Manteca Police will be adding four new positions and none of them are being funded by the general fund.

In doing so, it will take the number of full-time sworn police officers positions from 83 to 88.

It also means the City Council has increased the police force by 11 officers or more than 15% during the past four years.

That is addition to three more part-time support positions made possible by more robust general fund revenue plus an overfill sergeant position being covered by Measure Q receipts. The department is also getting a current part-time kennel assistant position at the animal shelter increased to full-time status.

Overall, the funding of seven positions is the most ever at one time in the history of the Manteca Police Department.

The City Council when they meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. are expected to approve the additional positions.

Three of the four new sworn police officer positions are the result of action the City Council took several years ago to impose a perpetual community facilities district fee on all new residential subdivisions submitted to the city on their watch.

The public safety portion of the fee goes exclusively to pay for frontline police and fire personnel.

The annual charge per house also factors in future street pavement costs for the new neighborhood. That not only means street work will be done in a timely manner in that neighborhood, but it won’t require raiding the city’s general fund to do so.

It is the first time the CFD overlay fee is covering new positions as it has taken several years for enough new homes paying the fee to cover the costs to be built.

They also imposed the overlay CFD as a condition on existing projects previous councils approved if the developers sought to change conditions imposed on their endeavors.

The most effective way has been requiring developers seeking to cut borrowing costs by securing infrastructure funding from a state pool of tax-exempt bond financing that needs buy-in from the local jurisdiction where they are building.

In exchange for the city’s blessing that encumbers no municipal funds whatsoever, developers agree to add the overall public safety CFD fee that is imposed in perpetuity.

The positions being added are:

*A police sergeant being funded by CFD fees.

*A police officer being funded by CFD fees.

*A police officer that will serve much of the year as a school resource officer that the majority of the cost is being funded by the Manteca Unified School District.

*A police dispatcher being funded by CFD fees. It is the first additional dispatcher position added since 2014 and brings the number to 14.

*A part-time kennel assistant is being converted into a full-time position.

*A part-time animal control rescue coordinator is being hired from the general fund.

*A part-time code enforcement officer is being hired.

*A part-time records clerk is being hired to replace a position cut in 2011.

That is in addition to an “overfill” police sergeant being hired with Measure Q funds to cover a sergeant that is in extended leave due to work-related injuries.

There are now four such “out of budget” positions being funded.

A large chunk of the cost is being covered in avoiding overtime. They are covering positions filled by officers injured on the job. Some have been able to return to light duty such as reviewing red light tickets but aren’t able yet to return to patrol.

Not only does the city having such overfill positions reduce overtime, it reduces the need for officers to work more than 10 hours a day plus allows for more robust patrol staffing.

“The CFD is doing exactly what we said it would do,” Councilman Mike Morowit said.

Morowit noted it is part of the council’s multi-faceted effort to improve public safety funding.

The other initiatives include securing passage of the Measure Q sales tax, negotiating with the county to increase its share of property taxes from new annexations, and securing concessions from new developments to pay for new fire engines costing $1.3 million each on top of growth fees.

Manteca is the only Northern San Joaquin Valley city with the CFD overlay for public safety.

As such, it means the city will be able to hire police officers and firefighters to cover the impact of growth.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com