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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: September 15, 1995
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Manager of Building Management
SUBJECT: Additional Security/First Aid Coverage at City Hall
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council approve the provision of additional Security
Guard services at City Hall on weekdays between the hours of
12:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. in order to relieve the Building
Services housekeeping staff of security responsibilities
incidental to their positions. The estimated annual cost of
this additional service is $30,000, with 1995 funding of
$7,500 provided from Contingency Reserve.
B. THAT Council approve the provision of additional Security
Guard services for double coverage at City Hall between the
hours of 7:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. on a seven days-a-week basis.
The estimated annual cost of this additional service is
$42,000, with 1995 funding of $10,500 provided from
Contingency Reserve.
C. THAT Council approve the expansion of Security Guard services
from 1.5 to 2.0 FTE positions at City Hall during normal
business hours. The estimated annual cost of this proposal is
$15,000, with 1995 funding of $3,750 provided from Contingency
Reserve.
D. THAT Council approve First Aid training for all of the
security guard positions as discussed in this report.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Corporate Services RECOMMENDS approval of A,
B, C and D, noting that there are no offsets available in the
Corporate Services' operating budgets to fund these increases.
COUNCIL POLICY
City Council, on February 3, 1994, resolved that during the term of the
1994-96 Budget Management Program, any proposed increases in program
and/or service levels be offset by corresponding spending reductions
elsewhere in the City's operating budget or by increases in non-taxation
revenues, subject to Council discretion.
Council has generally supported the recommendations outlined in the 1993
report of the Safer City Task Force.BACKGROUND
The present after hours security at City Hall is comprised of a single
security guard on duty until midnight on weekdays, and 24 hours-a-day
single security guard coverage on weekends and holidays.
Security activities include unlocking the door for employees and Council
members entering and exiting the building after normal working hours,
and maintaining some surveillance of the building but keeping reasonably
close to the information booth located in the main foyer to monitor
activity around the main doors to City Hall.
DISCUSSION
1. Staff and Building Security
Security services at City Hall are provided at a relatively low level in
comparison to other office buildings in Vancouver. While our security
service is low cost, and free from any major incidents to date, there is
a growing concern among staff and members of Council that after hours
security is no longer adequate for our changing work environment (flex
hours, late meetings, 24 hours-a-day operations).
Along with growing regulatory requirements around violence in the
workplace, and personal safety concerns among staff generally, City Hall
contains a fair number of personal computers and other expensive
equipment which are vulnerable to theft and quick sale. Theft of
equipment, while not an everyday occurrence, is an expense to the City
in terms of equipment replacement and an inconvenience to our customers
when services are disrupted as a result.
Building Services staff assume security responsibilities at City Hall on
weekdays after midnight, along with their normal janitorial duties. The
housekeeping duties require staff to cover the entire City Hall complex
over the course of a shift. Consequently, their availability to
immediately respond to an emergency situation is all but coincidental.
For example, there have been a number of reported incidents by
Information Services' staff who service and maintain the City's computer
equipment at remote sites at all hours of the day and night, travelling
from/to City Hall as the need arises. These incidents all happened to
occur at or near City Hall after the Security guard had left for the
night. Fortunately, the events did not result in physical harm to staff,
but these staff were faced with no ready entry to the building and
limited options to address a perceived risk to their personal safety.
Besides the after midnight security coverage, this report recommends
double security coverage for week day evenings to accommodate special
Council and Committee meetings, and staff working on special projects,
flex hours or second and third shifts. Frequently the one security guard
on evening duty is called upon to respond to a building problem or to
assist staff, leaving the security desk in the rotunda unattended.
Staff wishing to enter or exit the building at these times have to wait
for the security guard to return. This is problematic for persons
waiting outside the building who feel particularly conspicuous and
vulnerable in the dark months of autumn and winter. With double
coverage, one security guard would always be in attendance at the
security desk to intercept visitors and monitor/control after-hours
access to the building.
The third area that requires increased security is the day shift
operation at City Hall. Until the last Budget Management Program, two
full-time security guard positions provided the necessary coverage for
the City Hall complex. With the elimination of one-half of a security
guard position through the BMP process, the remaining security coverage
tends to be stretched at times, resulting in long delays in responding
to building security situations when the one full-time security guard is
otherwise engaged. Our day time security service, at best, is barely
adequate to cover the needs of City Hall and its immediately surrounding
complex of City business offices. We believe that re-establishment of
the .5 FTE coverage lost to the Budget Management Program will return an
acceptable level of security services to the City Hall complex during
normal business hours.
It is also important to note that the Safer City Task Force conducted a
pilot audit of City Hall in 1992. One of their recommendations involved
the improvement of after-hours security along the lines proposed in this
report. Other Task Force recommendations, such as reducing dark spots
around the perimeter of the building, improving lighting, providing more
secure parking, have already been addressed by practical, easily-
implemented solutions.
2. First Aid Services
Following from the proposals in this report, we believe that the
security guards could supply a reliable first aid response to the City
Hall complex under the new model for Occupational Health recently
approved by Council. An additional benefit is that the City would be in
compliance with WCB first aid regulations for day and nighttime hours of
work and for evening meetings at City Hall. The costs to provide the
appropriate first aid training to all the security staff, and any
compensation for these added responsibilities, will be borne by the
Occupational Health Program. Other related issues such as the provision
of a First Aid Room, communication links with staff and back up support
will be handled by Human Resource Services.
CONCLUSION
Personal health and safety and asset protection are an ongoing concern
in the workplace. As the City moves forward in its initiatives around a
"Better City Government", new ways of conducting business, employee
lifestyle accommodations and extended hours of operation, all work to
heighten the need for improved security and emergency services.
The recommendations of this report address that situation.
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