The Hollister City Council has a critical decision to make in
the next few days. The city council must make a decision to cut the
Hollister Police Departments budget by up to 12.5 percent. By
making these cuts the city will continue to have a police
department, but at what cost?
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By Ray Wood
The Hollister City Council has a critical decision to make in the next few days. The city council must make a decision to cut the Hollister Police Departments budget by up to 12.5 percent. By making these cuts the city will continue to have a police department, but at what cost?Â
The service we provide is from a department that has been understaffed for almost 30 years. With current staffing we are unable to have or maintain, projects such as DARE Program, GREAT Program, Motorcycle traffic enforcement, School Resource Officers and the Juvenile Impact program.
Extended response times have affected us all. For many reports, citizens are asked to write the report themselves, having never had contact with a police officer to assist them, advise them or collect potential evidence for their case. This is simply unacceptable, but necessary because of staff shortages.
This is not a salary issue – this is a safety issue. In fact, Hollister police officers finalized an agreement wit the city of Hollister, taking a pay cut of over 5 percent that is retroactive back to November 2009. The officers of this agency are not overpaid and in a recent study Hollister police officers were ranked well below other comparable agencies, but we do have considerably higher crimes rates. Compare that to another local agency the San Benito County Sheriff s Office, and a comparison of Deputy vs. Officer, showed that the deputy was paid 15 percent higher in salary, with a caseload of almost a third of a Hollister Police Department officer.
The plan before the council is to cut essentially six (6) police officers and one (1) records personnel, having the affect of reducing the Hollister Police Department by up to 25 percent of the staffing.
The Hollister Police Department responded to approximately 35,000 calls for police assistance in 2009. With the proposed cuts, 8,750 of those calls would go unanswered or with an extended response time. We all know that minutes are precious in an emergency and they count when saving lives, we simply cannot afford to extend response times any longer than they already are. We know of 8,750 reasons why these proposed cuts are a bad idea.
As an organization we understand the need to make cuts and to live within a budget to try and be prepared to do more with less, and provide some semblance of public safety. But these cuts will impact our citizens, our neighbors, our children and our schools. In fact, as it stands we will not have a School Beat Officer next year to protect our kids at the local schools.
We are encouraging the community to be involved in the process. Attend the council meeting on Tuesday, June 28, 2010, 6 p.m. and voice your concern or call the councilperson in your district, tell them how you feel and what kind of service you want from your police department.
If you are not concerned with the decision that the council has to make in the coming days because our current economy has affected you or yours, we understand, times are tough. We would ask that you to reconsider for your family, your neighborhood and your community.
Thank you for your continued support.
Hollister Police Officers Association, from President Ray Wood
