However, because of the City Council & City Administrator's Actions they have left the city with Very little Resources in the way of Manpower, because there was a panic that was shivering through the Department. You cannot blame the older Employee's for leaving because it has been Rialto City's History to attack the Employee that has history with the city, and push them out. I am not saying that the City in any way pushed the Sgt.'s and Officers that left for Riverside, and the Riverside D.A.'s office, because at the time those Departments were paying a whole lot better then Rialto, since they had placed a money Freeze on the Police departments Budget.
Now that the whole thing is resolved the City Council was not thinking down the road, for they will not get anyone Rushing to beat down the doors of Rialto Police Department to work here!! This is why, They Forced the Rialto Police Benefit Assoc. To sign a Contract with a Retirement of 2% @ 50 yrs-of-age. When every other department with the exception of San Bernardino Police Department which has 3% @55 yrs-of-Age. Also they only increased the amount of Vacation time that you can have on the books. It was increased 100 hours. They do have an incentive of $5000.00 hiring incentive of you successfully pass probation then you get that money minus the taxes. Ontario, and Fontana Police have an incentive of $10,000.00 dollars plus they both have the 3% @50 Retirement package.
So the problems still are with Rialto, because the city council, The City Attorney, and The City Manager, Garcia All are short sighted as to what they need for a good, Happy Law Enforcement Department for the city!! I don't know what is going to tell them. All the city's in the Inland Empire have gone to a Better retirement Package, Better Hiring incentives, and Still Rialto Wants to purchase the Blue Light Special and hopes that it does the same thing that you get when you purchase the best, at the Full Service Store!!
BSRanch
Shortage takeing Toll
Robert Rogers, Staff Writer SB Sun
Voluntary Overtime Down at Rialto PD,
RIALTO - After six months of elevated workloads, a force withered by uncertainty and the weight of thousands of overtime hours is showing signs of strain, police leaders say.
In recent weeks, voluntary overtime shifts have gone unfilled, leaving command staff no choice but to make the extra hours mandatory for officers.
"What we're seeing is that, as a group, our personnel are becoming less willing to volunteer for overtime," said interim Deputy Chief Tim Ousley, who has stressed repeatedly the keen focus he and other leaders have for signs of officer burnout.
"When people are working a 20 percent increase in workload for a sustained period, it affects them and their families."
Department statistics compiled through April indicate an unprecedented surge in overtime hours worked. Overtime hours through April were up to 11,286, a nearly 80 percent increase over the same period in 2005.
In a Police Department reduced to a total of 124 sworn and nonsworn personnel - the budget calls for 153 positions - the overtime hours equate to about 91 hours per worker over four months.
But, officers say, the distribution is not even.
"It's obvious that some burnout is happening," said Sgt. Andrew Karol, who heads the narcotics team.
"It's harder in general to get people to step into overtime, but some officers are definitely taking more. I'm always on the lookout for the signs. I can usually see it wearing on their faces."
Hardened by hefty workloads and the departure of colleagues during the political battle for survival after the City Council voted in September to dissolve the Police Department, officers have performed remarkably well statistically.
Through April, response times to emergency calls were down to 4 minutes 51 seconds, shaving 23 seconds off average response times during the same period last year, according to department statistics.
Figures for May and June were not available due to personnel shortages in the record-keeping.
Despite violent and property crime dropping overall from last year, the homicide tally this year is up. With nine homicides in the 100,000 city thus far, 2006 is on pace to vie for the deadliest year in more than a decade.
But don't blame that or any other number on officer fatigue, said interim Police Chief Frank Scialdone.
Scialdone said that while persuading officers to forgo time off to pick up a grinding patrol shift is tougher now than it was a few months ago, the weary department is still performing in peak condition.
"At no time has this situation compromised public safety in our city, nor has it ever put officer safety in question," Scialdone said.
Scialdone is set to hand the department over to a new chief. An eight-person panel, which includes Scialdone, will interview candidates for the job today.
He said Police Department leaders have been keeping their eyes open for signs of burnout.
"We've been keeping our fingers on the pulse in order to catch any problems when they're just starting, and now we're just detecting a little flutter, but we're not in full cardiac arrest."
Scialdone said he will meet with sergeants Tuesday to be briefed further on the status of rank-and-file officers.
Scialdone said there are basically two types of overtime, the special assignment overtime, like working Fourth of July, and the routine patrol overtime. The latter is harder to fill, he said.
Officer Glen Anderson was weary Wednesday morning after working through the night on the Fourth of July.
"The heavy workload affects everyone," said Anderson, who estimates that he works about 20 overtime hours per pay period, or about 10 a week. "But we're making do with what we have, and we know relief is just around the corner."
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