against officers, such as assault.

Thanks to HPD's free and highly successful Alternative Dispute Resolution program, chances are excellent you can resolve your problem by sitting down with the officer and talking through it. Yes, good ole-fashioned communication with a modern twist — mediation. With the help of experienced, neutral mediators, you discuss directly with the officer how you saw his conduct and then listen to his response. The confidential guided exchange often surprises both citizen and officer, and almost always satisfies both parties. Out of the 900 complaints ADR has mediated since 1999, only three cases could not be resolved.(The ticket itself cannot be discussed here. That's between you and a judge.)

“Hand-on-gun” and “rude officer” complaints account for many of the citizen complaints. Talking to the officer across the mediation table, a citizen learns that traffic stops are actually some of the most dangerous encounters officers have with citizens. Officers can run the car's plates, but have no idea who's driving. They have to be ready to protect themselves in case an armed suspect opens fire. HPD procedure requires an officer to approach a car with his/her hand on their gun.

Rudeness, however, goes against HPD policy. What an officer thinks is a terse (and efficient) request for information may strike the citizen as insulting or intrusive. Mediation gives officers the unique opportunity to hear how they come across and to improve.

The lessons are spelled out in black and white in a signed, binding agreement. Each agreement is different based on the participants' own statements. An agreement might include:

•    The citizen's acknowledgement that HPD policy regarding officer safety during a traffic stop has been explained to him/her;

•    The officer's apology for being rude or insulting, or the officers acknowledgement that he/she may have been perceived that way;

•    Both parties' acknowledgement of what happened;

The signed agreement closes the dispute as long as both parties comply with the agreement. The citizen could be held civilly responsible for breaking the agreement. The officer could face possible IAD investigation on a “truthfulness” charge if another complaint about courtesy is substantiated from the same citizen.

Mediation & Diversity

Houston's diversity is one of its greatest assets. As you may know, it even ranks high on the list of community assets that attract top college graduates and job seekers. It also presents unique challenges for HPD. Officers must deal with many cultures, languages and lifestyles. Misunderstandings occur easily. For this reason, it is imperative that the force continue to receive state-of-the-art police academy training and look for ways to bridge cultural divides.

Mediation of disputes works for business and personal problems. Before my election to council I took a course in mediation that allowed me to mediate disputes referred by the JP courts and in a voluntary dispute resolution program. It was tremendously helpful to learn techniques for getting to a resolution for the parties involved, and I have called on these skills as both a public official and on a personal level. I highly recommend seeking out training, even if you don't intend to use it formally.

When Alternative Dispute Resolution opened its doors in 1999, it provided in-house mediation services for HPD officers and departmental employees and was a true cutting edge program. In 2003, the service morphed into the expanded Citizen and Employee Mediation Program to include public, non-criminal complaints against officers.

City employee program

The program has proven so successful it's now expanding to all city employees with interpersonal workplace issues. City employee complaints must be referred by the city's Office of Inspector General (OIG). Another section of the ADR office handles employee sexual discrimination complaints.

For more information about ADR programs, call 713-308-3400 or check the city website at: www.houstontx.gov/police/adr/ .

Money Matters

The current edition of Money Matters, my monthly TV show, features the mediation program. It can be seen at 2 and 8 a.m. and p.m. on HTV (Comcast Channel 16, Phonoscope 2, TVMax 98 and Suddenlink 14).

Recycling now accepts far more plastics

Houstonians can now recycle most plastics at curbside, including those marked 1-5 and 7, and at recycling centers.

The only plastics not accepted are number 6, including styrofoam, as well as plastic bags, meat and food trays, food wrap, toys and furniture.

Recycler AbitibiBowater has committed $3 million to upgrade its Houston facility to process single-stream recyclables and has announced plans for further investments to "strengthen the recycling partnership with the city...to allow the city ... to proceed aggressively with a strategic plan for a sustainable recycling program.”

“With a single-stream processing facility in town, we will be able to provide more Houstonians with curbside recycling," Solid Waste Management Department Director Harry Hayes said.

The Controller's Office's annual Trends report is designed to provide City Council with a little historical perspective as they face the daunting task of passing a budget.

Controller's Office projections for general fund revenues for FY08 and FY09 show an overall increase of approximately 5.58% and 4.15%, respectively (not including transfers and pension bond proceeds). FY09's projected increase reflects continued increases in property tax, sales tax and both direct and indirect interfund revenues.

The report notes, however, that the FY09 projection for general fund revenue is $28 million less than the administration's FY09 proposed budget. The Controller's Office used the mid-range taxable value of $146.299 billion provided by the Harris County Appraisal District in April while the administration used an internally developed statistical Property Value Model, which returned a value of $147 billion. The Controller's Office assumed a 3% growth over prior year sales tax, and an additional $4.6 million for new Limited Purpose Annexations.

HFD fleet hums along despite old software

City fire and ambulance service "does not appear" to suffer because of a woefully inadequate computerized fleet maintenance system and numerous other problems, according to a City Controller's Office audit.

"The fire chief and the division director are already working diligently to correct ongoing problems. I anticipate a far more efficient division when we do our followup audit in a year," City Controller Annise Parker said.

The Houston Fire Department Fleet Maintenance Division spends about $8.4 million each year maintaining approximately 1,050 pieces of equipment located at more than 90 HFD sites.

Among audit findings:

•  Inadequate mission statement and goals as well as out-of-date management policies and procedures (corrected and updated);

•  A computerized fleet maintenance information system that lacks reporting, maintenance scheduling and functionality to support business processes (new software under consideration);

•  An apparent information gap between the division and upper HFD management related to fleet maintenance performance because of software reporting deficiencies;

•  Lack of controls to ensure that certain maintenance performed is not covered by a manufacturer's warranty;

•  Maintenance records for 2006 indicating that many vehicles and pieces of equipment received only one or two services for the year rather than the minimum of three.

Recommendations include:

•  Hiring a knowledgeable fleet maintenance expert;

•  More automated fuel-dispensing sites to better manage fuel usage and mileage data (in planning stage).

Auditors praised Fleet Director Thomas Dowdy: "All of the recent changes ... have been a direct result of his diligence, attention to detail, and his management style. Throughout the audit, the Division Director promoted candor and spontaneity from all of the mechanics and supervisors... and provided all documents requested. He and his staff have responded to suggested improvements by taking immediate action...".

Mir•Fox & Rodriguez conducted the audit for the Controller's Office.

City still enjoying brisk sales tax revenues

The city's projected general fund surplus jumped from $8 million to $12.1 million in one month, City Controller Annise Parker reported.

The city controller's Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR) for the period ending May 31 noted a a $1.7 million decrease in projected departmental expenditures and a $6.3 million increase in overall revenue projections.

Based on the latest property value data from the Harris County Appraisal District, the Controller's Office decreased its property tax projection by $258,000. Sales tax revenue, however, is projected to jump $3.9 million based on year-to-date activity through April.

On the expenditure side, the Fire Department trimmed expenses by $1.1 million because of lower overtime costs. Despite rising fuel costs, both the Parks and Police Departments cut elsewhere, reducing expenses by $312,000 and $984,000, respectively.

Mayor's Proud Partners deadline Aug. 15