Jamestown City Council: Public Safety Cuts ‘Inevitable’
By Kristen Johnson, kajohnson@post-journal.comCuts are coming.
That was the message Monday night as the Jamestown City Council began combing through the proposed 2010 city fire and police budgets - a tough review each year because public safety is, by far, the city's single largest expenditure but also the one service a community cannot do without.
The city will spend about half of its proposed $31.8 million 2010 budget on public safety - over $10 million in salaries alone and another $6 million in benefits, capital outlay and debt service for those departments.
''I think - unless something miraculous happens that I don't forsee - cuts are inevitable,'' Council President Greg Rabb, D-At-Large, said of the police department's budget. ''We're going to have to find a way to cut this. Given the difficult situation we find ourselves in, I just don't see that we can do anything but make cuts. I'm certainly not an expert on public safety. I just don't see any other way out.''
City Councilman Steve Szwejbka, D-Ward 1, said he would be ''very uncomfortable trimming personnel from our public safety departments.''
Szwejbka, a former police officer turned professor of criminal justice at Mercyhurst College, said the city will have to ''take a long, hard look at how (the police department) utilizes what it has and what it gets involved in.''
''Making decisions is nothing but good management and good supervision,'' he said. ''I do agree that cuts - serious cuts - are needed. And I agree that it ultimately comes down to what a community can afford. But the community depends on public safety.''
For his part, City Councilman Tony Dolce, R-Ward 2, took aim at the department's proposed overtime expenses - in particular, the amount included for police coverage of special events, such as the city's holiday parade and Labor Day festivities. The draft 2010 budget includes $175,000 for regular overtime, another $35,000 for premium holiday overtime and $15,000 for special events overtime.
''To be honest with you, I think it's ridiculous to spend that kind of money to have an officer stand on the corner at a few events a year,'' Dolce said of special events overtime. ''If we're going to talk about prioritizing, let's talk about that. Certainly, we don't want to be understaffed and we do want officers out on the streets patrolling. But those line items aren't personnel - they're just money.''
The story was much the same during the council's review of the city fire department budget.
Lance Hedlund, the city's deputy fire chief, told council members that the department is ''already being faced with hard choices.'' Last month, the council's Finance Committee recommended that the council hold off on hiring a firefighter to replace one who hasn't worked since February. Another firefighter will be retiring in 2010, Hedlund said, but money for an entry-level firefighter to fill that slot was not included in Mayor Sam Teresi's executive budget.
''That puts us right on the line to where our impact payments will go up a notch if we lose someone else,'' Hedlund said. ''It leaves me no margin for sick time, personal days or injuries. And that's a difficult place to be.''
Hedlund offered the council a note of caution regarding cuts in public safety. He referenced the Great Fire of 1910, during which much of Jamestown's downtown was destroyed. It was that fire, he said, which led to the creation of a paid city fire department.
''The bottom line is what your citizens can afford, and I understand that,'' he said. ''But you also have to ask whether the city can afford to make cut after cut and then have something drastic like that 1910 fire happen and take a chance on not being prepared for it.''
Ultimately, though, it was Szwejbka who said ''the bottom line'' must be carefully considered.
''(Public safety) is certainly an emotional issue,'' he said. ''But it's not a calling from God, it's a business. When it comes to dollars and cents, we've got to very carefully consider that bottom line. It's going to be tough, there's no doubt about it.''
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VictoriasLittleSecret
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11-10-09 4:17 PM
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I think it is a real injustice when our city council is willing to risk the lives and safety of the people they serve just to save a buck. Like many others, I'm tired of seeing taxes continue to rise and have contemplated moving out of NY. However, I think that when making cuts is a necessity as council believes it is, public safety is THE LAST THING an honest citizen like myself wants to see get the axe. I propose that council eliminate "frillier" departments like the youth bureau, corporation counsel (since we hire out to other counsel most of the time), executive assistants, etc. I agree with twocents. In true times of need, you cut back to the bare necessities. Parks and parades and picnics are nice but not a NECESSITY! Keeping my family and property safe from crime is my #1 priority. Sounds like council needs to reevaluate what's truly important because this city will only continue on it's downward spiral if criminals know Jamestown is fair game.
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freedom1
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11-10-09 3:43 PM
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If the city is truly serious about saving tax payers money then they need to cut down on the BPW and the way the workers do business. If you have ever watched the highway workers do there job on road jobs or the leaf circus they could get more work out of them if they took there 10 min. break on the job site. Now they leave to go back to the shop for there ten min.break and by the time they get back to the site it's at least 30 min..Same for the lunch break and afternoon break etc. The county and state workers bring there lunch box with them and sit on the side of the road and take their break. And the leaf pickup! What a farce. What a waste of taxpayers money,manpower and machinery.
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sickofnys
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11-10-09 9:45 AM
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Sorry, TAX HIKES, not taxes hikes
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sickofnys
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11-10-09 9:44 AM
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It's way past the time for cuts, but hopefully this time they will really happen. When so much of the budget is salary and benefits, that's where the cuts have to be. Less money and benefits per employee, or fewer bodies. That's the choice. NO MORE TAXES HIKES!!!!
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twocents
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11-10-09 9:03 AM
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You must not read the police reports, read the paper, or listen to the radio. Or maybe you live in a cement shack that won't catch fire. Either way, you can't justify less police and fire protection while having ball parks, parades, and manicured lawns. It sounds like you don't like law enforcement for some reason - I wonder why that is???
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RADCON
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11-10-09 8:37 AM
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oops forgot, population down by 50%, lets hire a few more SWAT teams! what a joke!
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twocents
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11-10-09 8:14 AM
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Why cut public safety? Why not parks dept.and DPW personnel? With all the crack heads and lunatics running around this city, I'd rather see less ball fields and grass cutting than less cops on patrol.
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RADCON
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11-10-09 8:05 AM
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the well ran dry decades ago. jerks like lundine milked this town for all its worth.give the unions a choice, pay and benefit cuts or body cuts. its time the taxpayers get a break.
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Fagerstrom
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11-10-09 5:07 AM
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Very difficult choices no matter how you look at it. But what it gets down to is what the city can afford; or the township, or the county, or the state or the school systems. Sooner or later the well will run dry if not managed correctly.
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