by Kim Hogstrom
Daily Court Review
In a lengthy and lively discussion on Wednesday, Houston City Council tagged an ordinance to authorize spending $750,000 from the General Fund for the renewal of an advertising contract designed to recruit officers for the Houston Police Department.
Mayor Pro tem Adrian Garcia presided as council members expressed concerns regarding the one-year contract with Patriot Advertising, Inc., including HPD’s accountability and the effectiveness of the campaign.
The ordinance was officially tagged by Council members Pam Holm, Jolanda Jones, Ronald C. Green, Peter Brown, and Jarvis Johnson. Several other councilmember spoke publically of their concerns. The number and ardor of the members expressing apprehension regarding the expenditure prompted Mayor Pro tem Garcia to identify the agenda item as "Severely tagged."
"My office has tried to get information (concerning the effectiveness of the advertising)," said Councilwoman Pam Holm District G. "We were told this information was totally unavailable. I got rhetoric but I didn’t get answers. I have a real problem with continuing a contract without knowing how effective it has been so far."
"I’ve been banned from getting this information from our public affairs person. I had to go to the legal department to get my information," added Councilman Ronald C. Green At large Position 4. "I believe we need to get (the) information from HPD… truthful information. The real issue may not be advertising. The issue may be management and the whole recruiting process."
"I share all my colleagues’ concerns and questions," said Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck, District C. "I too would like to know exactly how many recruits can be attributed to the Patriot contract."
"A question has come to my attention," added Jarvis Johnson District B. "Is the problem advertising or is it the city’s requirements for the job? While I think we should do the very best screening applicants, and find the people of the highest possible integrity, keep in mind that we take one out of 15 applications.
"Many of our officer (candidates) are not able to qualify. There may be some minor infraction in their background…Some may have credit problems, bankruptcy or a divorce. I think we should take a look at that."
Mayor Pro tem Garcia is, himself, a 23-year veteran of the Houston Police Department and, in January, 2008, announced he is running for Harris County Sherriff.
"I think my colleagues have good questions," Garcia told the Daily Court Review following Wednesday’s council meeting. "Council members are attempting to quantify a financial commitment the city is making with a vendor.
"We are budgeting for seven (police) academy classes and we want to see them all full. I think what you are hearing is that we haven’t been doing well in previous academy classes, haven’t been filling them up as much as we would like.
"I just want to keep the item in context. From the human resource perspective, in this day and age, we are competing with the private sector. We’re looking for people who have two years of college and a tremendous personal integrity record. These people are highly sought after in the private sector and have the potential for a six-figure income waiting for them.
"Yes, I am defending the contract," Garcia stated without hesitation.
According to the Mayor Pro tem, the $750,000 will be spent on advertisements in the media and on the internet. Additionally, he stated that HPD academy classes in the past have included 50 to 55 recruits for 70 possible positions. Since the introduction of the recruiting campaign; classes have grown to about 65 candidates. Garcia attributes the increase to advertising.
"However, I do think my colleagues are fair in their criticism, questions and concerns," he concluded.