From: Patricia Seffens
To: CityCouncilListPublic
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Unit 9 Police - Input regarding budget reduction hearing Date: Monday, April 14, 2025 5:38:38 PM
Dear Members of the Santa Rosa City Council,
We are writing to you on behalf of the Police Managers represented by the Santa Rosa Police Management Association to express our serious concerns regarding the potential budget cuts to the police department.
We want to begin by acknowledging the incredibly difficult position you are in as you face the realities of our city’s budget deficit.
Balancing limited resources with the diverse and growing needs of our community is no small task, and we recognize the weight of responsibility that rests on your shoulders. The decisions ahead are undoubtedly challenging, and we appreciate the time,
thoughtfulness, and dedication each of you brings to this process.
As your dedicated law enforcement professionals, we believe it is crucial to highlight the implications these cuts could have on public safety and the effective supervision of our officers.
Over the past several decades, Santa Rosa has experienced significant population growth, yet our police staffing levels have not kept pace. In 1990, the city population was 120,644, and the police department was staffed with 211 employees, translating to 1.19 officers per thousand residents. By 2008, prior to the housing market crash, the population had risen to 156,841, with the police department increasing to 275 personnel—1.21 officers per thousand residents. However, in 2025, with a population of 175,845, our current staffing has dwindled to 262 total employees (184 sworn and 78 civilians), resulting in just 1.05 officers per thousand residents.
This marks a 12.5 percent decrease in officer availability per capita since 1990, alongside a staggering 21 percent reduction in civilian staff.
These statistics illustrate a worrying trend: as our community grows, our capacity to ensure public safety has diminished. A direct result of budget cuts, this reduction in manpower means fewer supervisors —specifically sergeants—are available to guide and oversee our officers in the field. The span of control is critical in law enforcement; it ensures that officers receive the necessary supervision, training, and support required to perform their duties effectively and safely.
With diminished supervisory staff, we are jeopardizing the quality of oversight and mentorship our officers need, which could lead to increased risks for both personnel and the community and liability for the City.
A well-staffed police department is vital for maintaining order and ensuring rapid responses to incidents, particularly in times of crisis.
Cutting the budget further will impair our ability to provide essential services and may negatively impact response times, community engagement, and proactive policing efforts. This is a time when our community needs confident and visible law enforcement more than ever.
We urge the council to consider these implications seriously as you deliberate potential budget cuts. We are committed to serving and protecting our community to the best of our abilities, but without adequate resources and staffing levels, our efficiency and effectiveness in safeguarding public safety will be compromised.
Thank you for your attention to this vital matter. We are hopeful that you will prioritize the safety of our community when making your budgetary decisions.
Sincerely,
Patricia Seffens
President
Santa Rosa Police Management Association
From: Scott Kincaid
To: CityCouncilListPublic
Cc: CMOffice
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Budget Cuts - NO CUTS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT PLEASE Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 11:26:31 AM
Importance: High
Good Morning Santa Rosa City Council Members,
I encourage you to maintain your commitment to public safety and find a way to maintain existing funding levels for the Santa Rosa Police Department. SRPD is making incredible headway in removing guns and drugs from our streets and any cut to that would be a detriment to our society, quite literally.
You need only turn on the local and national news to hear constant stories about safety concerns, business closures, increased crime, increased drug use, increase homelessness challenges, amongst many other unintended societal challenges in cities where law enforcement budgets were cut.
It is the beginning of a downward economic
spiral that will continue to have negative impacts on future budgets. The societal damaged caused is not something that is easily undone. In my previous career we had a client with a mortgage origination business that was booming. One of their many successes was running an advertisement on NBR radio in the mornings. When asked what their plan was when the market turned, they stated that they would quadruple their radio add spending. This is all to say that when times get tough you can actually consider increasing an investment to drive business and economic expansion forward.
Please make cuts elsewhere and maintain current
law enforcement spending as it will pay dividends. Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully Submitted,
Scott
Scott Kincaid
Owner | Project Manager
Facility Development Company
5329 Skylane Blvd.
Santa Rosa, CA. 95403
www.fdc-comp.com
[email protected]
707 523 1722 Ex. 3
707 523-1745 Direct
707 526 4980 Fax
707 495 7058 Cell
CL# 762651
“Commercial, Industrial, Residential & Design Build Construction Services”
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From: Robyn McKeon
To: CityCouncilListPublic
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: **Please do not eliminate the Dispatch Supervisor position** Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 11:56:08 AM
Addendum to Original Message:
I’d like to add that Dispatch Supervisors are also responsible for overseeing and assisting with the saving of recordings of phone calls and radio traffic related to calls for service, as well as following up on additional records requests from the District Attorney’s Office—another vital, yet time-consuming administrative task.
I cannot overstate the critical role our Dispatch Supervisors play in ensuring the smooth, efficient, and accurate operation of our communications center. Maintaining this position is essential, as their responsibilities encompass leadership, administrative, technical, and operational duties. They provide crucial oversight by monitoring day-to- day activities and coordinating emergency response during critical incidents or large-scale events—such as the Tubbs Fire or the protests in 2020. They also facilitate mutual aid and multi-agency communication when necessary and serve as the department’s liaison between dispatchers, field personnel, sergeants, and command staff.
Ultimately, their work directly impacts the safety and well-being of the citizens of Santa Rosa.
On Apr 15, 2025, at 11:32 AM, Robyn McKeon
< > wrote:
Dear City Council,
I am a dispatcher with the Santa Rosa Police Department, and I respectfully urge you to reconsider the proposed elimination of one of the three Dispatch Supervisor positions during the upcoming budget discussions. Removing one of these key roles would significantly increase the workload for the remaining two supervisors and negatively impact the overall effectiveness of our operations.
As a 24/7/365 operation, our dispatch center plays a critical role in ensuring public safety for the residents of Santa Rosa. We are the vital link between individuals calling 911 in times of crisis and the first responders who arrive on scene to help. Our center operates 168 hours per week, and under the proposed cut, only two supervisors would remain—whose schedules overlap for just four hours per week for meetings and otherwise provide approximately 72 hours of
supervisory coverage. That would leave nearly 100 hours each week with no direct supervision or support. As a result, supervisors may be responsible for managing employees with whom they have as little as four hours of face time per week. This lack of consistent interaction not only affects dispatcher morale, but also weakens the supervisor-employee relationship and limits effective leadership and support.
With nearly 30 dispatchers in our department—most of them full-time—Dispatch Supervisors are responsible for numerous essential functions, including training new hires and performing quality assurance for experienced staff. Every newly hired dispatcher must complete an intensive 12-month training program that requires ongoing, hands-on oversight. Trainees work closely with a Dispatch Supervisor, who monitors, evaluates, and supports their development throughout the process. Even after training is complete, supervisors continue to review multiple phone calls per dispatcher each month, provide performance feedback, and ensure officer safety and customer service standards are met. These responsibilities are time-intensive but critical to maintaining the high level of service our community expects and deserves. Reducing the number of supervisors would significantly impair the ability to meet these standards and could compromise both service quality and responder safety.
Dispatch Supervisors also handle citizen and officer complaints, manage complex scheduling that requires a minimum of five dispatchers on duty during most hours of the day, and remain on-call to cover staffing shortages. I’ve personally seen our supervisors come in during the middle of the night to resolve urgent IT issues affecting our ability to do our jobs. They also routinely work beyond and outside of their regular hours to support dispatchers during critical incidents.
In addition, Dispatch Supervisors are responsible for maintaining a variety of complex systems. This includes acting as liaisons with County IT, as almost all dispatch centers in Sonoma County use shared computers and programming. They also coordinate with City IT and the Police Department’s internal IT team—each responsible for different aspects of our radio and computer systems—as well as with AT&T regarding our complex phone system.
Training management is another critical task. Dispatchers are required by the State of California to complete a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education every two years, and one of our supervisors is responsible for scheduling and tracking this training for the entire team. Another supervisor oversees our Tactical Dispatch Team, a group of four specially trained dispatchers who respond to support critical incidents. Additionally, one of our supervisors coordinates and schedules with elementary schools the
911 for Kids program, through which
dispatchers visit local schools to teach 1st graders how and when to call 911. Our Dispatch Supervisors also work closely with SRPD’s administrative staff to interview applicants and select candidates to move forward in the hiring process.
As a dispatcher, I cannot speak to every responsibility our supervisors manage daily. I can only share what I am personally aware of—and I am confident that I’m describing just a fraction of what they do each day.
Just this morning, there was a stabbing in the city. The on-duty Dispatch Supervisor stepped away from their administrative duties to assist with the increased workload created by the incident. While helping on the dispatch floor, the supervisor identified a license plate associated with the suspect's vehicle— information that directly led officers to locate and detain the suspects. This is just one example of how Dispatch Supervisors serve as vital, hands-on assets to our department and our community.
Eliminating one of these positions would reduce the critical support available during high-pressure situations and limit the guidance dispatchers rely on in complex, time-sensitive emergencies.
I urge you to carefully consider the long-term impact this cut would have on public safety and on our department’s ability to operate effectively and responsibly. I would also like to personally invite any member of the City Council who is interested to visit the Communications Center and sit in with me to experience firsthand the work we do.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Robyn McKeon
From: Adina Flores
To: CityCouncilListPublic
Cc: CMOffice; [email protected]
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Sonoma County Library Commission Approves $4M Roseland Regional Library Construction Project Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 3:18:11 PM
Attachments: Sonoma County Library Article - Roseland.pdf Good Afternoon Council,
I am grateful that the new Roseland Library project was approved by the Sonoma County Library Commission to move forward. I had questions regarding parking availability and public transit should the SMART Tiny Tax fail to renew. The tax failed miserably in 2020, and will presumably fail a ballot renewal. These financial forecasts should be discussed within the City's upcoming
budgeting sessions.
https://open.substack.com/pub/adinaflores/p/sonoma-county-library-commission? r=1np6xy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Thank you & God Bless.
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Kindest Regards,
Adina Flores