PLACENTIA : Latest Budget Cuts Take Police Position

With a recent round of budget cuts, the city’s Police Department has lost yet another position, reducing the department to 50 officers.

Four years ago, Police Chief Manuel Ortega had 54 officers for a city of about 41,000. Since then, the city has grown both in population and in the amount of territory police officers must patrol.

“I hate to complain,” said Ortega, “but we’re being asked to do more with less.”

Ortega said that public safety is not being compromised by the reduction in officers.

“We become the good soldier,” Ortega said. “We suck it up and do more. The bottom line is to provide service.”

One measure the department took to offset the cutbacks was instituting a 12-hour, three-day workweek for patrol officers and a 10-hour, four-day schedule for detectives and motor officers.

The schedule was introduced in late 1992 and has reduced overtime and allows the department to keep officers on the street during peak hours.

Other steps Ortega said he may have to consider are pulling officers out of the DARE program and a countywide task force aimed at arresting drug dealers, and returning the officers to field work.

Even with these measures, Ortega said, residents will notice slower response times to some non-emergency calls.

“There will be some things we won’t be able to so as quickly or perhaps at all,” Ortega said. “It may be that people who report a crime won’t be answered as quickly as they are used to.”

Both Ortega and City Manager Robert D’Amato said they do not expect future cuts in police positions.

“I would not recommend going lower,” D’Amato said. “We are at the bottom line now.”

But D’Amato did leave the door open for future cuts if the state takes more money from the city’s coffers than anticipated.

“We have hit the bottom, but on the other hand, (the city’s budget) has to be based on revenue,” D’Amato said. “If the state hits on our budget, we will have to re-evaluate all employment.”