While cuts are still tentative, something’s got to give in level
of service police provide
Imagine coming home from vacation to find your home burgled with
drug addicts shooting up on your front lawn. A call to police nets
little more than a sympathetic ear. Sound far-fetched? Well, if the
Hollister Police is forced to curtail its drug enforcement and
property crimes investigations because of budget cuts, get ready
for a sharp slap of reality.
While cuts are still tentative, something’s got to give in level of service police provide
Imagine coming home from vacation to find your home burgled with drug addicts shooting up on your front lawn. A call to police nets little more than a sympathetic ear. Sound far-fetched? Well, if the Hollister Police is forced to curtail its drug enforcement and property crimes investigations because of budget cuts, get ready for a sharp slap of reality.
The failure of Measure R on Nov. 7, which would have added a 1-percent sales tax increase, has left the city in dire financial straits, officials say, opening the door for cuts in services not experienced in recent memory.
Since the city faces a shortfall of $2.8 million in the 2006-2007 fiscal budget, the entire laundry list of services must be cut in order to keep the city operating in the black, said Councilman Doug Emerson.
The city has made proposed cuts outlined in a contingency plan drafted last month.
The hours at City Hall would be reduced as to reduce costs. City offices would be closed on Fridays. Police activities would be severely impacted, and the fire department would face some extreme cutbacks as well, including the loss of a truck company; half the paid-call firefighters on staff would be eliminated and the position of fire marshal would also be cut.
Cuts to the police department would include elimination of gang prevention/intervention, including participation with the San Benito County gang taskforce advisory committee; elimination of property crime investigation; elimination of drug crime investigation; reduction of police officer hours to 25 hours per week; elimination of animal control public education; elimination of spay/neuter programs; and a drastic reduction of hours at both the police department and the animal shelter.
Animal shelter officials directed questions to either City Manager Clint Quilter, or the city’s Public Information Officer, Sheryl Mullen. Hollister Animal Control Supervisor Julie Carriero would not speculate about what would happen to the city’s feral animal population, or say how many animals the shelter spays and neuters on average.
She did say that in 2005 the shelter adopted out 568 animals, all seemingly with certificates to be spayed or neutered if the animals were not already.
Quilter explained that if the spay and neuter program is eliminated then obviously that results in more feral dogs and cats running around. With more feral animals come increased risk to domesticated pets of such diseases as feline leukemia and rabies.
Police department officials also directed all comments to Mullen, who said she didn’t have any “new information about the cuts to the police department other than what has been talked about within the contingency proposal,” Mullen said.
Likewise, Hollister Police Capt. Rich Vasquez, who was the police representative on the gang taskforce, said he was asked by City Manager Clint Quilter to refer all questions to Mullen who said she was unable to comment on the affects of the police department pulling out of the gang taskforce.
Quilter explained that the downside to the elimination of the graffiti abatement program was that if one can cover up graffiti quickly it discourages more graffiti.
Chief of Police Jeff Miller, when asked to comment on the effects of pulling the police out of the gang taskforce, referred questions to Mullen, who declined to comment.
City Councilman Doug Emerson estimated that without police involvement it would be difficult for the taskforce to continue their work.
“There are some tremendously committed members, but police involvement is an integral part of the effort. The effect of not having that police involvement would be a much less effective taskforce,” Emerson said.
Emerson said that he would have some questions about what costs would actually be saved if the council had to eliminate the gang taskforce, but said that it may be that if they have to eliminate some police services, the reduced amount of time the police have available may not be conducive to participating with the taskforce.
Hollister School District Superintendent Ron Crates said that the district and the city have worked together through the taskforce and that the school district will step up and help out wherever it can to make sure that the taskforce is not eliminated.
“I think [the task force], like all things, needs time to build steam and it’s starting to do that,” Crates said. “I think they also need mentoring programs to make sure that kids stay on the right path. Youth activities are also on the chopping block. They’re also important to making sure that kids stay active and are not getting into trouble.”
It was unclear how limited police activity could affect Hollister, but it isn’t hard to picture a scene out of the Old West. Imagine gangs running rampant, people stealing without fear of consequences; drug sales and use in abundance and dogs and cats running wild and multiplying unchecked. While this is likely an exaggeration, without proper enforcement small problems become bigger. Crimes extend and investigations cease.
Morale within all the city departments is suffering, Quilter said. The departments already had reduced staffs and now there are risks of more cuts.
The city staff has until Dec. 1 to put together a new plan for reductions. The council will be presented with the new plan on Dec. 4 and there will be a workshop to discuss reductions at length on Dec. 11. The council will tentatively adopt the reductions on Dec. 18.
Patrick O’Donnell can be reached at [email protected].
