Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Sacramento Bee: Sac City Proposed Budget May Cut 167 Police Jobs

Sacramento budget would trim 167 Police Department jobs

Published: Wednesday, May. 18, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
Through five years of budget cuts, the Sacramento City Council hasn't faced a situation like this.

For the first time in this economic downturn, City Hall is facing the very real prospect of laying off police officers, part of a proposal to fill a citywide $39 million deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Cuts to the Police Department – the most severe the department has faced in several years – were presented Tuesday night during a tense council hearing. The council will vote next month on a final budget plan.

In an attempt to slash $12.2 million from the Police Department's budget, 80 police officers would be laid off and dozens more clerical and crime scene jobs slashed, a total of 167 full-time positions, most of which are filled.

As a result, specialty units that chase down gang members and drug dealers, investigate auto crashes and patrol downtown would be erased.

The reductions in staffing would result in a Police Department only slightly larger than the agency that patrolled the city in 1990 – when Sacramento had 100,000 fewer residents, Police Chief Rick Braziel said.

The impact would be severe: The department would be unable to respond to most misdemeanor crimes, would not send officers to most home burglaries and traffic accidents, and would be unable to staff special events with on-duty officers.

"We will see an increase in crime," Braziel said.

Of the officers slated to be slashed, 35 are funded by a federal grant that the city would surrender if it lays off any cops. The city will request an economic hardship waiver to maintain the funding for those jobs should the layoffs be approved by the council.

An estimated 300 police officers showed up for Tuesday's hearing.

The head of their union, Brent Meyer, said the show of force was "not a scare tactic," but that the council would be making "life and death decisions" over the next few weeks as it debates the final budget.
"We cannot afford to let the city gamble with our public safety," said Sondra Betancourt, president of the Ben Ali Community Association.

While the layoffs would be the first for the Police Department in recent memory, the department has absorbed more than $23 million in cuts since 2009. More than 100 positions have gone unfilled as a result of those cuts.

The council may not be able to avoid cutting the department more this year. Should the budgets of the Police and Fire Departments go untouched, other city departments would be decimated – and in some cases, all but eliminated, budget officials said.

"I don't know how we would pay our bills," said Betty Masuoka, who is serving as chief deputy to interim City Manager Bill Edgar.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said the council should place a parcel tax on the ballot to fund police and fire protection.

Mayor Kevin Johnson and Council members Rob Fong and Bonnie Pannell were absent from Tuesday's pivotal hearing. Johnson was representing the Sacramento Kings at the NBA draft lottery outside New York, Fong was out of town on business and Pannell was mourning the recent death of her mother.

"The mayor would not miss a vote (on the budget)," said Johnson's special assistant, R.E. Graswich. "He has difficult choices to make as mayor and it's important for him to represent the city on the national stage (at the NBA draft lottery)."

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