Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
There are those in the world who have accused me of not being a very "flexible thinker". I've also been accused by being prejudice. I guess, from particular points of view, both are true statements. As a veteran cop I certainly take umbrage when someone tries to hurt law enforcement or takes action to reduce the effectiveness of law enforcement. That's exactly what's happening in Prince George's County, Maryland as I type this.
It's been reported in the news this morning that PG County is facing a $142M budget deficit. To resolve part of the problem the county is proposing to cut 320 jobs. Of that 320, more than half are coming out of public safety. Okay... that's where I choked on my coffee. However, before flicking off here in front of my keyboard, I did a bit of research.
For those of you unfamiliar: PG County, Maryland, lies on the eastern side of and adjacent to Washington DC. It is the REAL home of the Washington Redskins (FedEx field is in Landover in PG County). The county is over 300 years old with a Sheriff's agency that is also over 300 years old and a police department that is almost 80 years old. For the sake of this blog it's also important to note that the PG Fire Department is over 120 years old.
Just for the record, the county reports having approximately 5,900 employees. 320 represents about 5.5% of them. The county is also talking about mandating 80 hours per employee of unpaid leave this year to help with the budget shortfall.
Now, with all that delineated, what else does the county have?
PG County has 56 departments listed on its website. Fifty-Six! The public safety agencies listed above are THREE of the FIFTY-SIX. Right off the bat I was confused as to why TWO of those THREE are being held responsible for over 50% of the job cuts the county proposes. The cuts proposed would reduce the police department by 122 officers and the fire department by 48. The Sheriff's office would lose 20 deputies and the Department of Corrections (those folks who keep the bad guys IN jail) would lose 37. Add them up and that's 227 out of 320, or approximately 71%! It makes no sense to me.
So I did a little math. If all 56 agencies were required to divide the 320 job cuts, then each agency would have to cut 6 people on average. Admittedly, some county agencies are pretty small and the loss of six people might actually mean the end of an agency, so I can see where they might not be able to carry their burden in the job cuts. Still, I'm sure that the leadership is Prince George's County can find SOMEWHERE to cut jobs that won't immediately and severely impact public safety.
Perhaps the Cable TV Commission could lose a few jobs? How about the County Charter Review board? Or maybe the Redevelopment Authority or the Revenue Authority? Perhaps Public Works and Transportation could cut a few jobs along the way?
I know this: there are a few places that services should never be cut when a government entity faces budget restraint: Public safety is at the top of that list. There is
always somewhere else in a government for dollars to be saved. Perhaps the politicians in Prince George's County can bring their heads together and figure it out.
Then again, perhaps not...
