LAWRENCE — Paying more than $1 million in overtime to officers along with the rising gas and insurance costs of take-home cars is being questioned as the Police Department faces a $401,000 deficit next year.
Police Chief John Romero said five police officers will be laid off, effective July 1, due to the drop in funding of the fiscal 2009 budget, which is now projected at $13.3 million.
But last night, during the first City Council review of the police budget, council President Patrick Blanchette pressed Romero, asking whether the department's $1.05 million overtime budget and costs associated with its fleet of 39 take-home cars could be trimmed instead.
Blanchette, a five-term city councilor and potential mayoral candidate, described himself as "pro-public safety." He said he cannot support police layoffs when other cost-saving measures are possible.
The council's budget committee is reviewing every department in the $240 million fiscal 2009 budget. After the committee's review, the entire proposed budget is sent to the full City Council for approval or rejection later this spring.
During last night's review, Blanchette said approximately 45 percent of the department's uniformed officers made more than $100,000 last year. He's not doubting the officers didn't do the work, but, as the city is embroiled in a financial crisis, Blanchette described that statistic as "alarming."
He requested a detailed breakdown of officers' salaries, incentives, and detail and overtime pay along with another report on take-home cars, how each is used, and the gas and insurance costs for every take-home vehicle.
Blanchette has a proposal before the council to regulate the use of take-home cars.
His interest isn't driven by any abuse reports but rather the skyrocketing price of gas and the need for the city to tighten its belt, he said.
Romero said the overtime money is "not discretionary," is largely controlled by union agreements, and paid to officers who have to stay on crime scenes outside of their normal shifts.
"We can't anticipate what overtime costs are going to be, but we can look at the past 10 years," he said.
The chief also defended the department's use of take-home cars, one of many factors leading to a notable drop in crime by allowing officers to respond around the clock when needed. Using fewer of these cars "doesn't translate" into cost savings, Romero said.
"My biggest concern is maintaining the reduction in crime," he said. "Cutting cars ... isn't going to save a police officer's job. What's made us effective is a plan we currently have to police this city. Crime is the lowest it's been in 38 years."
The five officers facing layoffs this summer were hired in January with state grant money designed to put more police officers in Massachusetts cities and towns. But Blanchette said many communities used that grant money to keep current officers on the job, not increase ranks.
Councilor Grisel Silva, chairman of the budget committee, questioned the hiring of the officers last winter after 42 city employees were laid off just weeks earlier.
"Maybe they shouldn't have been hired. When we took that grant, we knew we were entering stormy waters," Blanchette said after last night's meeting.
But Romero said the officers were told, when they were hired, that "when the grant runs out, they may be laid off. If we were level-funded, they would not be laid off."
The five officers will still perform "seven months of work at no cost to the city ... it certainly benefited us to have them here," Romero said.
Earlier in the meeting, Silva questioned why the city, at 7 square miles, has 156 police officers while Haverhill, at 36 square miles, has 90 officers.
But Romero explained staffing levels are not "based on the size of the city or town" but how many "calls for service" a department receives. "I have 156 officers. I wish I had 180," Romero said.
Silva noted twice that she "had to be careful" about her comments on the police budget because last year she was criticized for remarks she made. The councilor referred to her own accounting background and grant-writing experience, saying how sometimes situations and facts are inflated during the budget process "to get what we want."
Romero quickly rebuffed Silva, however.
"I hope you are not suggesting crime analysis is reporting less than accurate information," he said, noting the facts are reported to the state and FBI. "That is a mistake to say that."
Silva said that was not the intent of her comments. Romero wasn't so sure.
"As a city councilor, to even suggest that is terrible," the chief said after the meeting.
