City Budget Hike Aims at Public Safety : Blair Proposals for ’86 Would Strengthen Police Department

San Diego City Manager Ray Blair on Wednesday proposed a $534-million budget for fiscal year 1986, a 4.4% increase over the current year that is aimed at improving public safety services.

Blair’s recommended budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 clearly places top priority on police protection. Nearly one-third of 267 proposed city employees would be allocated to the Police Department. Under Blair’s plan, 53 new police officers and 30 other positions would be added to the department, and the police budget would increase 5.6%--higher than the citywide average --to $85.6 million.

Nevertheless, Blair’s proposed budget, which must be approved by the City Council, is likely to generate controversy because it fails to increase either the number of two-officer patrols or the city’s ratio of 1.5 police officers per thousand residents.

Those two facets of police staffing have been the subjects of considerable debate in recent months, as several City Council members have suggested that increasing police manpower to two officers per thousand residents could significantly reduce crime. Blair’s recommended increase in the number of police officers from the current 1,383 to 1,436, however, is designed primarily to keep pace with estimated population increases.

Although Blair’s budget--which is about $23 million more than this year’s $511.6-million budget --envisions no major reductions in city services, it does call for dramatic cuts in the city’s capital improvements budget, which covers construction of streets, sidewalks, sewers and other public works. The proposed $71-million capital improvements budget for next year represents a $28-million reduction, or 28.4%, from the current budget. The reduction is attributable to decreases in state and federal grants and water utility revenue, Blair said.

The 1,252-page document released by Blair on Wednesday essentially is an outline of proposed city spending that will be altered during the next two months by changing economic factors and the City Council’s own budget priorities, which often do not coincide with the city manager’s recommendations. The City Council will conduct a department-by-department review of the proposed budget during the next two months, a period during which city officials’ estimate of revenue also may be revised.

Blair reminded the council, for example, that the local budget could be affected by state and federal budget decisions. One of the many fiscal assumptions on which Blair’s budget is based is an estimate that the city will receive about $18 million in federal aid during the next fiscal year. That figure could change dramatically, however, if Congress enacts any of President Reagan’s recommended cutbacks in programs such as revenue sharing and community development block grants.

In addition to the proposed increases in police manpower, the priority placed on public safety is indicated in Blair’s recommendation that the Fire Department’s personnel be increased by 11 positions to 874. The Fire Department’s proposed budget for next year is $44.6 million, a 4% increase.

Next to the Police Department, one of the largest staff increases proposed by Blair is in the city’s Building Inspection Department. Blair recommended that 26 new building inspection officials be hired to help handle an expected increase in the volume of construction permit applications. The additional staff positions should produce “a noticeable service improvement,” Blair’s budget message said.

Several major improvements also are planned in the Water Utilities Department. About $10.8 million in state and federal grants would be used to expand the city’s experimental aquaculture plant, in which water hyacinths are used to help treat raw sewage. The proposed expansion would more than triple the plant’s capacity to one million gallons per day and involves construction of facilities to convert harvested hyacinths into methane gas for production of electricity.

In his proposed budget, Blair also recommends that the city:

- Increase the number of municipal employees from the present 6,772 to 7,039.

- Set aside a reserve of $2.9 million for planned future extensions of the San Diego Trolley, and allocate $300,000 to help expand bus routes into areas with high concentrations of senior citizens and to supplement a discount pass program for senior citizens.

- Increase the Park and Recreation Department’s budget by 2.5% to $24.9 million. Among other things, the recommended increase would be used for five new park staff positions and two lifeguard positions.

- Spend an additional $129,000 in state funds to purchase new books.

- Allocate $50,000 for landscaping and an improved irrigation system at the entrance to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Under Blair’s proposal, an additional $183,000 would be spent to replace seats and make structural improvements at the stadium.