Police department outlines $11 million in base reductions, warns of overtime and equipment impacts

The Police Department's finance director briefed the Police Commission on an $11 million reduction in the department's base budget under the Mayor's proposal and described how the cuts would affect overtime, vehicle purchases and hiring.

Director Bukowski said the $11,000,000 in reductions included eliminating a $1,000,000 operating transfer for the fingerprint fund, about $438,000 in travel and training cuts, a $6,650,000 decrease attributed to uniform attrition and related fringe, and a $1,500,000 cut to the department's overtime budget. Bukowski said the department's general-fund overtime budget under the mayor's proposal falls from $14,900,000 to $13,400,000.

He told commissioners that the mayor's budget provision reduces proposed academy classes to one lateral class and three regular classes (150 recruits total, 25 funded by the airport), and funds 30 newly funded civilian positions rather than the 47 the department requested. The department had requested about $6,000,000 for equipment; the mayor's proposal provides roughly $2,000,000 to the department from an approximately $10,000,000 city equipment pool, cutting vehicle purchases roughly in half (for example, 25 marked vehicles instead of 50).

Commissioners reacted strongly to the timing and level of detail provided; one commissioner said the commission had been "totally left out of the discussion" and requested a written report and packet materials in advance of the Board of Supervisors hearings (the department's first budget hearing was noted as the 18th). The director welcomed commissioner attendance at the Board of Supervisors budget hearings and said he would work with the commission to provide more detail.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the budget during this meeting; commissioners asked staff to prepare a more detailed written packet in advance of upcoming hearings.