ST. LOUIS -- Police Chief Dan Isom presented a budget Wednesday that would start cutting the force of 1,401 officers by 50 through attrition. But he said he believes a $3.8 million shortfall can be met without layoffs.
The budget cancels recruit academy classes and includes no new vehicle purchases in the coming year.
The city allocated $168 million to the Police Department, which is about a 3 percent increase from last year. However, pension costs came in higher than expected, at $8 million -- $5 million more than anticipated.
Isom assured the Board of Police Commissioners, shortly before it unanimously approved the budget, that he is confident things will work out. "There are a lot of unknowns that could change that number," the chief said. "We're still working to make more cuts."
Mayor Francis Slay, a member of the Police Board, said he supported Isom's proposed budget but wanted to make it clear that any reduction in force would be an "absolute last resort."
"The percentage of the total city budget that has gone to the Police Department has increased over the last 10 years," Slay said. "But the elephant in the room is that pension costs have consumed those increases."
The attrition would keep the department from having to assume the cost of 50 officers, supported by Justice Department funding, when a federal grant runs out. Terms of the grant preclude reductions in force while it is in effect, but Slay said he has received indications that the federal funding will continue regardless.
About 1,295 city police officers are locally funded, and 106 are paid for through various grants. Grant funding runs out for 30 in October and 20 in June 2013.
That will leave a force of about 1,351, Isom said.
The size of the department ebbs and flows with retirements, resignations and the hiring of recruits. Six to eight police officers leave in a typical month, the chief explained.
Any reduction is a concern for the St. Louis Police Officers' Association, said its business manager, Jeff Roorda.
Roorda noted that Isom announced promotion of 28-year police veteran Lawrence O'Toole to lieutenant colonel from major -- increasing his salary to $91,089 from $86,369 -- just minutes before discussing the attrition.
"Mr. O'Toole is very deserving and it's not about him, but this command staff is already bursting at the seams," Roorda complained. "It shows a real disconnect when you're talking about eliminating 50 police positions and you promote a lieutenant colonel. We've got the same size command staff as we had 30 years ago."
Roorda also called out the chief for not attending meetings at the mayor's office with the association and representatives of the Police Retirement System, Ethical Society of Police and the Police Leadership Organization to discuss the pension problem.
"We're willing to do our part when it comes to tightening our belt, but so far the only feedback we've gotten is from the mayor's office, because the chief is not engaging with the union about budget shortfalls," Roorda said. "We haven't had time to think about what (Isom) proposed today, but we'd like for the process to be inclusive."
Isom did not respond to inquiries Wednesday afternoon regarding Roorda's comments.
Earlier Wednesday, after the Police Board meeting, Isom outlined some of the other factors affecting the budget.
He noted an estimate that health care costs will increase 10.1 percent. "If it's only 5 percent, that could be $1 million right there," Isom said.
Another costly item is $2.9 million in pay raises included in the department's first-ever collective bargaining agreement. Isom doesn't see changes there unless the officers' association agrees. Despite the $3.8 million hole in his budget, Isom said he isn't too worried.
"Maybe it's optimistic thinking," he explained. "But every year that I've been chief, (budget decisions) haven't been pretty. But each year, we come up with a way to work it out."
Copyright 2012 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
