PLANT OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE
This chapter reviews the plant operations and maintenance functions of Houston Community College System (HCCS) in the following sections:
- A. Organization and Management
- B. Facilities Condition and Planning
- C. Construction Program Management
- D. Custodial and Maintenance Operations
- E. Energy and Conservation Management
- F. Safety and Security
F. SAFETY AND SECURITY
A safe and secure environment is essential for students, faculty and other system employees. A safety and security program includes prevention, intervention and enforcement, as well as cooperation with municipal and county governments. Safety and security fall into two distinct departments at HCCS.
Safety falls under the Facilities Department and has responsibility for HCCS, as well as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) type workplace inspections, slip-and-fall investigations, injury reports, asbestos surveys and indoor air quality certifications. The Safety Department consists of three degreed and certified safety practitioners. A part-time secretary is shared with other departments. The department manages, produces and monitors the HCCS safety-related policies and procedures manual, which addresses safety and loss control, emergency procedures, health, environmental recycling and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all facilities at HCCS.
The Safety Department uses the services of outside consultants to conduct specialized assessments and using three firms predominately for outside consulting support. The historical contracted amounts are budgeted for $41,000 in 2002-03. The department is implementing a computer program to track safety-related problems and monitor their inspection and remediation process. The program includes five baseline checklists tailored for future inspection based upon findings of the previous inspection. Because staffing is limited, the campus coordinators conduct building inspections on their respective campuses and report the findings back to the Safety Department. The Safety Department then makes spot checks to verify that all safety related deficiencies have been corrected. The Safety Department has developed and produced a quick reference guide detailing emergency procedures. The guide provides direction for emergency situations, including fire, evacuation and chemical spill, medical, disruptive conduct and weapons on campus, terrorist threat and severe weather. It also provides emergency numbers and special instructions.
The HCCS Campus Police Department is a public service-oriented law enforcement agency charged with providing police protection to students, faculty and staff. It operates seven days a week and 24 hours a day and is staffed by commissioned, state-licensed police officers responsible for enforcing federal, state and local laws, as well as HCCS rules and regulations.
Police Department officers are trained to handle a full range of community college services, including emergency requests, fire emergencies, traffic accident investigations, auto thefts and any other unlawful acts. For the past two years, an interim chief of police has managed the department. The chief of police reports to the Human Resources Department. The department consists of a total of 63 police and security officers and has maintained this approximate staffing level for the past four years despite an increase of 806,472 gross square feet, more than 64 percent, since 1998. The Police Department has full- and part-time commissioned officers who are licensed and certified to carry weapons and make arrests (Blue Shirts). The department also has full and part-time security officers who do not carry guns, but assist the police officers in securing the colleges and conduct patrols (White Shirts). Security officers generally are staffed in conjunction with at least one police officer at each location.
Crime trends have increased, as evidenced by the following chart, which shows a 37 percent increase in crime calls from 2000 through 2001 during a period when the nation as a whole has experienced a decreasing crime rate. All college locations had crime increases ranging from 5 percent to 160 percent, which is further evidence that there are inadequate levels of policing and a shortage of personnel.
Exhibit 10-15 shows the crime activity by category at HCCS facilities for the years 2001 and 2002.
Exhibit 10-15 Source: HCCS, Police Department Investigation and Calls for Service Statistics by Location, January 2001; HCCS, Police Department Investigation and Calls for Service Statistics by Location, January 2002.
Crime Activity on HCCS Colleges
2001-02
Offense Central Northeast Northwest Southeast Southwest Main 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Robbery 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Auto Thefts 2 0 9 4 0 1 0 1 3 4 0 1 Burglary 12 9 9 16 3 20 0 7 13 14 1 3 Thefts 61 64 16 15 9 27 18 22 27 34 8 17 Burglary of Coin Machine 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Subtotal 79 73 34 35 14 49 20 30 43 52 9 21 Warrants 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Assaults 4 6 4 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 0 Domestic Violence 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Indecent Exposure 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Harassment 4 2 0 2 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 Criminal Mischief 0 19 3 9 3 11 0 4 6 8 7 10 Disorderly Conduct 5 7 3 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 0 Carrying Prohibited Weapon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Subtotal 19 37 10 13 7 13 5 7 8 15 10 10 Terrorist Threat 1 6 2 3 0 0 2 0 1 3 0 1 Arson 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Criminal Trespassing 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possession/
Narcotics1 6 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Failure to Stop and Give Info 4 0 4 0 4 0 2 0 8 0 0 0 Forgery 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fraudulent E-mail 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Other 3 9 0 3 0 2 0 2 1 8 0 2 Subtotal 11 25 11 10 4 3 4 2 11 13 0 3 Total Crimes 109 135 55 58 25 65 29 39 62 80 19 34 Annual Increase/
(Decrease)24% 5% 160% 34% 29% 79% Total Calls 2000 299 Total Calls 2001 411 Percent Increase 37% FINDING
The HCCS Police Department, which reports to the executive director of Human Resources, is understaffed and depends on part-time officers. There are not enough officers employed to ensure adequate coverage of all campuses. At times, only one police officer is stationed at any one of the campuses and must handle any duties that may arise. Full-time clerical support is not available, resulting in the officer spending a majority of time on administrative issues rather than patrolling the grounds and providing a security presence on campus. The officer position also issues student
identification badges, which is an inefficient application of administrative duties. Exhibit 10-16 shows that 120 hours a week is allocated to student identification administration by commissioned police officers.
Exhibit 10-16 Source: Interview with interim chief of Police, November 2002.
Weekly Hours Designated for
Issuing Student Identification Badges
By HCCS Police Officers
College Hours Central 45 Northeast 30 Northwest 15 Southeast 20 Southwest 10 Total 120 Part-time positions provide an adverse working environment for the Police Department because many are not trained in the student-oriented police service role. This makes the pay scale for part-time officers unfair to full-time employees.
Complaints by department staff indicate that starting salaries for police officers are too low to hire and retain quality individuals. The Police Department feels strongly that the pay, especially starting pay for officers, is a major hurdle in hiring staff to fill vacant positions. However, HCCS' pay scale for police officers ranges from $33,190 to $49,840, which is above that of its peer colleges. Exhibit 10-17 showsthat HCCS' starting and maximum salaries for police officers are the highest among its peers.
Exhibit 10-17 Source: TSPR Survey, July 2002, HCCS, Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2002-03, Detail Expenditures by Department, November 2002.
Police Officer Salary Ranges
HCCS and Other Texas Community Colleges
College Salary Range Low-End High-End Austin $20,866 $33,781 Collin $28,000 $32,000 San Jacinto $28,236 $32,232 North Harris Montgomery $28,179 $28,179 HCCS (Grade 8) $33,190 $49,840 Staffing levels for the Police Department have been constant and this has resulted in a severe shortage of officers at the colleges. This constant force level has not kept pace with the growth in space across HCCS campuses. The new campuses at Alief campus, Codwell Hall, Coleman Medical Careers, Town and Country and Stafford locations, have a combined total of over 470,290 square feet of additional space to patrol. A request for 20 officers was made in 1999 and a subsequent request was made to the executive director of Human Resources on May 22, 2002 for 10 additional officers. The executive director of Human Resources has not acted on either of these requests. The lack of officers has resulted in a high use of part-time officers. The 2002-03 budget request for salaried personnel totals $2.1 million while the part-time budget allocation is $1.2 million for part-time contracted service officers and $233,000 for overtime pay.
Security levels at the colleges are low, with reported high use of part-time contract police and security officers. This causes problems with the service level. (Outside officers attitude is not always in line with the student support role expected of police activities on a college campus.) An analysis of the hours of operation for each campus, combined with the desired force level, identifies a shortfall of 43.8 officers systemwide, based upon the desire to have a minimum of one police officer and one security officer on location at all times.
Exhibit 10-18 shows the recommended level of police and security officers at each location based on each location's daily and weekly building hours of operation and the COO's general request to have two officers on location at all times.
Exhibit 10-18 Source: HCCS, Interview with interim chief of Police, November 2002; with revised staffing levels, February 2003.
HCCS Police and Security Force Levels at Campus Locations
Location Shift Daily Officer Roster Total Hours Police Officers Security Officers Lieutenant Sergeant Days Central Campus Day 4 2 1 1 7 448 Evening 4 3 1 0 7 448 Midnight 2 0 0 0 5 80 Palm Center Day 0 1 0 0 5.5 44 Evening 0 1 0 0 5 40 Westwood Day 0 1 0 0 5 40 Evening 1 0 0 0 5 40 288 Campus Day 0 1 0 0 5 40 Evening 1 0 0 0 5 40 Eastside and Annex Day 1 4 1 0 7 336 Evening 1 4 0 1 5.5 264 Coleman TMC Day 0 2 0 0 7 112 Evening 1 1 0 0 5.5 88 Town & Country Day 2 2 1 0 7 280 Evening 2 3 0 1 6.5 312 Westgate Day 1 1 0 0 6 96 Evening 1 1 0 0 5 80 Northline Mall Day 2 2 1 0 7 280 Evening 2 2 0 1 5 200 Codwell Hall Day 1 1 0 0 7 112 Evening 1 2 0 0 5 120 Pinemont Day 1 1 0 0 7 112 Evening 1 1 0 0 5 80 Airline Day 1 1 0 0 5 80 Evening 1 1 0 0 5 80 West Loop Day 1 2 1 0 7 224 Evening 1 2 0 1 5.5 176 Gulfton Day 1 1 0 0 7 112 Evening 1 1 0 0 5 80 Stafford I Day 1 1 0 0 7 112 Evening 1 1 0 0 5 80 Stafford II Day 1 2 0 0 6 144 Evening 1 2 0 0 5 120 Alief Day 1 1 0 0 6.5 104 Evening 1 1 0 0 5.5 88 Bluebonnet Day 0 1 0 0 6 48 Greenbriar Day 0 1 0 0 6 48 Missouri City Day 0 1 0 0 7 56 3100 Main Day 1 3 0 0 7 224 Evening 1 2 0 0 7 168 Midnight 0 1 0 0 7 56 System Patrol Midnight 3 0 0 1 6 192 Total 46 61 6 6 5,884 Required FTE Officers with 40 hour weeks 147 Current Officers 63 Shortfall 84 Recommendation 105:
Increase full-time HCCS police and security officers.
The force levels should be increased to reach levels necessary to adequately staff the locations according to the building's daily operational hours. The administrative function of issuing student identification badges should be shifted to other office personnel, which will allow officers more time to provide a greater security presence. The reassignment of the student identification function to administrative personnel may not change the staffing requirement for police officers. Emphasis should be made to hire, train and retain officers who embody HCCS' policing presence. The benefit of full-time officers will include a greater police presence to change the upward crime rate trend, reduce part-time budget allocation and improve police service levels to the student population.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The chief of police submits revised staff requests to the executive director of Human Resources for approval. July 2003 2. The executive director of Human Resources approves request. July 2003 3. The chief of police recruits and trains additional officers. August 2003 4. The chief of police revises the annual budget to reflect full-time officer payroll based on a force level recommendation at each location. August 2003 5. The chief of police assigns officers according to duty roster to meet building operation and class scheduling hours. September 2003 FISCAL IMPACT
A total of 84 FTE police and security officer positions are required to staff the recommended force levels at all five colleges and the main administrative building. Assuming only 35 new officer positions as a conservative force increase at an average salary of $31,450, the total staff cost is $1,166,795 (35 positions x $31,450 average salary, plus 6 percent benefits = $1,166,795). There will be an annual budget savings for eliminating the part-time contracted service officers of $1,200,000. Finally, there will be an annual budget savings for eliminating overtime costs of $233,000. Therefore, adding 35 staff positions will result in a net savings of $266,205 beginning in 2003-04 ($1,200,000 + $233,000 - $1,166,795 = 266,205 savings).
Recommendation 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Increase full-time HCCS police and security officers. $266,205 $266,205 $266,205 $266,205 $266,205