Big Budget Cuts Avoided While Council Adds 120 New Police

The San Diego City Council gave tentative approval Thursday to a budget for next year that provides for 120 new police officers and other major law enforcement improvements while avoiding the feared Draconian cuts to other programs.

In doing so, the City Council--led by Mayor Maureen O’Connor and Councilman Ron Roberts--backed away from its original plan to add 140 officers to the force, which Police Chief Bob Burgreen acknowledged to the council on Thursday would have placed a strain on the department by expanding it too rapidly.

City Manager John Lockwood had made it clear that the cost of adding so many officers would have been borne by corresponding cuts in or the abolishment of several popular programs, such as the after-school recreation program, programs to help senior citizens and services to the disabled. By adding fewer officers, the council was able to avoid the deep cuts in almost all programs that provide direct service to the public.

Additional Police Funds

In addition, the council approved spending an extra $13 million in further support for the Police Department, money that will be used to upgrade the department’s computerized communications system, buy two mobile police stations, and buy land in the Mid-City and Imperial Avenue areas for future substations.

In providing those funds, the council was able to steer away from reductions in various Park and Recreation Department construction projects, including those in Mission Bay, Balboa Park and neighborhood parks such as Kellogg Park, Trolley Barn Park and Coast Boulevard Park.

O’Connor said it was the toughest budget she had ever dealt with in her 18 years in government, agreeing with one of her colleagues that, “Yes, we’re living on the edge.”

“It’s clear the priorities of this city have to be reviewed and realigned to what’s happening in this city,” said Roberts, noting that making the deep cuts in recreation and other programs would have been “counterproductive.”

“We tried to minimize the impact of these cuts,” he said.

The council agreed to the various cuts, spending deferrals and adjustments on a series of unanimous votes at a budget workshop held in packed council chambers. Many of those in the audience had come to protest the proposed reductions in their programs, but most apparently went home happy when the mayor told them the most popular programs would remain intact and fully funded.

The council will hold another budget workshop next Thursday, during which items such as funding for community service officers, library hours and the portable pool program will be discussed. Formal public hearings on the budget will be held next month.

While the city plans to add 120 new police officers and support personnel in the 1990 fiscal year, 22 of those officers were already included in Lockwood’s original budget. The council technically gave tentative approval Thursday to hiring 98 new officers, at a cost of about $5.4 million. When placed with the 22 others, the total comes to 120.

In making a corresponding reduction of $5.4 million in the city’s operations budget, the council acceded to cuts in a range of departments and programs. For example, there will be fewer reports from the auditor’s office, reductions in data processing, two fewer management assistants in the city manager’s office, the elimination of the equal opportunity administration, fewer analysts in the financial management division, large reductions in the weed abatement, brush management and fire safety education programs, and drapery and window washing at City Hall will be abolished.

Perhaps the most high-profile reduction was made to the City Attorney’s office, where the future of the consumer fraud unit remains in jeopardy. In order to hire the 140 police officers, Lockwood had recommended abolishing the $532,000-a-year fraud unit, as well as other cutbacks in the city attorney’s office totaling $733,000.

But with the proposed number of new police officers decreased, the council decided to make an overall reduction of $375,000 in both the consumer fraud and code enforcement units. City Atty. John Witt said he would have to analyze the impact of the cutback and would report back to the council next week.

Chief Burgreen, asked for his evaluation about the addition of 120 officers to the current force of 1,705, characterized the increase as providing “a great deal of support for the Police Department.” But Burgreen added that, “to be frank, the number proposed earlier (140) would have strained us.”

“Our system is overloaded,” the chief said, referring to the initial plan, which was proposed by the City Council and not by the department. Burgreen said, however, that with the 120 officers the department will be able to provide a higher level of service and not merely remain at status quo. And Councilman Ed Struiksma, a former San Diego policeman, told the chief he is committed to adding more police officers to the department next year.

On the capital side of the budget--which is money earmarked for building and construction projects as opposed to hiring employees--the council tentatively approved spending an extra $6.3 million for a new and upgraded computerized communications system, which, among other things, should streamline calls for emergency service made by dialing 911.

The total in the budget for the communications system improvements is about $10 million.

The council also approved spending $500,000 for two mobile police units and set aside $3.9 million to buy land for a police substation in the Midcity area and an additional $2.3 million for land in the Imperial Avenue area for a substation there. Land for the two substations would be bought next year.

The $13 million in capital costs was offset by various reductions in other programs, such as a little more than $1 million from Centre City Development Corp., $2.9 million from the sale of city land, $562,000 from funds set aside next year for construction of pedestrian bridges over Harbor Drive to accommodate the new convention center and other adjustments. Lockwood said the capital budget would still be short by about $1.8 million, but that he is confident his administration can identify other cutbacks during the year.

Councilman Roberts tried to allay concerns voiced by proponents of downtown redevelopment that taking away money from the Centre City Development Corp. would send a message to investors that the city was back away from its commitment to revitalize downtown.

“We remain committed to (our) redevelopment effort. . . . We don’t mean to turn back the clock on downtown redevelopment,” he said. “(This) city is not off the tracks.”

Lockwood said the various tentative reductions may cost some people their jobs, but he vowed that “we’re going to try and place all these people” in other city jobs.

One of the mayor’s favorite services is the city’s after-school recreation program, which was facing elimination. But the council restored the program by funding it with the anticipated $1 million the city will receive as profit from the mayor’s upcoming Russian Arts Festival.

Another major concern of the City Council had been providing money for a pre-arraignment detention facility to house misdemeanor suspects who are now often released from the County Jail system because of overcrowding. The council was wary of adding more police officers if they would merely end up releasing many of those they arrested for misdemeanors.

Lockwood told the council that the county is on the verge of receiving a $33-million grant from the state that will be used to construct the first phase of a pre-arraignment detention facility that will contain about 500 beds.