Neighborhood leaders urged the Denver City Council on Monday to force Mayor John Hickenlooper to hire more police officers.
Although officials in Hickenlooper’s administration repeatedly said they have earmarked more than $2.8 million to hire and train 137 new officers next year, seven residents urged the City Council to amend his proposed 2006 budget to add even more.
“What good does it do Denver to have world-class sports venues, hotels and a new convention center, when visitors to our city, just as its citizens, are frequently victims of car break- ins, auto theft, assaults and robberies?” said Lisa Dobson, a member of Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation, which represents 78 neighborhood organizations in Denver.
Once retirements and reductions in overtime are factored in, the mayor’s proposal would increase the number of officers on the streets by about 22, bringing the authorized strength up to 1,427.
Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz has proposed increasing the authorized strength to 1,464, which drew support from Karen Cuthbertson, also of the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation. She presented a petition urging an increase in property taxes to pay for more police.
Faatz said she will wait until Nov. 7 to offer amendments to the mayor’s budget. She said she wants to wait and see if voters approve a ballot measure Nov. 1 that would allow the city to keep about $5 million in sales-tax revenue collected in excess of state limits, which she would tap for her hiring plan.
Hickenlooper wants that money to replenish reserves his budget has tapped to balance the budget.
Other council members said they are grappling with the issue, saying that while they want more police they also worry about offsetting cuts elsewhere.
“My challenge to the seven citizens that spoke to us is help recommend some budget cuts to us,” said Councilman Charlie Brown. “I can recommend some budget cuts that would draw a lot of blood and make me not very popular.”
Diane Wolta, a representative of the Virginia Village neighborhood association, answered: “If we have a need, you find a way to afford it.”
Hickenlooper’s acting chief of staff, Cole Finegan, said the mayor’s budget would spend nearly half of the $775 million general fund budget on public safety. He urged council members to find other places in the public safety budget to cut if they want more officers.
The mayor’s finance director, Margaret Brown, also said that the mayor has consistently added officers each year he has been in office despite difficult budget constraints.
But residents said he needs to do even more.
“Crime continues to grow in our city, and it’s not going to get better unless we have more officers protecting us,” said Loretta Galla, president of the Greater Mar Lee Neighborhood Association.
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-820-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
