Denver Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz on Thursday asked Police Chief Gerry Whitman to draft a proposal to add 90 officers to the streets next year instead of the 20 proposed in Mayor John Hickenlooper’s budget.
Hickenlooper’s proposed budget earmarked $2.8 million to hire and train 135 new officers in 2006, but projected vacancies due to retirements mean the department will gain only 20 officers next year.
Faatz, who created a task force last month to investigate a decline in arrests and ticketing by the Police Department, said she wants to know what would have to happen to get the police force back to its 2002 level of 1,492 officers.
“I want a realistic plan that is somewhat aggressive,” she said, stressing that she believes the Police Department will be understaffed unless an alternative is drafted.
Faatz also asked Whitman to look at what funds might be available to hire more police if voters this November allow the city to keep about $5 million in sales tax revenue collected in excess of state limits.
The city councilwoman had criticized Hickenlooper’s budget when it was released last week for not adding enough officers.
Cole Finegan, the city attorney and Hickenlooper’s acting chief of staff, said the 2002 staffing level came in better budget times. He said the mayor is proposing measures that will strengthen the police force in the face of a still-tight revenue forecast.
“Mayor Hickenlooper and Chief Whitman and Safety Manager Al LaCabe have met extensively as we built the 2006 budget, and obviously our commitment has been to get more officers on the street,” Finegan said.
Faatz instructed Whitman to work with Robert Shiller, a technician/field training officer in the Police Department, and Earl Peterson, executive director of Denver’s Civil Service Commission, in developing the plan to beef up the police force.
Whitman said he has 1,339 officers, excluding those in training. By the end of the year that is expected to dip to about 1,306.
He said the department has spent about $1.48 million so far this year on scheduled overtime to staff vacancies.
Whitman’s original budget request was for enough money to hire and train 267 additional officers.
“I submitted a budget proposal this thick that has blood all over it,” he said, showing at least a 5-inch-thick proposal he forwarded to the mayor. He credited the mayor with taking the proposal seriously and working to live within what was realistic, given the budget problems.
Faatz requested the new proposal from Whitman at the second – and last – meeting of the task force that included Whitman, police officers, LaCabe and other city officials. She asked Whitman to present his report to the City Council’s Safety Committee.
During the task force’s first meeting earlier this month, some officers blamed bad morale for the 30 percent decline in arrests and ticketing. Other police officials said a complicated brew of problems, including understaffing, was to blame.
City Auditor Dennis Gallagher has said his office will perform a thorough audit of the Police Department.
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-820-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
