Budget cuts will lead to mass layoffs, KCPD warns
By Justin Kendall in News
Thu., Jan. 29 2009 @ 4:27PM
Here in the Killa City, we got news this week of how the $12 million in cuts proposed in City Manager Wayne Cauthen's budget would affect the Kansas City Police Department. The police say they'd have to give 225 police officers pink slips. Kinda scary when the city had more murders last year than the Royals had wins and the daily paper runs a three-part series called "Murder Factory."
I called up police commissioners Karl Zobrist and Terry Brady to find out how realistic the projections were. I was also wondering if this was just a scare tactic.
"I think our citizens would be shocked at what's being suggested here," Commissioner Brady said. "The impact on critical services is going to be dramatic."
Commissioner Zobrist added: "It's serious, but it's obviously the opening shot. That doesn't mean that we're going to have that many layoffs, but it obviously means we're short money. The whole city is."
Yeah, it's real early. We're still waiting for Mayor Funkhouser's budget, which should be out in mid-February.
Brady said 90 percent of the department's funding goes to salaries. The other 10 percent goes to operating costs.
"Those operating costs remain the same whether the funding's cut or not," Brady told me.
Zobrist talked a lot about improvements the department has made. He said the department has made "substantial tangible progress" in response times the last couple of years, and a 24 percent decrease in crime since increasing employees 16 percent.
"As people become concerned about crime, and we bring people back downtown, is this time to have cutbacks in the police department?" Zobrist said. "If cuts have to occur, I understand that. But they needed to be targeted at things that affect as little as possible the core responsibilities of the city. And obviously public safety is one of them."
Of course, no one wants to go backward.
Brady said a new crop of police academy recruits started class on Monday. Brady said new recruits are being counted on to fill positions of retiring officers.
"We had to tell recruits that we may not have funding after May 1 to continue their recruit class," Brady said. He added that he spoke with one officer who had to make a decision on whether to leave another law enforcement agency and accept a job in Kansas City.
"He didn't know if he was going to have a job after May 1," Brady said. "It's already having a significant impact."
I called up police commissioners Karl Zobrist and Terry Brady to find out how realistic the projections were. I was also wondering if this was just a scare tactic.
"I think our citizens would be shocked at what's being suggested here," Commissioner Brady said. "The impact on critical services is going to be dramatic."
Commissioner Zobrist added: "It's serious, but it's obviously the opening shot. That doesn't mean that we're going to have that many layoffs, but it obviously means we're short money. The whole city is."
Yeah, it's real early. We're still waiting for Mayor Funkhouser's budget, which should be out in mid-February.
Brady said 90 percent of the department's funding goes to salaries. The other 10 percent goes to operating costs.
"Those operating costs remain the same whether the funding's cut or not," Brady told me.
Zobrist talked a lot about improvements the department has made. He said the department has made "substantial tangible progress" in response times the last couple of years, and a 24 percent decrease in crime since increasing employees 16 percent.
"As people become concerned about crime, and we bring people back downtown, is this time to have cutbacks in the police department?" Zobrist said. "If cuts have to occur, I understand that. But they needed to be targeted at things that affect as little as possible the core responsibilities of the city. And obviously public safety is one of them."
Of course, no one wants to go backward.
Brady said a new crop of police academy recruits started class on Monday. Brady said new recruits are being counted on to fill positions of retiring officers.
"We had to tell recruits that we may not have funding after May 1 to continue their recruit class," Brady said. He added that he spoke with one officer who had to make a decision on whether to leave another law enforcement agency and accept a job in Kansas City.
"He didn't know if he was going to have a job after May 1," Brady said. "It's already having a significant impact."
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