03 Council Min 08-31-04.wpd - Laserfiche WebLink

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Special Meeting, City Council August 31, 2004 Page 4 Chief Louis said the Council was talking about reducing staff two more officers and that would make it 5 officers short. Chief Louis said full staffing was 9 officers on 2 shifts and 8 on the other, which is 35 officers. He said minimum staffing was 6 per shift, but because of sick leave, vacations and other things, it was better to have 9 so no one gets hurt. Councilman Wilson suggested having 8 officers per shift. Chief Louis said he gave up 2 patrolmen last year and 2 records clerks earlier in the budget process. Councilman Wilson suggested using the school officers when needed. Chief Louis said because there are officers at the schools, it keeps his street patrolmen from having to respond to incidences at the schools. He said these officers also have a positive effect on the students and have helped gang activity to go down. Chief Louis said having 9 officers per shift keeps the citizens safer and the officers safer and safety is more important than money. Councilman Wilson suggested disannexing some property to help reduce the amount of calls. Chief Louis indicated they would have to disannex a significant portion to go down to 5 officers per shift. Council discussed with Chief Louis the various school districts and how many officers they had on campus. Chief Louis said they had applied for a State grant to also put an officer at Chisum but had not heard back as to whether they had received that grant. Interim City Manager Terry Townsend said he currently had three positions open in Public Works and could eliminate those from the budget without anyone losing their job. He said he could use some temps or seasonal help when needed to mow the grass. Finance Director Anderson said the minimum net savings for that would be $61,856.00. Councilman Wilson suggested that Chief Louis either cut one patrolman or find $49,000.00 worth of budget cuts in his department.